Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, pose the greatest national security threat of our time. TikTok's access to 177 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit. Over the past week, we saw in real time how CCP-controlled TikTok used its influence and power to force users to contact their Representatives if they even wanted to continue using the app. This is just a small taste of how the CCP weaponizes applications it controls to manipulate tens of millions of people to further its agenda. Today's legislation will end this abuse by preventing apps controlled by foreign adversaries from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating the American people. We have given TikTok a clear choice: Separate from your parent company, ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP, and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok's. Companies controlled by a foreign adversary, like the CCP, will never embrace American values like the freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, and a free press. If given the choice, they will always choose the path of more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation. In the case of TikTok, we wouldn't even know it. Today, we send a clear message that we will not tolerate our adversaries weaponizing our freedoms against us. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control that time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Gallagher).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, it is not true that this is a downpayment on the RESTRICT Act--not interested in the RESTRICT Act. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 40 seconds to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding and I appreciate him bringing us together here tonight. We are all in anticipation of the State of the Union, and for the Republicans in the House, certainly, you have outlined some priorities, we also are a party of life and celebrating life. Tonight, I wanted to highlight the importance of really honoring the lives of everyone, that every life has value. Our son, Cole McMorris Rodgers, was born with an extra 21st chromosome. Now most of the world knows that as Down syndrome. I can honestly say that seeing the world through Cole's eyes has made me a better mom, but also a better legislator. I am reminded every day whenever I meet with anyone connected to the Down syndrome community as to the full potential that is just waiting to be unleashed. Unfortunately, in the Biden administration, we have seen them leading on a pretty radical pro-abortion agenda that bolsters a culture which fails to protect the most innocent among us. It does not affirm that every life is worth living, lives like Cole's. That is why I am leading alongside my Republican colleagues to champion legislation that supports women and children at every stage of their lives. That is what we are committed to. We have led on legislation this Congress like the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act, the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act, and the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act. Just recently, the House passed a bill that I had worked on, the QALYs bill, that would prohibit QALYs within the Federal Government and it would ensure that those with disabilities with chronic diseases have lifesaving cures and access to prevent discrimination against these individuals when it comes to their healthcare. We still have work to do in our Nation, all across this country to ensure that women feel like an abortion is never their only option and we can do that by making sure that we are providing care, hope, and support for mothers and children at every stage of their lives. Every life is worth living. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time tonight in leading us this week in the Special Order.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, H.R. 6544, the Atomic Energy Advancement Act. We have worked very hard, and most agree that a robust and growing nuclear industry is critical for reducing emissions and providing reliable and affordable clean energy to Americans. Nuclear energy can help us build durable, economic, and strategic relationships around the world, especially as the influence of China and Russia in this industry grows. We know our allies are eager for American leadership and technology, and our nuclear industry is ready to lead. The Energy and Commerce Committee has a rich history of plowing the hard ground necessary to legislate, coming together on solutions that improve people's lives and that make our country stronger and prosperous. H.R. 6544 continues that leadership, and I am grateful for the leadership of the chairman of the subcommittee, Jeff Duncan, as well as the ranking member, Diana DeGette, and the ranking member of the full committee, Frank Pallone, for working together so that we can move this legislation forward, helping to maintain a robust and growing nuclear industry, which is vital to delivering reliable, affordable, and clean energy to all Americans. This much-needed modernization of our regulatory framework will restore America's nuclear dominance; encourage innovation; enable industry to deploy safe, reliable nuclear energy; and usher in a new era of U.S. energy leadership. Madam Speaker, I urge support of the Atomic Energy Advancement Act.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of H.R. 7176, the Unlocking Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2024, introduced by my friend Representative August Pfluger. President Biden's decision to impose a ban on issuing permits to export natural gas is just the latest example of his administration caving to environmental activists and putting politics over the American people. This ban will harm the American economy, jeopardize good-paying jobs, weaken our energy security, and it threatens the security of our friends and allies. America has become the number one producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world. It has strengthened our economy, reduced costs for the American people, and enabled the United States to lead in reducing emissions more than any other nation, both here at home and abroad. American LNG has been a lifeline, especially to our friends and European allies since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the invasion, American LNG has helped them reduce their natural gas prices by over 83 percent and reduce their dependence on Russia. President Biden's ban sends a signal to our allies that we are no longer a dependable energy partner. This is unacceptable. H.R. 7176 will immediately reverse the President's decision allowing the U.S. to export more and encouraging domestic production here at home, which will then reduce American energy supply vulnerabilities. This will reduce American energy supply vulnerabilities and encourage investments in other industries, like manufacturing. Some estimate that LNG exports could add as much as $73 billion to our economy and more than 450,000 American jobs by 2040. LNG is vital to America's energy leadership, our security, and our future. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 485.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 485, my Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, which affirms every person's life has value by banning the use of quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs, and similar discriminatory measures from all Federal healthcare programs. As many of you know, my son Cole was born with an extra 21st chromosome. Most of you know it as Down syndrome. When Cole was born, the doctors gave us a long list of challenges and chances for heartache. It was difficult, but I could have never imagined just how positively he would impact my life, my family's life, and the world. Today, Cole is a fun-loving 16-year-old with big dreams. He wants to be a football player, a pastor, and a race car driver. He is on the basketball team. He plays the drums. For Cole, the sky is the limit. Cole and others with disabilities deserve every opportunity to succeed. We shouldn't be discounting their potential or prejudging the quality of their life just because of their disabilities. Unfortunately, several tools frequently used in our healthcare system do just that. QALYs, and other similar discriminatory measures, assign a dollar value on the life of a patient to decide if a certain treatment is cost effective, oftentimes discounting an individual's worth and the need for care solely because of their disability or chronic illness. It means a bureaucracy coldly determines the value of someone's life and could deny necessary healthcare due to that calculation. Measurements like QALYs remove the consideration of unique circumstances and health conditions of a patient and their doctor's judgment from deciding what is best for the patient. I am not alone in opposing the use of these measures. Democrats acknowledged this when they passed the Affordable Care Act, and they banned the use of QALYs in Medicare. In 2020, the Democratic National Committee platform stated that: ``Democrats will ensure that people with disabilities are never denied coverage based on the use of quality-adjusted life year (QALY) indexes.'' The nonpartisan National Council on Disabilities wrote a report in 2019 titled: ``Quality-Adjusted Life Years and the Devaluation of Life with a Disability'' that condemned the usage of QALYs and they have continued to write additional letters to Congress urging us to ban their use. Additionally, we have heard from nearly 200 advocacy groups spanning the political spectrum who are calling on Congress to prohibit the use of QALYs and other discriminatory measures. This legislation, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, bans Federal payers, like Medicaid and VA healthcare, from using QALYs or other discriminatory measures that devalue the lives of people with disabilities and chronic or rare diseases, and it does it by simply applying the current ban on QALYs and other similar measures that exist in Medicare today to all Federal payers. In passing this bill, it will mean that healthcare bureaucracies can no longer discriminate against the weakest and most vulnerable patients, and it will help ensure that people can get the healthcare that they need and that their doctors think is best. This would be a big deal. Medicaid is the largest payer for people with disabilities, and we are letting it use measures that discriminate against the very people it was designed to support. That is nothing to say of the millions of injured or disabled veterans who rely on the VA for their healthcare, which is also allowed to use these types of measures. However, let me be clear in this: H.R. 485 does not prohibit healthcare programs from rewarding value or finding other ways to hold down costs. For example, if a treatment does not work or shouldn't be covered or it is more appropriate to start with other more cost-effective treatments first, nothing in this bill will preclude the Federal payers from continuing to make these kinds of coverage decisions. In fact, the National Council on Disability has already identified alternative ways to measure value that do not devalue the life of someone with a disability or chronic illness. Because of Cole, I have spent my time in Congress as an ability advocate, encouraging people to focus on every individual's God-given talent and potential. Millions of Americans like Cole need their voices to be heard. Whenever I meet someone with a disability or chronic illness, or with their family, I hear the same thing over and over: They want the same chances to succeed in life as everyone else. You know what? We are all just one car accident or one diagnosis away from having a disability ourselves. I hope that banning the use of discriminatory measures by Federal payers against people with disabilities and chronic illness and affirming every person's life has value is something that we can agree on. Let's give people with disabilities, rare diseases, or chronic diseases hope. Mr. Chairman, I urge support of this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The reasons that the ranking member says to oppose the bill, they do not match what the bill actually says. Current law already prohibits the use of QALYs and other similar measures in Medicare. Current law reads: ``The Secretary shall not utilize such an adjusted life year or (such a similar measure) as a threshold to determine coverage. . . . '' I am not sure why all of a sudden we have this concern about other measures. All the bill would do is apply current Medicare law to other Federal payers, and if people are insistent that other measures are not discriminatory, then they should have no problem in using them. I will also point out to anyone who may be listening, according to CBO's cost estimate: ``CBO does not expect that enacting H.R. 485 would affect the prices that result from negotiations between the Secretary and drug manufacturers.'' I don't support this capping or government price fixing of drugs. I don't support it. I would like to see us work together to reduce the cost of drugs, but this bill, according to CBO, does not expect that H.R. 485 would affect the prices that result from negotiations between the Secretary and drug manufacturers. Don't get distracted from the underlying bill here. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, this bill should be bipartisan. This legislation before us today takes the language that the Democrats put into the Affordable Care Act, and again I will quote it: ``The Secretary shall not utilize such an adjusted life year (or such a similar measure) as a threshold to determine coverage. . . .'' We take that language from Medicare inserted by the Democrats in the Affordable Care Act, and we apply it to all Federal payers. It should be bipartisan. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, if this legislation harms people who we are intending to help, why do we have support letters from nearly 200 disability patient advocate groups across the political spectrum? Down Syndrome Society, Autism Speaks, Disability Law Center, and ARC all support this bill. If the Democrats want to suggest that they are committed to lowering the cost of prescription drugs and that the reason to oppose this bill is because it is going to increase costs, the only reason this bill would increase costs is if you are denying care to people who have disabilities. That is the only reason. You are discriminating against people. That is the only reason this bill would cost any money. CBO already estimates that this bill is going to cost $1.1 billion. Why is that? Why would this legislation cost $1.1 billion? Because CBO is forecasting that there are going to be discriminatory measures used against individuals, and we are going to ban that. We are going to make sure that doesn't happen. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger).

Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks)