Abby Finkenauer

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say thank you to this body and to the constituents of Iowa's First Congressional District for giving me the honor to serve these last few years, and also my incredible staff, who both here and in Iowa have given their all to Iowa and to this country. You have made me proud every single day to know you. Importantly, I also want to say thank you to my family: my husband, Daniel, who has been my rock and been with me every step of the way; to my siblings and nieces and nephews, who have taught me to never take myself too seriously; and to my parents, who I know are watching right now because, as I found out within the first 6 months of being in Congress, they actually DVR and record C-SPAN every day so that they can find me on the floor during votes. You know, I think back to the day that they came to visit right before swearing in. My very first visitors to my congressional office, where my dad, Jerry, a UA retired union pipefitter welder, and my mom, a retired public school secretary, held hands and walked through the door of their 29-year-old daughter's congressional office. I can't imagine what they thought, but I hope it was better than when I told them and sat them down at the age of 24 and said I was running for Iowa's State House, where my mom blurted out, ``Why in the heck are you doing that?'' Well, it has been 7\1/2\ years since mom asked that question, and I hope every day they have seen the answer. The reason I entered public service was because of them. You see, my parents couldn't give me a trust fund or debt-free college, but what they gave me was worth a hell of a lot more. They taught me about treating people with respect, and seeing work to be done and doing it; about standing up for those who need a voice; and, most importantly, to never think you are better than anyone else no matter what you do or where you go. The work I have done both in Iowa and here in Congress has been shaped by the stories and the lives of my constituents and my family, from my late grandfathers, one a firefighter and one a Purple Heart World War II vet who worked in a meat packing plant, to my uncles; from a former UPS driver to a small business owner; and my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law, both who are heroes and nurses. Because of them, my fight for working families, wage protections, collective bargaining, paid leave, workplace protections, have continued to be, in every sense of the word, personal, and that is the way policy should be. These laws we pass--and, unfortunately on some occasions don't pass because of stalemates--aren't just dollars and cents on a page. They are affecting people's lives. I hope for this body and for the American people that we can have a Congress and a Senate who sees that and understands the value of public service. Until we get there fully, I hope that young people across the country find their ``why'' and run. We need you. And when you get here, I hope you do the work and I hope you find an incredible staff like I did to help you do it. You see, this place is not about the crystal chandeliers or the fancy titles. It is about the work. It is about the people in your district. It is about finding common ground where you can and just getting things done. I have been proud to get to work with my staff the way that we did passing my first bill within the first 2 weeks, becoming the youngest woman in the history of this body to ever pass a bill through this floor; to working on the Small Business Committee and beginning to chair the Rural Development, Ag, Trade and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee, where we got to fight for things like better access to markets for our farmers and for our small business owners; to stepping up for our childcare workers, who need it most right now; and the work that we did on that Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, along with the honorable Chairman DeFazio, getting to help pass some of the best investments in rural infrastructure that has ever come out of either one of these Chambers; to standing here, I think in this very spot, having to fight back against attacks on Davis-Bacon wages, good wage protections, in the middle of a pandemic; to helping our farmers, our biofuel industries, trying to fight for and also getting done the biodiesel tax credit extender; to, again, one of the things I might be most proud of, standing here sharing a story that was hard to tell about my own battle with endometriosis, and then fighting and working with my staff to help double that funding for research that had been at the bottom of the National Institutes of Health's research for years. I also just want to say a special thank you to the staff in Iowa, who have been there for my constituents in one of the toughest years we've ever had, this pandemic, where they have taken calls from folks wondering about their unemployment checks, wondering about how they are going to be able to feed their family because they are unemployed right now through no fault of their own, to then, on top of it, going almost 2 weeks without electricity post-derecho in my district, which was basically like a Category 4 hurricane that came through and decimated large parts of my district. The way that my staff stepped up when, again, they themselves didn't even have electricity or WiFi is extraordinary. You make me proud every day. And the way that my constituents came together, it made me proud to be a Congresswoman and to be an Iowan. You see, I, again, just want to say one last big thank you to my staff. You are all incredible public servants that I am blessed to have known and some of the best public servants I have ever met. And I should know, because I met one of the best. That late grandfather I talked about, that firefighter, he was the one who taught me what all of this was. You see, he is the guy that I would sit around the kitchen table with when I was 10 talking about what was happening in the world. And he is also the guy that taught me what public service should be. You see, when he would run into a burning building to save people's lives, he didn't call and ask first: What color is your skin? Where are you from? Who do you love? What language do you speak? He just showed up and he helped people, and he did his job. That is what I have tried to do here every single day, both here in Congress and my 4 years in the State House in Iowa. It is what I will continue to do in whatever I do next. It has been an honor and a privilege to get to serve in this body and represent this district and this country. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, aptly called the Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act. I introduced this commonsense bipartisan bill to help ensure our childcare providers have the information and resources they need to provide a safe environment both for the kids they serve and also their caregivers they employ amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You see, parent and childcare providers were having a tough time even before this pandemic hit our country. In my district, for example, parents can't find enough people to provide quality and affordable childcare, and there is an overwhelming demand and just not enough care available. This is an industry struggling with a shrinking workforce, low wages, and razor-thin margins. And for myself personally, growing up in Iowa, I went to college in Iowa; and I saw, after college and even after high school, a lot of my friends move away and go to States where they could make more money and pay off their student loan debt. Right now they are in their thirties, around my age, getting married, wanting to have kids, wanting to move back home, and one of the barriers to doing it is access to childcare. So, again, this has been an issue that we have dealt with for a long time, before this pandemic even hit. But now, on top of everything, we are asking our childcare providers to keep our kids safe during this pandemic. In my State, cases continue to rise, but many folks have no choice but to return to work. Right now, I am worried that we are headed in the wrong direction. Roughly 60 percent of childcare providers have actually closed their doors because of the pandemic, and there is a chance that up to half of those closures will actually be permanent. Earlier this year, we passed legislation to create a $50 billion childcare stabilization fund, which passed with bipartisan support. This will help address some of the intense financial pressure facing our providers right now, but the problem is still more complicated. We must give the providers the guidance and also the support that they need to protect the health and safety of our children, families, and frontline workers. That is where the Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act comes in. We want to make sure childcare providers are equipped to keep kids safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19. We are going to do that by ensuring there is practical safety guidance and technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We also want to make sure that this guidance actually reaches childcare providers and that providers get the help they need in implementing best practices. That is why our bill would also create grants so States can reach out to providers and provide the technical support they need to succeed. This bill recognizes the unprecedented demands being put on our childcare providers. We simply cannot expect them to do this alone when they are already up against so much. When it comes to addressing the childcare crisis which existed, again, well before COVID-19 hit our country, I am happy to say that I have found many partners on both sides of the aisle who are willing to tackle this issue for hardworking families. Thank you to the great group of bipartisan colleagues who are joining me in tackling this problem and who worked with me to craft this bill. This includes my colead, Congressman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky. There is an understanding here that if parents don't have access to quality and affordable childcare, then they will start passing up economic opportunities. Sometimes it is turning down a promotion or, in other cases, that means leaving the workforce altogether. We see this far too often, especially in rural districts like mine. It is clear that the childcare industry is critical to recovering from this pandemic and the economic situation it created. Providing help and technical assistance now will take a burden off our providers amid the many challenges, again, that they face during the pandemic. This bipartisan bill before you today is common sense, and it is something that folks across the country are asking for. So I urge you to vote ``yes'' on the Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Velazquez for yielding. It is an honor to get to serve on the Committee on Small Business with her, and I appreciate her support as we dive into these issues that are obviously of big importance to me and to my State of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, that is why, today, I rise in support of the bipartisan State Trade Expansion Program Improvement Act. As the Congresswoman from Iowa's First Congressional District, I know firsthand that for our small businesses, the ability to access new markets and export goods promotes economic success at home and in our communities. Given the importance of trade in my home State--especially for our farmers, small businesses, and manufacturers--I have made it a priority to improve and strengthen the State Trade Expansion Program. The State Trade Expansion Program gives small businesses the tools they need to start exporting and expanding into new markets. Many small businesses operate within razor-thin margins and have only a few employees. They don't always have the resources to attend a trade show, design an international marketing campaign, or navigate foreign countries' complex rules and regulations. That is where the State Trade Expansion Program comes in. It is important that we reauthorize this program before it expires at the end of the month. At the same time, we also need to fix some of the program's administrative challenges, which we have heard about from folks in Iowa and other stakeholders who have come before my subcommittee. In the Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade, and Entrepreneurship Subcommittee that I chair with Ranking Member Joyce from Pennsylvania, we held two hearings dedicated to better understanding and addressing challenges with the State Trade Expansion Program. I also held a roundtable in my district to hear from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and small businesses have actually used this program. What we heard was that the State Trade Expansion Program is a great resource for our State, but we also heard about confusing application processes, tight timelines, and poor communication from staff at the Small Business Administration. That is why today, taking all of that feedback I have heard here in D.C. and back at home, I am proud we are here to pass the bipartisan STEP Improvement Act of 2020. This bill would reauthorize the State Trade Expansion Program for 4 more years and make improvements; like creating a standard timeframe for applications; opening up more channels for input and communication between the Small Business Administration and the States; and collecting better data on how the program helps small businesses, which is the ultimate goal here. I want to thank Congressman Ross Spano from Florida, whom I worked with on introducing this bipartisan legislation, as well as Congressman Jim Hagedorn from Minnesota for cosponsoring this bill. I will also note that this legislation passed through the House Small Business Committee unanimously. I want to thank my Republican and Democratic colleagues for working together to move this forward. I urge all Members of this body to join Congressmen Spano, Hagedorn, and me in supporting this bill.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I rise to offer this amendment to double Federal research funding for endometriosis over the level for fiscal year 2019. Endometriosis is a painful, chronic condition affecting 1 in 10 women, 7 million women in the United States, with serious costs to their physical and emotional health and quality of life. Despite the prevalence of this disease and the many women who have it, it remains misunderstood, underresearched and underfunded. Women and their caregivers, alike, often suffer from a lack of awareness about the symptoms of endometriosis and the disease itself. This is a profound and heavy moment for me right now because of the fact that, back in March, I came down to this Chamber and shared publicly for the very first time that I, too, suffer from endometriosis. You see, Madam Speaker, at the time when I gave my speech, I wanted to make sure that folks knew that I could still do my job, that, yes, I have this painful condition, but that I was tough and I could still do my job and my work. Luckily, I have been able to do that. I have my entire career. But what I realized since sharing my story is that I am absolutely one of the lucky ones, because this condition affects people in all different ways and in all different severities. I happened to have been fortunate to find out at a young age when my mother believed my pain. This is for the women whom I have heard from who have reached out and who have suffered in silence, the ones whose bodies this condition has attacked in even more severe ways, who have had to drop out of the workforce because of the severity of their condition, the ones who have lost decades of their lives and their future family plans in pain because there weren't better options and there weren't any answers. They are warriors, they are tough, and they are braver than we deserve. Today, we uplift those voices along with the truth that we must do more. You see, Madam Speaker, it is imperative that, with this funding, not only do we raise awareness of this issue, but we fight for better options: more than just one or two pills that don't necessarily work for every woman; more than extreme surgeries like cauterization or hysterectomies; and education and work to bring equity to other surgeries that are more advanced but yet specialized and available to so few because of the cost so that more women can get the care that they need and, quite frankly, deserve. At the same time, we need to also figure out why this condition happens in the first place. Does it start at birth? Does it happen later in life? Can it happen starting in adolescence? There are so many unknowns in this condition that we have known about since the 1920s. Again, 7 million women have it currently in the United States. Today, we push forward. Today, we celebrate a win. But today is just the beginning. We will continue to uplift and increase awareness, funding, and research every single step of the way. It has been an honor to hear the stories of the women who have reached out. They have told me, after reaching out and hearing their story, their pain described for the first time ever on the House floor, that they felt for the first time that they were not alone. After hearing their stories, they have made me feel not alone, and we will continue together. We have so much work left to do, and they are the reason we will not stop fighting. I fully urge the adoption of this amendment. Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am proud to stand here today as a Congresswoman from Iowa's First Congressional District, but even more proud to stand here today as a daughter of a retired union pipe fitter/welder. And you see I brought something with me today of my dad's. You can see right here it is a sweatshirt actually that he welded in. And you can see right here it has got these tiny little holes from the sparks of his welding torch. And I kept this sweatshirt actually with me when I was in the State House in Iowa for 4 years to remind me every single day of who I was fighting for and also to give me hope when the Republicans in Iowa went after worker's compensation and collective bargaining in my State, making it harder for folks just like my dad. Today, I see Congressional Republicans doing the same thing, pushing an amendment to gut Davis-Bacon prevailing wage protections that will make life harder for working families like the one that I grew up in. And you see, I brought this with me today not because I need a reminder of who I am or where I come from, but clearly, my colleagues across the aisle in this body today need a reminder of the working men and women who have sacrificed day in and day out to provide good lives for their families who don't complain when they get burned from the sparks of a welding torch, who don't complain when they have to wring sweat out of their belt at the end of a hard day's work, which I have seen my father do more times than I would like to count. You see, what they have done right now with this amendment and the proposals that they have shown us this year are going after, again, the families like the one that I grew up in. What they have done with amendments like this is to try to drive down wages and take away opportunities. This amendment is outrageous. Without Davis-Bacon how many more workers busting their tails every day will see their paychecks go down and not up? How many more kids like me are going to go weeks without seeing their father or their mother? How many more families will be forced to leave their hometowns just to make ends meet? Republicans are trying to cut off access to healthcare right now in the middle of a pandemic, and now they are trying to eliminate fair wage protections in the middle of an economic crisis. This is outrageous, and quite frankly, it is disrespectful. Working families are already struggling to get by. Millions have lost their jobs, and millions more are worried about their job security. And now in the middle of this crisis we are going to take away wage protections? Again, this isn't just outrageous, it is disrespectful, and quite frankly, it is heartless. Please join me in defeating this amendment, voting ``no'' and actually showing working men and women across the country who really has their back.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for yielding. It is an honor to serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and bring the needs of rural America to the committee and be able to work on those needs in a bipartisan way. I am proud to say multiple of my standalone bills that are included in the larger package are bipartisan bills that I was able to work across the aisle on with my Republican colleagues. So, I am very confused about their rhetoric around this bill being so partisan, when it has been an honor to get to work across the aisle and find common ground on so many issues. One that I am particularly proud about today is one that is included in this en bloc that increases funding for the Rebuild Rural grant program by $150 million and extends the program for 2 more years, giving certainty to our rural areas, which have long been forgotten here in Washington, D.C. On top of that, what we will see in the larger package is the Investing in America's Bridges Act. It will also include rural road and bridge funding that has often, again, long been forgotten, including the Investing in Community Infrastructure Act as well. There is so much work that we have done here that I know is going to show up in a very big way in my district. I would also like to say I find it really ironic the talk that we are hearing here today, when my Republican colleagues had 2 years in the House with the Senate and with the Presidency to put together any plan they would like that would invest in areas like the place that I grew up, and they kicked it down the road. I am happy today to be here fighting for my district, fighting for my State, and passing one of the best investments in rural infrastructure that our country has ever seen. I will be here doing my job, and I know it is going to be up to the Senate and the President if they decide to do theirs.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution in overriding the President's veto. I want to talk about two Iowans who tried taking a step forward but were knocked two steps back by a for-profit school looking for an easy buck and taking advantage of the hopes and dreams of my constituents. Julie, a mother from Iowa, was looking to boost her career, and Jeff, an Army reservist and construction manager, was trying to continue his education. They bought into ITT Technical Institute's promises, worked hard for new career opportunities, and took out loans to do it. Both had their lives turned upside down when ITT Technical Institute suddenly closed. A 2016 Federal rule forgave loans for folks like Julie and Jeff, who were obviously taken advantage of. Unfortunately, this administration decided to roll back the commonsense rule, weakening protections for borrowers. In our State, there are more than 1,000 borrowers who were taken advantage of and who are still waiting for their cases to be resolved. We must stand with them and override the President's veto of this resolution.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the great State of Iowa where literally, just moments ago, before I got up here to speak, I found out we lost another two Iowans to coronavirus, now up to three, all in my congressional district. Today, we are grieving losses all over the country and the globe where, tragically, necessary caution came too late. The package we are considering today is not perfect. It will not bring back folks who we lost, but it will give much-needed relief to our hospital systems and workers on the front lines and to our working families and small businesses across the country. God bless the United States of America.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on my Special Order.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to represent the great State of Iowa and the First Congressional District. We have been getting a lot of great things done here in the House, working across the aisle and moving a lot of bipartisan bills forward since I got sworn in over a year ago. It has been an honor to get to represent my district and have its back every day. In the middle of all of this, I happen to have gotten engaged a couple of months ago to my very kind and supportive fiance, who is sitting up there in the gallery right now. He has been there through so much of it, and I am grateful every day. You see, we are very much looking forward to one day starting our life together and are talking about raising a family and doing it in Iowa and how much that means to us. So it would surprise most folks to know that just about 4 weeks ago, on a Friday after votes, I was back where I stay in D.C., sitting on my bed, doubled over in pain, googling hysterectomies. It was a pain familiar to me, stabbing in my lower left abdomen, and a tight pain like two fists clenched together in a vise grip in my lower back. I know this pain well because I have been experiencing it intermittently for over the past decade because I have a condition called endometriosis. I have had this most of my adult life. I was diagnosed at a young age, luckily, at the early age of 18. See, a lot of women don't get an accurate diagnosis until much later in life. Endometriosis is a very painful condition where the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside and can even attach to organs and nerves. Endometriosis is also the number one cause of hysterectomies for women ages 30 to 35. I have already had two surgeries, laparoscopies, where they went in and cut off or burnt off the tissue. I have white-knuckled my way through more flights, events, and days knocking on doors than I can count. There are so many women out there who have been told that the stabbing pain in your lower left abdomen is normal, or they are told that the tightness in their lower back that they are doubled over with in their beds is normal, but none of that is normal. On this particular day, 4 weeks ago, I felt like I had enough. So I sat there, frustrated at the prospect of more delays in the airport in severe pain. I was looking at some of the most extreme options that are out there that would mean I couldn't even have children. And to be honest with you, I just got frustrated because it shouldn't be this hard. It should be more well known, and there should be more options for treatment. As I was looking up hysterectomies, I came across a place called the Endometriosis Foundation of America, and their website was full of information, some that I didn't even know as somebody who has been living with this for over 10 years, like the fact that endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women worldwide and an estimated 7 to 10 million in the United States alone, or that it is the leading cause of infertility, but there is no known cure. You see, when I was looking up hysterectomies, the reason there are not more options, or options are slow to come by is because it is also one of the least-funded diseases and conditions by Congress, by the National Institutes of Health. So once I decided to start talking about this, the number of people, whether it is their staff who has it, or their sister who has it, or possibly somebody they work with every day, or people they have met on the campaign, I mean, it just goes on and on, the number of people this touched, the women who have it and the men and women who love them. I was also reminded, as I decided to look into this, how lucky I am. You see, I am lucky that I had a mom who believed me, who believed my pain, and good health insurance from my dad's union, where we could go to doctor after doctor after doctor until finally somebody said: ``Hey, she might have this. We better take a look at it.'' That is when, again, I was able to be diagnosed. I am lucky to have great support from my staff and others. But there are so many women across the United States who don't have that support. When I decided to talk about this just a few weeks ago, I was actually getting my hair trimmed, and my hairdresser heard me say the word ``endometriosis.'' She looked at me, and she said: Do you have it? I said: Yes, I have it. And she said: Well, right now, I am feeling like I am being stabbed in my lower left abdomen. I said: Yes, I know that pain. She was working three jobs, and she is dealing with it every day. It is something where she doesn't have the luxury to not show up. Many women don't. You just push through it, and you get through that pain day in and day out. I know there are so many women hearing this today who may be hearing their pain described for the very first time, and that is why I want to make sure that I give a voice to them today and say that it is okay to talk about this. That is why I decided to do what I am doing today. See, I am in this position with a platform as a Member of Congress, and I can talk about this important issue that touches so many women across the U.S. To be honest with you, I didn't say anything for years because I was afraid that people would think I was weak, that I couldn't do my job, but that is not true. I show up every day; I have done it for the last decade. I have represented my State and my District well, and it is not weak to talk about it. In fact, the women who are living with it every day, they are strong as heck. It is time that people across the country know about what this is. Every day, women are pushing through their pain and living their lives. They are not weak; they are strong. And I am not standing here alone because once I started talking about this with my colleagues, I found out how many other Members of Congress are touched by this or know people who have this. Again, we found out about sisters, comms directors they work with. In fact, even just this morning, after I started talking about it, there was another Congressman who came up to me and said his wife has it. As I talked about it more in my personal life, I have also met more women who struggle with endometriosis. So I am standing here today with them and in support of them and their pain. And today, at the beginning of this Endometriosis Awareness Month, we are launching the very first Endometriosis Caucus. Through this caucus, this bipartisan caucus, we are going to raise awareness with the public and in Congress to get more funding and the kind of support that this disease deserves. We need to end the stigma around endometriosis and bring more attention to this condition affecting millions of women, their families, and their friends. Today, I ask my colleagues in Congress, and everyone watching, to join me in this movement, to join this caucus. We have to up endo funding, up endo research, and up endo awareness. It is too important, and there are too many women across the United States and worldwide who deal with this every day to be ignored for far too long. Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak here today about this important issue. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I was unexpectedly delayed and missed the first vote on March 2, 2020. Had I been present, I would have voted Yea on Roll Call No. 79.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I wanted to start, before I get to the amendment, to actually talk about why all of this is so important here today. You see, I hold prescription drug roundtables all across the district, and there is a recent one that comes to mind and a story that I want this body to hear. We were doing a roundtable in Dubuque, where we invited folks to come and talk about their issues with drug prices and how that is impacting their lives personally. And there was a family that came, a young woman who was in her teens, with her mom and her dad. You see, she has diabetes, and they struggle every month to try to figure out how they are going to keep affording insulin and her meters, and different meters with different insurances happen almost every single year. And they are telling me these stories, and in the middle of the roundtable, the young woman and her mother had to leave to go to a doctor's appointment, and it was her dad that stayed for the rest of it. And as I am going around saying ``thank you for coming and sharing your story today,'' I shook the dad's hand, and he looked at me and he said, ``Please do everything you can to fight for my daughter and fight to make sure that she is going to be able to afford the care that she needs.'' He told me he is very worried about when she turns 26, and if she is not on their insurance what does that look like. Is she going to be able to keep affording it? And he told me that he wanted to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle one day at her wedding, not her funeral. I will never forget that conversation, and I will never stop fighting to make sure that we lower the costs of these lifesaving medications that so many folks across our country and in my district need and rely on. It is why I am so proud to support the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, which puts measures in place to make sure that drug companies aren't charging us double, triple, or quadruple what countries like Canada and Australia currently pay. However, H.R. 3 is currently missing a bipartisan drug pricing reform that has been supported by Senator Grassley, by President Trump, and Members of both parties alike. It is requiring drug companies to disclose pricing information on prescription drugs when they advertise directly to consumers like us and folks in my district. We have all seen the TV commercials that promote prescription drugs. What we may not realize is that pharmaceutical companies spend billions on this advertising. Last year, they spent over $6 billion, and a lot of that was actually to encourage people to get expensive, brand-name drugs. My amendment would require TV advertisements for prescription drugs to include the list price for a 30-day regimen or a typical course of treatment. With this transparency, we can all be empowered to make informed choices and bring down costs to our healthcare system. When drug companies use advertising to boost demand for drugs whose prices just keep going up, the American people deserve to know what these drugs cost. My amendment will ensure that we get a complete picture of the prescription drug options we see on TV. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues today to support this amendment, support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Chair, may I check the balance of my time?

