Jeff Fortenberry

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to speak about a great Nebraskan and a great American. His name is Dwight L. Clements. He died last week at 102 years old. Dwight Clements was born in Elmwood, Nebraska, and he went on to study at the University of Nebraska and got a degree in business. But this is the interesting part, Mr. Speaker: His education was disrupted by World War II, where he served as an Army combat engineer in France until the war ended in 1945. After the war, Dwight earned his law degree at the University of Nebraska and then returned to small-town Elmwood to work at the family- owned American Exchange Bank and to join the law firm with his father, Clements Law Firm. He continued in banking and law until he retired in 1985. But this is the point, Mr. Speaker: Dwight Clements was a humble, dutiful, small-town Nebraskan. But as a member of the Greatest Generation, he served something far larger than himself. Through his sense of duty, selflessness, sacrifice, and patriotism, he represented the kind of person that not only holds Nebraska together but holds America together. May he rest in peace.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, on Thursday, December 9, 2021, I missed roll call votes No. 439 and 440 due to the effects of the ongoing public health emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on 439 and ``nay'' on 440.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Brett Guthrie, for his kind and generous words. It is very meaningful. Mr. Speaker, one of the first books that I recall reading as a child was about the life of the famous New York Yankees first baseman named Lou Gehrig. He was nicknamed The Iron Horse due to his athletic ability and endurance. He could hit. He could run. He could field. He was an amazing athlete. And then, everything just changed. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stole that man's abilities, causing him to lose control of basic functions. This merciless, cruel, and aggressive neurodegenerative condition mocked Lou Gehrig's famous durability. The disease became known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and today we call it ALS. Mr. Speaker, there was no cure then, and there is no cure now. Before he died in 1941, at a ceremony at home plate in Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig had this to say. He said: ``For the past 2 weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.'' That story, Mr. Speaker, Lou Gehrig's story, stayed with me as a child. I don't know why, but it did, and I remember it so well. Now, fast-forward decades later. While serving here as a Member of Congress, this same cruel disease has swept upon my own family. I want to do this, Mr. Speaker, if you will indulge me. Pictured here is my wife, Celeste, with her little brother and godson, Joe Gregory. In his mid-thirties, Joe began to notice that his hand was shaking. He started a battery of tests, but somehow, he just knew it was probably going to be the worst of the worst. He was diagnosed with ALS, but he faced his plight with both dignity and courage. He volunteered to be a part of an experimental trial. He said: Well, if it doesn't work for me, maybe it will help someone else. He died when he was 37 years old, and he left behind Melanie, his wife, and four little children. On his tombstone are the words from the prophet Isaiah: ``Here I am; send me.'' Mr. Speaker, as Joe began to die, we as a family quickly learned about this profound trauma that affects so many families all across America. It happens over and over out of view. Most of us never see it. I soon became acquainted with this amazingly strong and determined ALS community. It was so uplifting to me to meet people filled with so much hope. You have heard that word over and over today, Mr. Speaker, and it is appropriate. So many people filled with so much hope amidst their own suffering but who rightfully sought a different approach and a better way. Out of this experience was born the ACT for ALS. Mr. Speaker, for over 50 years now and over 50 clinical trials, ALS patients have submitted themselves to tests, trials, therapies, and placebos in accordance with the rules of the current healthcare policy framework. But progress has been uneven, even debatable, with serious impediments to promising new treatments. Many have sacrificed their lives to science as they weakened and died. But today, here we are, Mr. Speaker, with over 330 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, and we are standing for a new way. ACT for ALS represents a monumental shift in the way in which we approach ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. At the core of this bill, it does two things. It transforms the paradigm of disease research and regulation, and it creates a new pathway for promising treatments. It drives the hope. With this groundbreaking law, we can break through faster for those who have suffered so much. I want to publicly say thank you to Representative Quigley for his tireless leadership in driving this hope, and my very close friends, Representatives Anna Eshoo and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for their leadership in shepherding this bill as well. It is truly bipartisan. It was not easy, but here we are on the precipice of doing something good for so many people. Mr. Speaker, I may be just a little bit like Lou Gehrig. I, too, am a lucky man, and for this reason: I have met so many beautiful people who have shared their sufferings, their vulnerability, and their gratitude toward this effort today. People of good heart, courageous, and who are fighters have created a family of solidarity to help us creatively rethink how to attack this disease through sound science, through technology, and through improved public policy. Mr. Speaker, one last note: There are so many heroes who deserve special recognition, but you have heard one singled out today, and I want to single him out as well. This fight's Iron Horse is my friend and founder of the organization I AM ALS, Brian Wallach. As Brian said in congressional testimony in July with his wife, Sandra, there: ``This is our argument for our lives.'' Yes, it is, Brian. So, Mr. Speaker, I should say publicly: Thank you, Brian; thank you, Joe; and thank you to the ALS community. We could not be here without you today.