Roger Marshall

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, during Military Caregiver Month, I would like to recognize a population of heroes who often remain in the shadows: military caregivers. Currently there are over 5 million military and veteran caregivers in the United States. This number continues to grow as our troops abroad place themselves in harm's way. I recently sat down with one of my heroes, Senator Elizabeth Dole, who shed a light on this important population. While she spent time with Kansas Senator Bob Dole at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2011, she noticed the many caregivers around her and the unique challenges that they face. Following this discovery, she established a foundation to raise awareness and serve as a resource for these hidden heroes. I am a proud member of the Hidden Heroes Caucus, which raises awareness and develops legislation in support of caregivers. I urge my colleagues to join this wonderful congressional caucus of hidden heroes. Stroke Awareness Month

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give a very personal thanks to our men and women in uniform during this National Police Week. I was raised the son of the chief of police and the head of the fire department of El Dorado, Kansas, for some 25 years. In that time, he taught me discipline and values. He taught me there was right and there was wrong, that some things are black and white in the world, and my father represented what the law was in my community. Today, I celebrate this week with him and the men and women who served with him who gave me a deep respect for the rule of law and those who serve daily to uphold it. Certainly, I am the person I am today because of what my parents taught me, my family, and the community, and they still do to this day. I can remember growing up and the first day my dad brought home Rene, our trained police dog, and how that dog became part of our family, a very gentle dog until one morning, we were playing football in the backyard, and one of my friends tackled me. We watched that police dog climb a 6-foot-high fence to come to my rescue. I remember my dad pulling people from fires. I remember riding in the back of an old Jeep that was overhauled from an Army Reserve to fight prairie fires and grass fires, something I am sure that kids wouldn't be allowed to do today. My dad took me to the firing range time and time again, and I would watch my dad shoot 25 rounds into a small circle the size of a quarter week after week, training to do his job right. I remember him getting called out to domestic disturbances and crime scenes. I remember him disarming people with weapons time and time again, putting his life on the line. But it is just not my family, Mr. Speaker. Families across the country have loved ones who serve our communities, States, and country. Earlier this week, President Trump gave a great message: ``No one asked these selfless men and women to enlist in this righteous cause or to enroll as foot soldiers in the eternal struggle against crime and violence. They joined the cause because their hearts were big and full of amazing courage.'' Mr. Speaker, I salute the men and women in uniform and thank them for their service.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, today, as we celebrate Small Business Week, I rise to recognize, commend, and stress the importance of small businesses of this country. I have the honor of serving on the House Small Business Committee every day, and I am reminded that small businesses are the pillars and the cornerstones of the American economy. The National Small Business Association recently met in our Nation's Capital. They communicated to me their biggest concerns were health care and government overregulation. That is why we believe doing nothing with health care is not an option. That is why this Congress must strive to end the overburdensome regulation this government does to kill jobs. All across Kansas, and this country, small businesses are driving economic opportunity, innovation, and growth. This week, and every week, we must keep their contributions at the forefront of our decisionmaking.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of April as the Month of the Military Child. I have the utmost respect for the families of the military's men and women; specifically, the children of our Nation's military, who are the bedrock of military families. These children make sacrifices-- relocations, new schools, and the absence of a parent on deployment-- and they deserve our gratitude. Due to the unique circumstances the children are put under, I stand before you today to commend the children of those currently serving in my district at Fort Riley in Kansas, and the children of those serving around the Nation. I call on my colleagues to provide continued support of our military children and families whose sacrifice is not always recognized, but certainly is revered.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to voice my support of the HONEST Act. This legislation gives independent scientists a fair chance to validate the studies EPA uses to make regulations. As someone who has made a career in science, I know that determining anything less is unwise and unscientific. Whether you are studying a new oncology drug or EPA regulations, transparency and the ability to reproduce and share these findings are some of the basic tenets of science. Costly regulations that impact American citizens and Kansas farmers should be based upon data that is available to independent scientists and the public. Let's continue to be a voice for the people with sound, transparent, scientific regulatory policy.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, Kansas voters sent me to fix health care. Doing nothing is not an option. I cannot sit here idly while the ACA destroys and bankrupts America's healthcare system. This bill eliminates nearly a trillion dollars of taxes. This bill eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood. This bill will save many hospitals in Kansas from closing by increasing funding for Medicare patients. This bill allots $100 billion for high-risk pools. This bill specifies another $15 billion specifically for maternity coverage, which is near and dear to my heart; newborn care; mental health care; and substance abuse disorders. Mr. Speaker, this is the best bill that we can get through this process. I am excited to be part of it. This is the first chapter of a new book, with many more chapters to come. We will fix health care.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize and celebrate National Agriculture Day. I proudly represent the largest agriculture-producing district in the country, the big First District of Kansas. In my home State, it is Kansas Agriculture Month, a month to celebrate our State's largest economy. Today is an opportunity to remind my colleagues of the hardworking Americans who produce the bounty of American harvest and livestock. The food that sustains them doesn't originate in a grocery store. Let us remember as we move forward with regulations and with trade policy that there are families with generations of history on their farm or ranch who face the consequences of every decision. They feed America and our economy. This day and every day, we are grateful that God made a farmer.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with people like my colleague, Dr. Drew Ferguson, from Georgia. I am so proud to stand tonight with the President of the United States. I know that tonight Mr. Trump is speaking loudly on behalf of our healthcare bill. Mr. Trump is ready to take the fight on with us who feel like we need to move this health care forward. I am not sure how many of you grew up without power steering in your vehicles, but if you know anything about the lack of power steering-- and I think back to the tractors I drove growing up, and that tractor, you could not turn that wheel until you started the tractor moving--or if you had a Ford truck or a Dodge truck or a Chevy truck and it didn't have power steering, you couldn't turn that truck until it started moving. Mr. Speaker, it is time to get this bill moving. We have to move health care forward. I am so tired of the rhetoric of repeal and replace. I am telling you, my constituents sent me here to fix health care. Forget the political rhetoric. I am ready to fix health care. I am ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, with Democrats, with people down the aisle, across the aisle, and with our President to get this healthcare bill passed. Unfortunately, ObamaCare has failed. When this first came about, I was so excited. I was hoping that this would be a healthcare bill that would work. But, unfortunately, it is true that this healthcare bill is dying very quickly. One-third of counties across this country no longer have a provider to take care of the exchange. My own State of Kansas is down to one provider. Today, even more insurance companies are bailing. This bill is dying. Doing nothing is simply not an option, Mr. Speaker. As I visited with thousands of patients over the last several years and thousands of my constituents, they said there are several things that they thought were important that we save from this healthcare bill, the Affordable Care Act, and I think we have done just that: Number one, we have protected the preexisting issue conditions; Number two, we are letting children stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26; Number three, we are ensuring that women are not charged more for health insurance just because they are a woman; and Number four, we protected the doughnut hole and kept it closed for Medicare. So I think we have saved the best things of the Affordable Care Act. So what have we removed? Mr. Speaker, we removed almost $1 trillion of taxes. This is the most significant entitlement reform in our generation, the most significant entitlement reform since the 1960s started Medicaid. What can we expect out of this bill? We expect premiums to decrease by 10 percent. We expect to start reprioritizing Medicaid moneys. I want to make sure, Mr. Speaker, that we prioritize Medicaid moneys for those who need it the most: those with disabilities, children, and the elderly. And I want to make sure these people are at the front of the Medicaid line rather than at the end of the line. This country cannot afford to give Medicaid to able-bodied Americans. We need to prioritize the dollars that we have for those that need it the most. Mr. Speaker, we spent $580 billion last year on Medicaid. We are on our way to spending $1 trillion on Medicaid if we don't do something soon. This country cannot afford to spend $1 trillion on Medicaid. Mr. Speaker, these are only the first steps of bending the cost curve downward for health care. We have to do more than just this bill. There are going to be more steps. I have complete faith in Dr. Tom Price, our new HHS Secretary, that he will be deregulating health care, which is the most regulated business in the country right now. Give Dr. Price 60, 90 days to deregulate medicine and start encouraging competition, and we will start bending this cost curve downward. We need to empower free markets. We need to empower States to have more local control. We are expanding healthcare savings accounts, but there are many more things we need to do. This is just the start of healthcare reform. This is the first chapter of a new book on healthcare reform. There are many more chapters to go. I cannot wait to improve health care, to improve quality and start driving the cost curve downward. Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for allowing me the time to stand shoulder to shoulder with our President, as well as with Dr. Drew Ferguson, who is representing the State of Georgia so proudly. I am so proud to be called his freshman colleague.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, as a physician, I know firsthand ObamaCare is in a death spiral. Now we are on a rescue mission. The President and our replacement bill repeals the ObamaCare mandates and taxes, but preserves three important protections: One, we don't allow denying coverage or charging patients more with preexisting conditions. Two, we don't allow insurers to charge women more for being women. Three, we allow children to stay on their parents' plan until age 26. Going forward, we bend the cost curve downward by decentralizing health care, promoting competition, and expanding HSAs. We make health care more affordable by providing tax credits, creating value pools, and more judiciously redirecting Medicaid dollars back to those who need it most: children, elderly, and those with disabilities.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize and congratulate Specialist Susan Tanui, the 2016 Army Soldier-Athlete of the Year. Specialist Tanui currently serves the soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas, as a dental assistant. During her time in service, she has exemplified the Army's seven core values--loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage--through her dedicated service, which is exemplified by her numerous decorations and awards. In addition to serving the U.S. Army, Specialist Tanui is currently pursuing a degree at Liberty University, represents the Fort Riley Division running team, the All Army team, and the U.S. Armed Forces as an Army athlete. She has also represented the U.S. Army in the U.S. Track and Field National Cross Country Championships in 2015 and 2016 and hopes, one day, to compete in the Olympics. I commend Specialist Tanui's accomplishments, her outstanding character, and look forward to witnessing what she will do in the near future. Mr. Speaker, we are so proud of Specialist Tanui, the soldiers of Fort Riley, the home of the Big Red One.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I was talking to constituents and reached a time when a very personal issue arose. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 115 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 116.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support our President's plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, but I want to stop and salute my colleague, my neighbor to the north, General Don Bacon, and the great State of Nebraska. As I tell people, I have never met a bad person from Nebraska yet. General Bacon continues to represent his State in a great manner, and I appreciate his friendship. Madam Speaker, I rise to support the President's plan to replace the ACA exchanges and Medicaid expansion. This is simply in a death spiral right now. It is not working in Kansas. It is not working in the country. We cannot afford to go in that direction. I am committed to helping those with long-term health issues, as well as those that get insurance outside the workplace, to truly find quality, affordable health care. We are not going to turn our backs on anybody. We are going to ensure there is a quality transition time for all patients.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Madam Speaker, this past December, our past President finalized a rule requiring States to fund Planned Parenthood through title X funding. Today I rise as a cosponsor of and in support of this joint resolution, H.J. Res. 43, which repeals this Obama rule and allows States like mine, Kansas, to choose how to best allocate title X funds. The Obama rule is yet another example of government overreach that tries to force my State to fund Planned Parenthood. Redirecting Federal funds away from abortion providers does not reduce funds for other title X programs. Instead, this will allow even more funding available for county health departments and other public health clinics for family planning, sexually transmitted disease testing, and lifestyle choices education. While Planned Parenthood remains a political organization that spent tens of thousands of dollars in the last election to oppose pro-life candidates, let me stop and salute the nurses and social workers back home at the Barton County Health Department where I worked for years, and salute my fellow doctors, Dr. Perry Smith and Dr. Bill King, and everyone's favorite nurse practitioner, Sheila Hein, who dedicated themselves to helping women.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I too am honored to be part of the 115th Congress, the freshman class, a group of people who want to work together. I think back to my campaign the last two years, and one of the most common concerns I had from people were: Why can't people in Congress get along? Why can't you respect each other? What I saw day after day was the left and the right yelling at each other and the press throwing gasoline on top of that fire. I remember, growing up, my dad had a saying: If you don't have something good to say about somebody, then don't say it. That is always something that I have taken to heart. I think back to my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Tyner. Her word for the entire year was ``respect.'' She taught us to respect ourselves and respect each other, and that is what I would like to bring to the 115th Congress, is respect for each other, for each other's points of views, and never question someone's intentions or motivations. I believe in iron sharpening iron and coming up with better ideas together. I believe in defining problems together, to talk about the problem, and then discuss solutions together. The hope is that you and I, my friends across the aisle and down the aisle, together we can come up with better solutions for this country. I believe that national defense is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. I believe the economy is not a conservative or a liberal issue. I think these are American issues that we need to fight to make better. I certainly don't think that health care is a Republican or Democrat issue. My pledge is to work with civility, to work with respect toward my colleagues across the aisle and down the aisle. I look forward to making America a better place to live.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight with fellow physicians and other colleagues to speak out against the shameful act being allowed in some parts of this country: physician-assisted suicide. When I became a physician, I took an oath in which I promised to help the sick and to abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm. To help intentionally take the life of a patient is morally abhorrent. It is not only the beginning of a slippery slope that devalues the sanctity of all human life. It is not only based on a subjective set of qualifications lawyers and lobbyists agree to. It is against the very oath that my fellow physicians swear to uphold. I encourage my colleagues to fight for these same beliefs, to treat life as sacred, and, first of all, to do no harm.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for Georgia for yielding. I am so proud to be here today. Before I talk about my district, I just want to say thanks to my fellow freshman class. I am so grateful to be part of the freshman class of the 115th Congress--a freshman class that includes 10 Members with military experience, a sheriff's officer, an FBI agent, two physicians, a dentist, and the rest of the class being mostly businessmen and businesswomen full of real-life experiences, which helps us solve problems with some little common sense. As my family and I traveled our district of Kansas this last 2 years, traveling 30,000 miles, they constantly identified the three common problems. They were concerned about the economy, national security, and health care. The first 2 years of those travels, I listened a lot. The last 6 months, I focused on solutions. I thought I would share today some of the common solutions that my classmates and I have talked about, as well as my constituents back home. First of