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time. I am happy to hear that my colleagues across the aisle will be supporting this important amendment, and I would like to end with another story that I heard at another roundtable, one from one of our farmers in our district who came to our Waterloo roundtable and came with his wife, Heidi, who is battling MS, and was so concerned about how he was going to continue to make it with the ongoing trade war with China that has been taking his soybean markets, and the attacks on renewable fuels that have been hurting him every single day as a corn grower as well, and the $80,000 every 6 months that they were going to have to pay for the MS medication that he went to his lawyer and asked his lawyer how is he going to keep the farm and make sure his wife gets what she needs. His lawyer looked at him and said: If you want to keep your farm, you should consider divorcing your wife. That is another story that I will never forget. These are the reasons we are here today, that we fight for legislation like this, that we get these things done, and that we put our constituents and people over the politics that we continue to see here from folks who like to divide us instead of unite us. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. I also rise today to share Tina Suckow's story with the House of Representatives. Tina is my constituent, and she is a proud Iowan, wife, mother, grandmother, and AFSCME member. She is also a dedicated nurse who spent 15 years caring for those living with mental health conditions. Tragically, this tough and thick-skinned woman, with a great sense of humor and a natural gift for helping people, can now no longer physically work. More than a year ago, Tina was horribly injured at the State of Iowa's Independence Mental Health Institute in my district. An aggressive patient triggered a call for additional assistance. Although Tina was working in a different section of the campus at the time, she made her way over to help, with about a dozen other coworkers. For roughly 45 minutes, the patient was erratic and repeatedly threatened to hurt the first person who tried to get close to him. When nothing worked to calm him, a supervisor grabbed a padded shield, but nobody knew that the facility even had this equipment, and they weren't trained to use it. As her coworker approached with the shield, Tina became trapped between it and the patient. He hit Tina in the head so many times that she lost consciousness. After dedicating her career and her life to caring for others, Tina was now the one in need. Since then, she has been in and out of surgeries, and the emotional damage remains. That day was the worst day of Tina's life. Sadly, the State has made it worse by denying her unpaid time off requests and kicking her off the payroll. Tina wants her story shared today so that employees like her are protected. I am personally upset that it is hard to do in States like Iowa. You see, in 2017, I was a State representative in Iowa who spent 2 days fighting back against the gutting of collective bargaining in my State, where they went after our teachers, our corrections officers, our bus drivers, and folks like Tina. I stood on that floor and voted ``no.'' Unfortunately, we didn't have the votes. That bill passed, and they gutted the rights of folks like Tina all across my State. Iowa's working families are continuing to pay the price for those politically motivated attacks. Nearly 1,000 jobs in our State have been eliminated since 2011. These staffing shortages, because of this and the failure to train employees on vital safety measures, have put lives like Tina's on the line. In that same facility, several other employees have been attacked in the last year.