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding. And I also thank Congresswoman Cammack for her powerful, personal testimony. I am glad you are here today. Thank you so much for your leadership. Madam Speaker, beneath you, right underneath this dais right here, are five very powerful words. And we are so busy in this Chamber debating numerous things we don't even look at them. But there they are, right there. It says: Union, justice, tolerance, liberty, and peace. And we all say we want unity. We all want justice. We say we want tolerance and, of course, we value liberty. And all of these beautiful virtues point to the possibility of peace. But here is the problem: We leave out one group of persons, expectant mothers and their pre-born children. And the question before us today is why? Why? That was the question that was debated today right across the street here at the Supreme Court. Why? We don't have to live like this. What we can do is live in authentic community with one another, where every person matters, including the expectant mother and her pre-born child. That is called a community of care, where a tolerant, just, and inclusive society commits to this journey of life before birth, at birth, and after birth.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, lifelong Nebraskan, CEO of Kiewit Construction, cofounder of Level 3 Communications, board member of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the late Walter Scott, Jr., 90, was one of America's leading builders and entrepreneurs. He will be best remembered, however, for his generous and wise philanthropy. Raised during the Great Depression, grandson of an immigrant carpenter from Dundee, Scotland, Walter learned early on the importance of education and of institutions that make it possible for a person to be educated. His philosophy was to enable others to achieve their own personal success. As friend Warren Buffett said, ``Walter's philanthropy is legendary, even though he doesn't publicize it.'' He left an indelible mark on Omaha and Nebraska: a new veterans' care center, best-in-class exhibits at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Scott Campus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His contributions to Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska ensure that future generations of students at those institutions will go on to make their own marks as well. Walter's vision and passion extended to service on the international stage. He was past Chair of the Open World Leadership Center--now the Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL)--and a member of the Library of Congress Madison Circle. In both capacities, he was close friend to long-serving Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington. Following Billington's passing in 2018, Walter provided long-term funding for the Billington Initiative at the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute to continue Billington's legacy of scholarship on Russian history and culture. Walter Scott had this advice to young people: ``The greatest thing you can do in life is to be a giver because the world already has plenty of takers.'' May he rest in peace.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, the Women's Health Protection Act has a powerfully good name, but the name masks its intention. This bill would make America the most pro-abortion Nation on Earth. It in no way advances the principles of inclusion and equity routinely championed on this floor. It does just the opposite: it hurts the most vulnerable in our society, expectant mothers and their preborn children. So, my colleagues, my friends, I urge us, let's please turn from the contradictions here and maybe, just maybe, open our hearts to another way. When there is news of an unexpected pregnancy and that vulnerable moment of uncertainty, suppose that we as a community of care committed to the journey of life to help a mother and her child, before birth, at birth, and after birth. That is called commitment. That is called compassion. That is called love. That is called care for her.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 241.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, there is another issue that I am compelled to speak about regarding spending here. It is called the Hyde amendment. The Hyde amendment prevents taxpayer money for abortion, and this has remained a bipartisan compact in this institution for decades. Before now, little in Washington has been this stable or stabilizing, with the American people in clear agreement. Nearly 60 percent of Americans agree that taxpayer money should not be used for abortion. Now it is gone. When you look at the statistic regarding exporting abortion overseas, which we will potentially do if all of this passes, the percent of American people disagreeing with that jumps to 80 percent. That is right, we are about to export our most divisive cultural issue, our pain, our woundedness, on to the poor of the world. Pope Francis has called this ideological colonization. It is unfair, it is wrong, and it smacks of arrogance and elitism. Madam Speaker, we really are living in an age of contradiction. We say we want inclusivity, we say we want tolerance, we say we want to be an authentic community and protect the dignity and rights of all persons except one group of people, the expectant mother and her unborn child. Today we will break a near 50-year-old agreement to not use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion here or overseas. I am heartbroken.

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, first, let me acknowledge the leadership of our committee, the chair, Rosa DeLauro, and our Ranking Member Kay Granger particularly, in this sense, for their attempt to navigate this contentious process in which there really are areas of mutuality but are, unfortunately, marked also by irreconcilable differences. With that said, the agriculture component of this bill does reflect the cooperative spirit of both the American agricultural community as well as this subcommittee. Agriculture has the unique ability to unite across political, social, and economic divides, and I am particularly grateful to Chairman Bishop and his staff for producing a reasonable base bill here that we all hope can be refined as it moves through the process. Madam Speaker, production agriculture is a mainstay of America's economy. The vastness of our land, our ingenuity, and our technological prowess allow our Nation to provide the most abundant, low-cost, nutritious, and diverse array of foods found anywhere. Our trade imbalance would be so much greater were it not for this remarkable success. We are also empowered to meet our country's charitable impulse by moving approximately $2 billion in aid to persons overseas facing food insecurity. Investments in this bill build upon this amazing productivity. Here are some important highlights. There is: Support for what I call the Farm of the Future to enhance efficiency, regenerative capacity, and new forms of small-scale niche agriculture that marry high-tech with high-touch and, again, connect the farm to the family; Support for the Farm to School program, bringing healthy, nutritious food choices to children; Strengthened partnerships between minority-serving institutions within our land-grant system; Increased support for rural broadband and what I call the ecosystem of livability; More resources for unannounced drug plant inspections in China and India as well as a commitment to environmental security through investments in better cover crop practices and control of fertilizer runoff. Now, here are the needed fixes. Ranking Member Granger has been right and clear in her remarks that the proposed nondefense increases across these bills are way too high, 10 percent in this bill alone. The bill also contains an unauthorized nutrition program that grants unlimited funding in the final quarter. That is for the authorizing committee to take up. The bill also has a provision that makes unnecessary changes to a meat and poultry processing program that Secretary Vilsack originally proposed in the Obama administration. I believe that we can fix these matters and, hopefully, move toward an agreement as this bill moves through the process.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, a while back, I visited a small business called Craft Axe Throwing and Beer. What an interesting combination of activities, I thought. I had driven by it a number of times, but I stopped in one day. Seeing this team make a living, enjoying themselves, I thought to myself, that is what it is all about. Mr. Speaker, the main driver of new jobs in America is small business. The good news is that unemployment has been on a steady downward trend. But now, the hard news: the April jobs report. It was bad. At the same time, small business owners report that they can't fill the job openings that they have. Why? Earlier necessary government assistance during the pandemic is now interfering with the successful transition back to meaningful work. A little good news: Wages are going up. Let's let America run.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, I wish to congratulate Pastor Mike Moreno and the entire congregation of Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Nebraska, on their 150th anniversary. With a shared mission to share God's word, share God's love, and as they say, ``Do it now,'' the community of Christ Lutheran Church is a family. As one member of the congregation said, ``When one is hurting, all are hurting. When one is joyful, we celebrate together.'' How beautiful. The church also oversees Christ Lutheran School, educating 225 students in grades K-8, in an environment that develops a child spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially to know the personal story and potentiality of each student. Though we have many hardships and challenges in the world today, Madam Speaker, I am quite certain that Christ Lutheran Church and their community will remain a place of solace and hope for those seeking to hear good news.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding. Mr. Speaker, you might notice a little smile on my face. Honestly, as I was walking over here to speak on the bill, I was reflecting on my own life as a father. I have five children. When two of my children were little, my wife was away from the house, and I was to meet her somewhere. One needed their diaper changed, and then I had to feed the other. By the time I did that, the other diaper had to be changed. My wife called me, and she said: ``You can't get out of the house, can you?'' Mr. Speaker, pregnancy and motherhood, of course, bring joy and unique challenges and call from all of us a higher sense of duty. My wife carried my children in their earliest formation, and I carried that burden and opportunity to give them life in other ways. But if we can see pregnancy as a part of community, a journey of life for our good, the good of all, and the good of our Nation, then we accept that it requires reasonable accommodation at work when someone is pregnant, when they are giving life to their child, or if they have necessarily hard conditions. It is only the right thing to do, especially for those who are suffering. Now, as I have been listening to this debate, a concern has been raised about civil rights and religious organizations, considerations I am surprised that haven't been worked out before now. But let's keep working on that and pass this important bill.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank my friends and colleagues, Mr. Soto from Florida and Mr. Westerman from Arkansas, for shepherding this important measure. Madam Speaker, right outside this door, in Statuary Hall, there is a very large statue with the person's hand extended like that, as if to say welcome, welcome all of America to this institution. That statue is of Chief Standing Bear. And today, I am so proud that we are considering a bill to honor his courage and sacrifice. As we have heard, here is a bit of his story. Chief Standing Bear and his Ponca people were relocated from their ancestral homeland in Niobrara, Nebraska, to what was called Indian Territory in Oklahoma. As we learned, Chief Standing Bear's son fell ill, and he made his son a promise that he would bury him back in his ancestral homeland. When that happened, Standing Bear took that harrowing journey one cold winter back home, and for that, he was arrested for leaving the reservation. During his trial, Chief Standing Bear raised his hand and said: ``I am a man. The same God made us both.'' The judge was so moved by his testimony that he declared that Native Americans were to be considered persons for consideration under the law. That wasn't until 1879. Madam Speaker, Chief Standing Bear didn't seek to be a civil rights leader, but he changed the course of history in that moment, all for the sake of human dignity and human rights. I am proud to offer this bill today in his honor and for the good of all America.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, a long time ago, I made the decision to stand by the people who grow our food, protect our country, and make our stuff. Now, for a moment, if we could put aside the ever-expanding definition of infrastructure, I think we could agree on a basic principle: if we are going to ask American taxpayers to fund new American infrastructure, then we need to use American companies, American steel, and American labor. It is especially important that American-made steel not be outsourced for fabrication to nations with lax environmental standards and lax labor standards. As this pandemic has so forcefully and painfully shown us, an overreliance on a foreign supply chain makes us vulnerable. Madam Speaker, how about this: a ``Made in America'' label on all products used in American public works across the country. On that, perhaps, we can agree.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, my district in Nebraska is home to many Native American Tribes, including the Winnebago in the northeast corner of the State. And it is nestled, Madam Speaker, along the Missouri River Bottoms at the beginning of the great plains in a beautiful setting of rolling hills. This Tribal land has been an integral part of Nebraska's history and culture. But several decades ago, land belonging to the Winnebago was appropriated by the Army Corps of Engineers for development. In 1976, a Federal court found that the United States and the Corps lacked the authority to take this land through eminent domain. It is time to make this right. So the Winnebago Land Transfer Act is an important bill to return to the Winnebago this piece of land. Hunters will be able to continue to enjoy this prime spot along the Missouri River through the Winnebago Tribe, Wildlife, and Parks program. I am appreciative of the bipartisan effort here of our colleagues, Darren Soto of Florida, Sharice Davids of Kansas, as well as Randy Feenstra of Iowa, to once again make this right.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, Nebraska is famous for its high-quality beef; and what wine is to France, beef is to Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, a number of us took note when Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed that the wealthiest nations move to a hundred percent synthetic beef--synthetic beef--to fight climate change. Now, Mr. Speaker, I have been in meetings with Bill Gates, and I respect his intellect and his desire for social responsibility by the world's wealthiest, and I have no beef with Bill for his desire to see us transition to a much more sustainable economy, and I agree. But making supper from a lab? That is not a solution. That is a chemistry experiment. Mr. Speaker, America makes food, real food, and we shouldn't disrupt a nutritional food source and management of our animal resources that would have minimal effect on greenhouse gases. I have an idea. I would like to invite Mr. Gates to the West Point Livestock Auction, and he can present his proposal for lab-based meat to the farmers and ranchers there. We would have a healthy debate.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, a hallmark of America is that we have opened our arms and have been a just and generous nation to people who are fleeing political violence elsewhere, who have been persecuted in their native lands, and who are coming here to seek a better way of life. But here is the problem, Mr. Speaker: chaos and disorder at our border undermine the ability of our country to extend that generosity. A little-known fact about all of this is that for many years we have been working to get this question off of the one-yard line. But here we are again, seeing the trauma of unaccompanied children at our border and people receiving the wrong message that they can simply come here. We spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to try to rebuild the conditions for the rule of law, to stop crime, and to give people economic opportunity. That is the right policy, and we had cooperative agreements with those countries to begin to halt the messaging that it is proper or appropriate to come here illegally. Of course, this feeds human trafficking and children being left alone. It is unjust. We need to return to the previous policy in which we are cooperating with those countries.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 88.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, in his speech and subsequent hesitation to swiftly react to the violence, the President wrongly amplified an emotionally charged environment--emboldening persons predetermined to do violence, adding to a mob frenzy, and overshadowing the important policy work of four years and those who peacefully stood by him. Our objective should be this: Restore peace in our country. Restore confidence in our government. Restore decency and decorum. In just seven days, Joe Biden will be President. I voted to certify his election. In order to begin the process of healing our nation after this traumatic moment, we must choose wisely. If we use the blunt instrument of impeachment, we will punish the President but deepen the trauma of an America already wracked by political violence. The call for accountability ought now to be found in the hard slog to rebuild. I will vote against impeachment.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I also add my thanks to my good friend, Chair Lowey, upon her retirement from Congress. Thank you so much for your grace-filled leadership all these years. I am very happy for you in this new phase of life. Also, Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee publicly here, Chair Sanford Bishop. He has such a professionalism and courtesy and a working, friendly bipartisan spirit. I really think it is important that America hears that. Mr. Speaker, this bill underwrites the stabilization policies for our farmers and ranchers, the protection of our drug supply, and what I call the farm of the future. Now, these elongated deliberations have created extra time for us here in Congress. I know you would probably prefer to be in Maryland. I certainly would prefer to be in Nebraska. But we have had important work to do here. Given the extra amount of time, I took some liberties and I visited with a young farmer near here, Mr. Speaker. He lives in the Shenandoah Valley. And on a cold Virginia night, I actually sanitized my own shoes and walked with him in his poultry house, and we talked. We talked about costs, fertilizer reuse, mechanical versus digital monitors, and options for integrating renewable energy into his operations. Checking his birds is a routine he dutifully performs. And that is what America's farmers are about: constancy, vigilance, hard work. And whether it is in the field or among livestock, the day in and day out life of the farmer in Nebraska or Virginia or Georgia is what keeps America strong and helps feed the world. This bill supports our production agricultural system in many traditional ways, while we also witness an opportunity to expand the farm family. New forms of small-scale niche agriculture marry high-tech with high-touch, connecting the rural to the urban, the farmer to the family, and the farm to the table. This is the future of farming. Of particular importance, the bill supports rural broadband, as well as protecting our drug supply. It is an important bill from the constructs of the most basic systems in America.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, when I was about 8 years old, I read a book. It was on a famous New York Yankee first baseman named Lou Gehrig. He was nicknamed ``The Iron Horse'' because of his great athletic ability. He could hit, he could field. His durability was legendary. As a great athlete, his character was marked by that ability to adjust and overcome. But then something happened. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused Lou Gehrig to lose control of his bodily functions. That famous durability of his was mocked by this cruel, unforgiving, neurodegenerative disease, which is aggressive, that we now know as ALS. There was no cure then and there is no cure now. ALS has also come to be known as Lou Gehrig's disease. But before he died in 1941, Madam Speaker, at a ceremony at the home plate in Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig looked up at the crowd and he said: For the past 2 weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. That story, Lou Gehrig's story, stayed with me as a child. Now, Madam Speaker, as a Member of the United States Congress, fast forward decades later. This same cruel disease has swept upon my own family and we, as a family, quickly learned about the profound trauma it has caused so many other Americans. ALS takes about 2 to 5 years to destroy a body and exhaust a family. It is 100 percent fatal. Its victims lose the ability to write and walk and talk and eat and move and, finally, to breathe. Earlier this year, several hundred persons deeply affected from ALS, along with their courageous caregivers and friends, joined me and another Member of Congress on the other side of this body to discuss a legislative initiative. We are all now really familiar with Zoom calls, and on that particular Zoom call, on the little chat box on the side of the screen, one kind person said: ``I wish all of America could hear this constructive conversation between Members of Congress.'' Madam Speaker, we are in the midst of a horrific pandemic. COVID-19 has become a daily reminder of our fragility and mortality. It is an urgent health crisis, and scientists and government regulators worldwide are responding to this urgency, as are we, by accelerating the testing and improving approval processes for treatments and vaccines. I recently discussed these dynamics with our Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, who was optimistic that we may just be able to put this pandemic behind us by early summer. So, Madam Speaker, I divert for a moment because I want to applaud the speedy success in getting vaccines quickly and safely approved, and I am hopeful for their swift delivery to those most in need. But as we continue to fight our way through this global pandemic, imagine for a moment that we could harness that same determination and goodwill to rethink how we fight numerous other diseases. Madam Speaker, in over 50 years, there have been 50 clinical trials for ALS. ALS patients have submitted themselves to these tests in accordance with the rules of the current regulatory framework. Many of them received placebo therapies. All of them stopped receiving treatment when the trials were done, even if the therapies were affording some relief. They sacrificed their lives to science, then they quietly and gradually weakened and died. As we all know, drug trials can drag on for a decade or longer. Most ALS victims do not live that long. This overly deliberate regulatory process does not match the urgency of the disease. It is not saving lives; it is killing hope. Madam Speaker, when a process isn't working, it is time to change the process. So, I am proud of something, Madam Speaker. We have a new bill. It is bipartisan and it is bicameral. The House and the Senate are working together on this. It is called Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS. Let me put it another way; it is called ACT for ALS. It accelerates access for patients with rapidly progressing diseases toward investigational treatments through a new public-private program coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill provides expanded access to promising therapies through public-private funding, so that more patients suffering terminal diseases, like ALS, can access potentially life-extending therapy. It also works toward a more consistent and streamlined review of drug applications. ACT for ALS is just a beginning effort to make the regulatory and research establishment more responsive to patients suffering right now. It does so by attacking and correcting the injustices and inequities at the core of our drug development and healthcare systems. It is nobody's fault. We set up a research paradigm. We set up a regulatory process in order to try to give order to the process of helping people. But it is now time to reexamine some fundamental premises, particularly in this disease category and others. Currently, our ACT for ALS has 217 cosponsors, nearly half this body, more and more every day. Key to this effort, Madam Speaker, have been the many, many courageous ALS survivors who are advocating for this bill. Now, one of those is 36-year-old Mayuri Saxena. I want to show you something, Madam Speaker. Four years ago, Mayuri was diagnosed with ALS and today she can no longer stand or walk, use her legs or arms, swallow without help, and she cannot speak. But let's go back to that earlier point I made about Lou Gehrig's durability. This is Mayuri's mind. By communicating with her eyes and telling an artist what she saw, she imagined this beautiful painting. I wanted to first bring it up here because it is quite extraordinary. You could apply it to so many lessons around here, Madam Speaker. The symbols of our two political parties, the elephant and the donkey, are chaining themselves to someone in need with the hope of our great country, our symbol, transcending above. Mayuri sees that as her hope and America's hope. I have never seen something so beautifully and eloquently expressed as a call for these Washington words that we use, like bipartisanship. It is simply a call to care and to compassion and to be smart. This act is well-researched. We have gotten technical assistance from the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the National Institutes of Health. We have worked with those who are representing and advocating for new movement to figure out the right set of processes by which we again can establish a new procedure inside the Department of Health and Human Services and expanded access to treatments. We can do this. As we are rushing to the end of the year, we have got a lot of problems, and we have very few days to solve them. But let's solve this one. Madam Speaker, ALS affects 30,000 Americans, 6,000 of whom will die every year from the disease. One in six of those, by the way, Madam Speaker, is a veteran. One such veteran is Pat Quinn, by whom our country, through his effort, was socialized and embraced this Ice Bucket Challenge. He thought of that in order to raise global awareness of the brutality of the disease. Pat Quinn just recently died. Madam Speaker, it has been 75 years since Lou Gehrig himself died. There is still no cure, though there are some now promising therapies and drugs. Again, the ACT for ALS would allow expanded access now to those promising therapies and drugs. Madam Speaker, I have met so many beautiful people who have come to my office to explain their own journey with ALS. These are people of good heart. They are courageous, they are fighters, and they have created a network of solidarity trying to rethink more creatively as to how to attack through sound science the underlying disease. They represent a movement that has a strong desire for the right type of science and a real hope to stop the suffering. Madam Speaker, COVID-19 has shown us one thing: we can act quickly if we want to. We can act quickly if we are determined. I think it is time to apply those lessons to diseases that have silently killed so many for so long. We can create, and we have to create, a more humane response and a responsive system for those in need. Especially for diseases like this, where the time is so narrow. Madam Speaker, about 4 years ago now, a young man in his thirties was diagnosed with this disease. He noticed his hand trembling. He went through a battery of tests, but the moment he noticed that, he knew-- for whatever reason he knew--in his heart of hearts it was the worst case scenario. He knew it was ALS. I don't know how he knew, he just knew. He and his wife struggled and hoped that it would be something else that they could possibly live with. But he died this spring, about 4 years after he contracted the disease, leaving behind his wife and his four little children. His name is Joe Gregory. He is my wife's little brother. Madam Speaker, for Joe, for the artist, for the imaginative artistry of Mayuri, for the memory of Lou Gehrig and Pat Quinn, and for all of those who are still suffering from this cruel, relentless, and unforgiving disease, let's make hope real. Let's work to get this done. As I said, I have worked and seen so many beautiful people, some of whom have expressed to our office that their wish on their deathbed, communicated through their families, was that this act would pass. When I reflect on that, Madam Speaker, again, we have got numerous other problems here. We have to get a budget done, we have to avoid a government shutdown, and we probably ought to come together on a new COVID-type relief package. I am working on that, too. But how could I not speak? Why did I read a book on Lou Gehrig when I was 8 years old that stayed with me all these years? I don't know. But how could I not speak on behalf of these beautiful people who just want us to do the right thing, not out of anger and not out of protest, but out of solidarity to show that we can get things done because we care? When we act with our will and resolve, we can help. Madam Speaker, one more thing before I leave, I keep reflecting on those words of Lou Gehrig. I don't suffer from ALS. I don't pretend to know the profound difficulty that causes in those individuals' hearts, but I can say this: I believe that I am also the luckiest man alive because I get to stand with people like this and try to help. Madam Speaker, I thank you for listening, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the Yazidi community around the world and in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska on the loss of spiritual leader Baba Sheikh. In August 2014, ISIS launched a genocidal campaign against the Yazidi people in Iraq, killing and brutalizing thousands. Five years later, hundreds of thousands of Yazidis are still displaced in refugee camps in their own country. Throughout all this terror and diabolical suffering, the spiritual leader of the Yazidi people, Baba Sheikh, stood steady as a great source of comfort, love, and inspiration. Madam Speaker, it's not widely known, but two years ago, at the behest of Vice President Pence, I traveled to Northern Iraq to assess the situation faced by religious minority communities after the ISIS genocide. It was my privilege to meet with Baba Sheik. Together we met with the Yazidi women who had been enslaved by ISIS. I will never forget his gentleness, kindness, and eagerness to be with us even amidst all the suffering. May he rest in peace.

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, I missed roll call vote No. 201. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' members recorded pursuant to house resolution 965, 116th congress Chu, Judy (Takano) DeSaulnier (Matsui) Frankel (Clark (MA)) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Hastings (Wasserman Schultz) Hayes (Courtney) Huffman (Thompson (CA)) Jayapal (Raskin) Kim (Davids (KS)) Kirkpatrick (Gallego) Langevin (Lynch) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Lieu, Ted (Beyer) Lipinski (Cooper) Lofgren (Jeffries) Lowenthal (Beyer) Lowey (Tonko) McEachin (Wexton) Meng (Clark (MA)) Moore (Beyer) Mucarsel-Powell (Wasserman Schultz) Napolitano (Correa) Payne (Wasserman Schultz) Pingree (Clark (MA)) Pocan (Raskin) Porter (Wexton) Richmond (Fudge) Roybal-Allard (Cardenas) Rush (Underwood) Serrano (Jeffries) Speier (Scanlon) Tlaib (Dingell) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Welch (McGovern) Wilson (FL) (Adams)

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, on Monday, July 27, 2020, I missed roll call vote No. 167. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. FORTENBERRY

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member Granger for yielding. But first, let me acknowledge the service of our chair, Mrs. Lowey. I am so grateful for her graciousness, friendship, and especially the extraordinary example the gentlewoman sets in working with Ranking Member Granger, for the shepherding of our great committee. I thank the gentlewoman so much for her service. I also want to thank my good friend, Chairman Bishop, for the close working relationship that we have developed. Chairman Bishop has worked very hard to accommodate the many requests from our side of the aisle. I really value the constructive manner in which he was able to express his perspective, and we were able to work together toward constructive outcomes. The good news, Mr. Speaker, is that this bill largely reflects the cooperative spirit of the agricultural community in America as well as this committee. Now, Mr. Speaker, if I could divert for a moment, I want to tell a little story. My daughter Christine is 17. She got up at about 4:30 this morning. Blurry-eyed, she made her way over to a local parking lot, got on a bus, and went about 30 miles into a cornfield where she and many other young people begin to pick the tassels off the corn, fighting off rash and insects. They work most of the day until it is too hot to work anymore. She will come home tired and exhausted, and tomorrow, she and others will get up and do it again and again. This is a rite of passage in Nebraska. It is called detasseling. What it does is it creates this beautiful, lifelong lesson for young people, connecting effort to reward and the satisfaction of a job well done. So it is with the farmer, Mr. Speaker. Agriculture, in so many ways, both provides and unifies, and that is why I am proud to be ranking member of the subcommittee. Whatever policy differences we may have, particularly over budgets or transitional work requirements, it is clear that this bill affects the life of every American in many, many important ways. I would like to highlight three of those: food security, rural broadband, and our Nation's drug supply. First, this bill makes sure that vulnerable Americans have proper nutrition. Members on both sides of the aisle have shown strong support for nutrition programs, including the women's, infants', and children's nutrition program called WIC and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for the needy elderly. There are many other nutrition programs that receive strong support, as well. Our committee and the entire Congress have worked well together to meet our current needs and to build upon these base programs to support those who have suffered the indignity of food insecurity, which is heightened right now during the midst of this pandemic. Second, our health not only depends upon good food, but it depends upon the integrity of our drug supply. During the pandemic, America learned what we here already knew: We are importing drugs and drug ingredients from countries that do not necessarily share our commitment to transparency, quality, or the protection of labor. Approximately 80 percent of our active pharmaceutical ingredients are sourced from outside of the United States. The bill directs the FDA to block entry of products from those drug manufacturing plants overseas that prevent immediate inspection just like we have in America. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, I would be more comfortable if I saw the ``Made in America'' label on each prescription bottle. Third, telehealth, tele-education, and telework are here to stay and are revolutionizing the way we think about and structure community. But here is our problem: Too many parts of the country don't have access to high-speed internet, about 35 percent of rural areas and, as has been noted, some urban areas as well. A mother from Columbus, Nebraska--a community that is rural in character of about 25,000 people--recently told us that she had to drive to the local public school parking lot in order to access their broadband and their WiFi to help her child do homework. I think we can do better than this, Mr. Speaker. This bill does provide over $1 billion of funding for the expansion of rural broadband and new metrics to measure its success. Because it is not just about service providers or wires laid; it is about functionality and the mission of what I call creating an ecosystem of livability. The ideas behind what is traditionally called rural development really do need to change. The farm of the future concept will be driven by data-driven solutions, precision agriculture, and resilient ag practices that increase productivity, generate value-added products, enhance sustainability in ag communities, and put an important emphasis on local foods in addition to the expansion of the opportunities for telehealth, telework, and tele-education. I want to also note something that Chairman Bishop has done. He has placed an important emphasis on expanding resources to historically Black colleges and universities, an area where we can all look for enhanced opportunity. Let me note the current challenges at the source of a disagreement in the bill. One of the objections relates to the budget used by the majority to fund these 12 bills in violation of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. Another objection is less about numbers and more about our commitment to one another. The problem is that the bill permanently disallows any future changes on work requirements in the SNAP program. From my perspective, when times are good and the economy is strong, the program should be allowed to adjust accordingly as persons seek meaningful work. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing our work together to improve this bill and, once we do so, to potentially pass it into law.