all, as far as the economy goes, the number one problem with the economy is government overregulation. Overregulation creates uncertainty and consolidation. When there is uncertainty, businesses don't grow; they don't invest. The overregulation creates consolidations. So instead of having three or four community banks in town, consolidation forces there to be only one bank. Oftentimes, those single banks no longer even make bank loans to people from their own community. Consolidation has occurred in hospitals and with physician practices as well, all too often. I am so proud to stand up here today and hear that the Senate also approved one of the laws we have passed repealing regulations. We think, as we go down this path, repealing regulation will be a continued path for small businesses to grow. That is where 80 percent of our future job growth is going to come from: small businesses. It is hard to believe, when I talk about national security, that men and women who live 1,300 miles inland from the nearest ocean, separated by mountains and rivers, are concerned about their own safety. It is hard to imagine that before there was the Paris massacre or San Bernardino or Orlando that my constituents in Kansas were concerned about national security. I stand beside our President in making our border secure and working through immigration and refugee issues to make our Nation more secure. We think that is vitally important, and that is one of the reasons we elected this President and many, many people from my class as well. Lastly, I want to talk about health care, something very near and dear to my heart. For the past 6 years, I have lived the nightmare of ObamaCare. It has caused many, many physicians I know to quit, to give it up. ObamaCare has reduced us to data entry positions rather than physicians who can listen and develop their clinical skills as we try to work with patients to solve their healthcare problems. ObamaCare has led to consolidation of physician practices. It has led to high prices as well for insurance products. It has led to $12,000 deductibles for most families. It is no longer affordable. It is like having no insurance at all. Eighty percent of Americans are not happy with the Affordable Care Act, but I want to assure the American public and my constituents that, for every 5 seconds I have spent thinking about repeal, I have spent 5 days thinking about replace. Though quite often the press wants to talk about this as two separate books, this is one book in my life--a book of repealing and replacing as quickly and efficiently as possible. I want to assure all my constituents back home that, if you are on an ObamaCare product right now, we are not pushing you off any cliff. We are going to give you a period of transition where you can have a truly affordable healthcare product that works for you without a $6,000 or $12,000 deductible. We are a party of solutions. If you will look at Dr. Price's bills he submitted the last 6 years, you will see great alternatives and solutions that the party has presented. We do think there are good solutions out there. Speaking of Dr. Price, I can't help but just stop and say we need to approve him, confirm him as quickly as possible. Dr. Price is a physician, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, who has served Congress in multiple ways, including leading the Budget Committee. I have not met a man I would rather have serve as the Secretary of HHS than Dr. Tom Price, a mentor to me--a mentor to many of us--a kind man, a Godly man, a person who cares about patients, who understands health care, but he also understands government. Before we can take many more steps with health care, we need someone in that position. I believe with all my heart that Dr. Price will do a great job. I look forward to continuing my next several weeks here working with the freshmen, working with the rest of Congress. We are so optimistic. We think that great days are ahead of us. I am going to close with a memory today that I will have forever of going to the National Prayer Breakfast. I have had the privilege of going to many, many events, but this may have been the greatest event I ever attended in my life to see men and women, leaders across the world, praying for our President, praying for our Vice President. I am just thrilled to be a part of this. I am proud to turn this country back in a positive direction.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 642, the Fusion Center Enhancement Act. I spent the last 2 years traveling across the State of Kansas, and was reminded time and time again that national security is a top-three issue for my residents. Why is this? After years of turmoil and the lack of strong American leadership, people in Kansas no longer feel safe. This legislation that my colleague from Pennsylvania has introduced will ensure that those on the front lines of protecting our Nation's citizens have access to the critical information they need to evaluate threats to protect our national security. Fusion centers conduct analyses and facilitate information sharing, which are necessary and fundamental actions that assist State and local law enforcement in preventing and responding to crime and terrorism. Just this last week I had the opportunity to go back to meet with staff and visit the Kansas Threat Integration Center in Topeka, Kansas. I can assure you the work they are doing is vital to our national security and the citizens of my State. They are leveraging partnerships with the private sector and focused on protecting our critical infrastructure. I encourages my colleagues to support H.R. 642.

Mr. MARSHALL

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of today's resolution to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As a physician, I have lived the nightmare of the ACA for the past 6 years. Because of ObamaCare, I know more physicians leaving their practice this year than any other year. With $12,000 deductibles and annual premium spikes of over 50 and many times over 100 percent, ObamaCare has made health care truly unaffordable and unattainable for many, many people. In fact, it would be irresponsible for Congress to sit back and watch the ACA continue its death spiral and bankrupt our country. As we begin to replace ObamaCare, we want to reassure Americans we will not pull the rug out from anyone. If you are on a current exchange policy or have preexisting conditions, we will have a period of transition and high-risk pools that will provide you with quality, affordable alternatives. Like many others, my district sent me here to fix health care, and we intend to do just that.