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Chair, in other facilities across the State, they have been attacked in the last year. It is unconscionable. This isn't how you treat people. The law also created a system that was rigged against working people, forcing employees to go through costly recertification processes and trying to stop them from being able to collectively bargain and being able to fight for their rights. Luckily for us in Iowa, our public employees are strong. They banded together and were recertified, and I am proud to represent them. Today, I will be casting this vote for Tina Suckow, who I know is watching at home today. This bill will require places like the State of Iowa to stop failing their employees, by requiring workplace protections. It is a first step in protecting Iowans on the front lines. I am standing with our hardworking men and women today who ask for a safe workplace, and now I am standing with them on the floor of the U.S. House, proudly voting ``yes'' for them and folks all across my State. Madam Chair, I include in the Record a letter from AFSCME in support of H.R. 1309. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC, November 19, 2019. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative: On behalf of the members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I urge you to support the ``Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act'' (H.R. 1309), which protects workers and their right to be safe from violence at their workplace. H.R. 1309 requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard on workplace violence prevention in health care and social service assistance settings. Enactment of H.R. 1309 is needed because: The current OSHA guidance is voluntary. It does not require employers to address the high risk of violence on the job for health care workers and social service workers. Some 70 percent of all nonfatal workplace assaults typically occur in these two sectors and has increased over the years. It challenges the myth that workplace violence is random, unpreventable and just part of the job. There is a degree of uncertainty, but workplace violence has clear patterns and detectable risk factors in health care and social service settings. Actions can be taken to reduce the risk of workplace violence. The cost of inaction is high. It is calculated in the pain, loss, suffering and the disruption to lives, workplaces and communities caused by these incidents to workers and their families. We ask that you send a clear message that Congress will not ignore the harm and suffering caused to health care, behavioral health and social service workers by workplace violence. Please vote in support of H.R. 1309. Sincerely, Scott Frey, Director of Federal Government Affairs.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Madam Speaker, I am honored to join in celebrating the second annual Pride Camp at Iowa Safe Schools and to congratulate everyone involved in making this incredible resource for LGBTQ youth in our state a reality. This week-long program is designed for LGBTQ youth to have an opportunity to learn, grow, and simply have fun in a safe and supportive environment. I was a page in Iowa's State House when the ``Iowa Safe Schools Law''--the Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment Act of 2007--was passed. It was the result of years of tireless work from advocates and legislators, including many of the Iowans who have dedicated themselves to Pride Camp. I am honored to be a voice for LGBTQ Iowans of all ages in Congress. I applaud Iowa Safe Schools for the inspiring work that it does in our communities, year-round, to create a nurturing environment for LGBTQ youth, by providing critical resources and training for students, educators, parents, and young allies.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as a result of a cancelled flight and circumstances out of my control, I was unable to cast a vote on March 25, 2019 on a bill under suspension of the rules. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 1616.

Ms. FINKENAUER

Ms. FINKENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 246, the Stimulating Innovation through Procurement Act of 2019. My bill helps small businesses compete for government contracts and research grants and gives them the opportunity to grow and innovate. I grew up in a small town in northeast Iowa, and I am proud to represent communities like mine in Congress. The Iowans I know want to be able to stay and build a life in the communities that raised them. I am proud to introduce legislation that will give the next generation of Iowans opportunities to innovate in our State. Too often, small businesses, especially rural ones, get locked out of the competition for government contracts and grants. This bill ensures that agency procurement officers will be more directly involved in this process, helping small businesses pursue research that lets them compete for these opportunities. H.R. 246 requires procurement center representatives and other contracting officials to assist small businesses in the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Making this a statutory mandate levels the playing field for our small businesses, ensuring they won't be at a disadvantage during the bidding process. It means that when a small business owner in Marion or Manly, Iowa has a great idea that will create jobs in our communities, our government is actually making it easier, not harder, for them to grow and innovate. When Congress supports small businesses, it strengthens communities like mine in northeast Iowa. I thank my colleague and cosponsor, Congressman Curtis, and I thank Chairwoman Velazquez for her support and leadership of innovative small businesses. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation.