Jan Schakowsky

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an outstanding progressive warrior: Lynda DeLaForgue. Co-director of Citizen Action/Illinois, the largest progressive public interest organization in the state, Lynda has left an indelible mark on laws and policies that directly impact our families and institutions. A skillful, smart and strategic leader, she has had an outsized impact-- one that has made untold thousands of people's lives better. While her death last weekend is a tremendous loss for all of us who worked with her, admired her and loved her, her legacy will remain strong for decades to come. Lynda liked to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, and one of her favorite quotes was this one: ``A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.'' Lynda took those words to heart. In fighting against payday loans or for affordable health care, Lynda was ``Eleanor Roosevelt''. She was the epitome of ``persistence''--fighting for financial protections, green energy solutions, or democracy reforms. Whether you served in local, state or federal government, when Lynda reached out you knew she would have facts, solutions and people behind her. And you knew that she would not give up until she had succeeded . I first met Lynda when she worked for the Illinois Public Action Council as a door-to-door canvasser, office manager and voter registration organizer. She expanded her role to work on consumer issues--health policy, financial protections, marriage equality, and energy--always being sure to link policy to the real people and to organizing. In 1997, she became associate director--and three years later co-director--of Citizen Action/Illinois. While there, she and co- director William McNary made Citizen Action/Illinois an innovative and effective organization, recognized throughout Illinois and the country. Throughout her career, Lynda focused on an underlying idea: that we can empower people to demand and organize on their own behalf to win a more just, fair and opportunity-filled society. It is an idea easier to state than to achieve, but Lynda knew the keys to success: to have convictions, persistence, and to work hard. She also knew the power of organizing and building coalitions. Lynda led by example, and she always took time to mentor and train her staff and provide solid counsel to her allies and aspiring young organizers and leaders. There is no one who combined all these attributes more than Lynda. Even as she struggled with colon cancer, Lynda kept her eyes on the task at hand. She was actively engaged in leading the progressive political coalition that she built. She used her own experiences with the health care system to promote reform and access. She was on the phone with my office talking about the possibilities before us in the 116th Congress even as she was getting her chemo-therapy treatments. Lynda brought the same joy and passion to her private life as to her justice work. Everyone enjoyed being with Lynda. She was interested in others and interesting to be around. She was excited to travel, whether exploring her French roots or discovering new avant-garde artists. Above all, she was devoted to her family: her sister Laura, her children Katy and Jordan, and her life partner Brian Reizfeld. To them, I extend my sincere sympathy and my hope that they will take some comfort in knowing how many people loved and are inspired by Lynda. As Eleanor Roosevelt told us, ``One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes . . . and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.'' Lynda DeLaForgue chose to live a life of conviction and action. I will miss her very much.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the most important people in my life for the last twenty years, my treasured friend and Chief of Staff, Cathy Hurwit. After two decades of working by my side, supporting, counseling, directing, and making all things happen, Cathy is retiring at the end of this year. I think it says a lot about Cathy that she began her service to our county right out of college as a VISTA volunteer. Having never previously been west of the Hudson, she spent a formative year working on a migrant housing project in Davis and Weber Counties in Utah. Her project fixed up homes, developed a community health center, and worked with the children. That year set the stage for Cathy's never-ending commitment to do everything she could to make life better for everyday people. Cathy Hurwit is well known on Capitol Hill as one of the most knowledgeable, savvy, brilliant, literate, helpful, visionary, hardworking, effective, strategic and relentless progressive leaders. She is the go-to person for staff and members inside the Congress as well as advocates, constituents and lobbyists outside. She is a skilled organizer who knows how to move a progressive agenda. Cathy's history on the Hill began forty years ago. She served on the staff of Congressman Toby Moffett (D-CT) as Energy Policy Director from 1976 to 1979. She then worked as advisor to the Subcommittee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources of the House Government Operations Committee from 1979 to 1982, followed later by two years for Congressman (now Senator) Ed Markey (D-MA) from 1987 to 1989 as his Legislative Director. Cathy then left the Hill to become the Legislative Director for Citizen Action, a multi-issue coalition of progressive organizations from 1988 to 1997, overseeing campaigns that blocked President Reagan's efforts to deregulate natural gas--while passing legislation to protect homeowners from utility shutoffs, winning worker and community ``right to know'' about toxic emissions and promoted Patients' Bill of Rights in Congress and around the country. Through that period, I became friends with Cathy through our mutual work with our Illinois affiliate. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, one of the great public employee unions in our country, hired Cathy as their Legislative Affairs Specialist from 1997 to 1999--until I was able to lure her back to the Hill as my Chief of Staff. By then she had vowed never again to work in Congress, but I am grateful that she came back to get me started, and even more grateful that she stayed! Cathy has built and led incredible staffs in our office over the last twenty years. At the heart are my Deputy Chief of Staff, Kim Muzeroll, who is the glue that holds our D.C. office together, and Leslie Combs, my fabulous District Director who oversees a renowned constituent service operation. Along with Cathy, they make up a team of powerful women who have been in charge of our staff since my very first day in Congress. Alumni of our office have served in the White House, as Chief of Staff to Nancy Pelosi and others, as Deputies to Cabinet Secretaries, and major leaders in not-for-profit and labor organizations. All of them benefited greatly from Cathy's mentoring and still consider themselves part of Team Schakowsky. As I write this Extension for the Congressional Record, I still find it impossible to imagine future sessions without Cathy Hurwit right next to me, strategizing about how to move our progressive agenda forward. Her expertise in health care made it possible for me to write portions of the Affordable Care Act. Opportunities like that will hopefully come again soon. Cathy tells me that she will still be available to help, and I will be certain to test that. She remembers all the complicated details of so many issues and bills, the struggles and the victories, the names of all the players on every side of the issues. Her institutional memory is exhaustive. (There are some people who should hope that Cathy does not write a book!) Even when she leaves, Cathy will be a force to be reckoned with. She has a lifelong commitment to social justice and to working for progressive change. I am sad that this phase is over knowing I have a lot more to learn from Cathy. My precious friend, as you leave the Rayburn Building, know that you have dramatically improved so many individual lives, including mine. And, more importantly, that you have made life better for millions of people who, through your work, now have access to health care and hope for a better future. Cathy will be deeply missed in our office and throughout the Hill. I look forward to maintaining our partnership in the ongoing struggles for justice, equality and peace. From the bottom of my heart, I thank her for her service.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from Ohio for introducing this legislation and shepherding it through committee and onto the floor. The SMART IoT, Internet of Things, Act is a product of bipartisan cooperation. As I did during subcommittee markup, I want to thank Chairman Latta and Congressman Welch for their leadership on this issue, going back to the IoT Working Group in the 114th Congress. This bill will require the Commerce Department to survey the varieties of connected devices available and examine the Federal role in this space. The study conducted under this bill should serve as the foundation for future legislative efforts as we work to ensure that Internet-connected devices are deployed to the benefit of the American consumer. The SMART IoT Act is being considered under suspension of the rules after committee consideration under regular order. After a series of hearings on the Internet of things, Republican and Democratic staff worked together on a discussion draft of the bill. Earlier this year, we held a legislative hearing where we heard testimony from the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Chamber of Commerce, and Intel. That hearing raised several issues that we should continue to examine; including privacy, security, and safety. We are leaving major consumer protection issues unresolved in this area and other areas. Earlier this month, in Chicago, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which included provisions that I worked on to include and improve the safety of children's toys. Advocates there discussed how more work needs to be done to ensure that children's toys are safe. Someone mentioned how smart toys are becoming more and more available, and questions were raised: Are these smart toys able now to track our kids and where they are? So, the technologies have changed the safety of toys, and we have to be sure that we are looking at that. Our anger over misuse of consumer data has been bipartisan, but we have not yet come together on solutions. I am hopeful that we will be able to change that in the coming months. As many Members of this body are aware, I have introduced the Secure and Protect America's Data Act, which I believe is a good starting point to begin discussion. I continue to urge my Republican colleagues to bring their ideas to the table so we can work together to find common ground. American consumers deserve action. For now, I am pleased to move forward on legislation where we have reached consensus like this. I look forward to continuing our cooperation on this legislation as it moves to full committee in the weeks ahead. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr Speaker, I rise today to honor the distinguished career of Jonathan Lavin. After 45 years of dedicated service in the field of aging, Jon will be retiring as President and CEO of AgeOptions, the suburban Cook County Area Agency on Aging, on October 31st. Jon Lavin is a leader, innovator, advocate, and a mentor who has trained many advocates to fight for the needs of seniors, including Kris Sadur and Maribeth Stein who went on to work in my district office helping constituents. As the former executive director of the Illinois State Council of Senior Citizens and as a member of Congress, I am one of many who have learned from Jon. He is my friend, and I will miss working with him as he steps down from his current role. Jon combines serious policy knowledge with a commitment to service and making real improvements in people's lives. Jon earned a master's Degree in Public Administration and a bachelor's Degree in Government from the American University in Washington, D.C. After working for the City of Chicago Department on Aging for five years, he went on to spend the next 40 years shaping AgeOptions to be what it is today; one of the most respected Area Agencies on Aging in the country. His oversight of a staff of 40 and coordination of grants and contracts to more than 45 different community agencies, have enabled AgeOptions to serve 523,000 older adults living in more than 130 communities. In Illinois, Jon Lavin is the go-to person when it comes to identifying the needs of seniors and then working to meet them. Some of the positions he has held are: Vice President and Legislative Committee Chair for the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging, past Board Director of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and Co-Chairman of the 2015 and 2017 American Society on Aging Annual Conference in Chicago. He was a delegate to the 1995 and 2005 White House Conferences on Aging, former member of the National Council on Aging Board of Directors, and former President of the Illinois Coalition on Aging. In his mission to continually advocate for the most vulnerable older adults in the region, he has pioneered many innovative programs. Those include the care coordination units to assure appropriate care planning for the frailest older adults, one of the original demonstration programs to protect older adults from abuse and neglect, the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program created to protect Medicare beneficiaries against fraud and abuse, and the development of the first long-term care ombudsman program in the region. As a true advocate, Jon has promoted the need for public and provider educational outreach and greater access to state and federal benefit programs. His administration of programs like the Red Tape Cutters Program and BenefitsCheckUp have provided millions of dollars in program benefits for eligible older adults and persons with disabilities. AgeOptions also leads the renowned Make Medicare Work Coalition (MMW), which works with partner agencies to educate and explain the intricacies of health insurance and Medicare, as well as Medicaid's critical health and long-term care benefits for seniors. Jon's commitment to providing support for caregivers led to the creation of the National Family Caregiver Support program in the Older Americans Act to ensure that family support givers were recognized and funded. The talent of Jon Lavin has not gone unnoticed. He received the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging's Excellence in Leadership Award in 2017 and Distinguished Director Award in 1992. He is the 1994 recipient of the Phyllis Pinkerton Award for Leadership in Advocacy and Make Medicare Work Coalition recognized him at their April Summit for his dedicated service. In May, Metropolitan Asian Family Services presented him with its 2018 Community Service Award for his ``dedicated, continued support and advocacy on behalf of the ethnic elderly population through various public benefit programs.'' I invite my colleagues to join me in honoring Jon Lavin for the work he has done for the older adults of suburban Cook County. I am confident that Jon will continue to put his passion and his experience to use in advocating for older Americans and their families. I thank him for his invaluable service and wish him the best of everything in his future endeavors.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Keith Kelleher, one of the greatest organizers I have ever seen, for his hard work and dedication as he retires on September 14, 2018. Keith's lifelong commitment to organizing for social and economic justice has improved thousands of lives and created fair work environments and policies that will continue to give workers good wages, health care, and safe work environments. Keith Kelleher was the President of the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois/Indiana/Missouri/Kansas since its creation in April 2008 until April 2017. He was a field organizer, Lead Organizer, and Head Organizer of Legacy Local 880 in Chicago, and Head Organizer of United Labor Unions Local 222 in Detroit prior to that. In his 39 years of work as a labor and community organizer, Keith pioneered the organization of fast food, home care, child care and other low-wage workers--growing Legacy Local 880 from just seven members in 1983 to more than 70,000 members by 2008, and growing SEIU HCIIMK from 83,000 members in 2008 to more than 92,000 members by 2014; and winning living wages and first-ever healthcare for tens of thousands of Illinois workers. Keith was the Field Director of the national SEIU's ``Homecare Task Force'' from 1996-1998. He traveled, researched, and visited the homes of home care workers in more than ten states, beginning the work which led to the organizing of hundreds of thousands of home care workers across the country. Today, more than 600,000 home care and child care workers in more than fifteen states across the country are united in SEIU, fighting for a better standard of living for themselves and their families, and joining with nursing home and hospital workers to become a national movement for quality care and quality jobs. Keith Kelleher was a founder and leader in the national SEIU Homecare Council, which was composed of leaders of over 15 local unions. He was a board member and then Vice-President of the SEIU Illinois State Council, which grew from 70,000 to over 120,000 members during his years of service. As an organizer, Keith Kelleher trained hundreds of rank and file leaders and organizers over his career. He helped found the Helen Miller Member Education and Training Center (METC) which has trained thousands of Homecare and Child Care workers, as well as helping to found the SEIU HCIIMK Homecare and Child Care Health Trust, which brought first-time health care to more than 15,000 home and child care workers. His conviction, integrity and foresight helped initiate several grassroots organizing initiatives, like the Grassroots Collaborative ``Fight for $15'' and ``United Working Families.'' He was a founder and leader of the ``Chicago Jobs and Living Wage Campaign'' and the ``Big Box Living Wage Campaign'' from the 1990's to the 2000's, which led to increases in the Chicago and Illinois minimum wage and benefited hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Chicago and Illinois workers. In the 1990's, as a State Representative in Springfield, I was honored to work with Keith on legislation to raise the wage of state- employed home care workers in a campaign dubbed ``Give Me Five,'' a $5 an hour minimum wage. I was indelibly inspired by the heroic women of Local 880 who, along with Keith, taught me to never give up! Rising to the top of his union, Keith was elected as an SEIU International Executive Board Vice-President in June 2008, a position he held until 2017. In recognition of his historic accomplishments as a visionary, organizer and labor movement leader, I rise today to offer my heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to Keith Kelleher for all he has done to improve the jobs and living conditions of thousands and thousands of people and to provide hope to millions more. I thank Keith, and best of luck to him in his retirement from SEIU. My hope is that I will continue to see him leading in the ongoing struggle.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, Beatrice Shapiro Lumpkin came roaring into the world in 1918 in New York City, the daughter of Russian immigrants. An activist for social justice from her earliest days, Bea credits her parents with teaching her the importance of collective action in the face of social injustice, a principle that has guided her life. In the 1930s, Bea threw herself feet first into the social and political struggles transforming the nation during the Great Depression. She attended rallies and stood on street corners denouncing Hitler and the wave of fascism gripping Europe. She participated in the 1930 National Hunger Protest that saw one million unemployed people descend on their state capitols demanding relief. Bea joined the fight for unemployment insurance and Social Security--all before she graduated from high school in 1934. Bea enrolled in Hunter College, a free college for women where she studied chemistry. At just 18, she took time off from school to accept the challenge of organizing New York's laundry workers, a campaign that resulted in 30,000 people (mostly women) organized under the newly- formed Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO). Bea moved to Buffalo in 1942 where she married and had two children, Carl and Jeanleah. She and her husband amicably divorced and Bea went to work for Western Electric. Bea still found time to organize a Wallace for President Committee in support of Progressive Party Candidate Henry Wallace's bid for the presidency. At a fundraiser for Wallace, Bea met her partner and the love of her life Frank Lumpkin. As an interracial couple, they encountered many hard looks and racial slurs. The two married in 1949 and moved to Gary, Indiana, where they had two more children, Paul and John. Bea and Frank were an impressive team. When they discovered that the septic tanks in their predominantly African-American neighborhood had contaminated the water wells, they organized their neighbors and launched a seven-year battle that won them safe drinking water. In 1962, Bea and Frank moved to Chicago, where for decades they were involved in every civil rights struggle--and there were many. They joined the fight for fair housing, against lynching, and against segregation. Bea began her career in education at age 47 when she became a Chicago Public School teacher. She later became an assistant math professor at Malcolm X College, publishing numerous groundbreaking books on the multicultural roots of mathematics and science. To this day, she is an active member of the Chicago Teachers Union, never missing a rally, always fighting for the rights of teachers and their students who deserve a quality education. In 1983, Harold Washington, former Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman, ignited the hopes and dreams of Chicagoans across the city when he ran for and won election as mayor. Bea and Frank were on the frontline of the campaign and remained committed supporters throughout his administration. That same year, the Republican Governor of Illinois proposed a budget that slashed funding for basic human needs. Bea and Frank responded to the call to join the Crisis March to Springfield. They walked 200 miles to the state Capitol with a group organized by Illinois Public Action, stopping for meetings in small towns, talking to the media as they went, and being met for the last mile by more than one thousand supporters. The Governor capitulated and the cuts were restored. As the organizer of that march, I had the opportunity to begin a never-ending friendship with Bea and with Frank that lasted until he died. Bea wrote many books, but her most acclaimed is Always Bring a Crowd: The Story of Frank Lumpkin Steelworker, that chronicles Frank's battle against Wisconsin Steel. On March 28, 1980, Wisconsin Steel closed its plant with no notice. Three thousand workers lost their jobs, their last paycheck, their benefits and their pensions. With Bea at his side, Frank formed the Save Our Jobs Committee. Their fight would last 17 years and win those workers $19 million. Bea participated in the formation of the Coalition of Labor Union Woman in 1974, remains involved in the organization, and continues to mentor young trade union sisters. To this day, Bea remains active on the national and local stage. She is an activist member of the Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans, fighting to protect and expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. She is a familiar face at demonstrations, peace vigils, and rallies. She has joined countless picket lines including in front of laundries, as she did as a young organizer, still fighting for workers' rights. By example, Bea Lumpkin has demonstrated how one person's passion for social justice can transform families, communities and societies. For the last one hundred years, Bea has devoted her life to improving the condition of others, from exploited laundry workers in New York City to unemployed Steel workers in Chicago, from union women fighting for equality in the workplace to seniors demanding affordable health care. It's impossible to feel cynical about the potential of ordinary people to shape history when one thinks about the indelible mark Beatrice Lumpkin has had on so many lives. Her relentless and passionate pursuit of justice has inspired me to be a better person and fills me with hope for the future.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, in the 1930s, Bea threw herself feet first into the social and political struggles transforming the nation during the Great Depression. She attended rallies and stood on street corners denouncing Hitler and the wave of fascism gripping Europe. She participated in the 1930 National Hunger Protest that saw one million unemployed people descend on their state capitols demanding relief. Bea joined the fight for unemployment insurance and Social Security--all before she graduated from high school in 1934. Bea enrolled in Hunter College, a free college for women where she studied chemistry. At just 18, she took time off from school to accept the challenge of organizing New York's laundry workers, a campaign that resulted in 30,000 people (mostly women) organized under the newly- formed Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO). Bea moved to Buffalo in 1942 where she married and had two children, Carl and Jeanleah. She and her husband amicably divorced and Bea went to work for Western Electric. Bea still found time to organize a Wallace for President Committee in support of Progressive Party Candidate Henry Wallace's bid for the presidency. At a fundraiser for Wallace, Bea met her partner and the love of her life Frank Lumpkin. As an interracial couple, they encountered many hard looks and racial slurs. The two married in 1949 and moved to Gary, Indiana, where they had two more children, Paul and John. Bea and Frank were an impressive team. When they discovered that the septic tanks in their predominantly African- American neighborhood had contaminated the water wells, they organized their neighbors and launched a seven-year battle that won them safe drinking water. In 1962, Bea and Frank moved to Chicago, where for decades they were involved in every civil rights struggle--and there were many. They joined the fight for fair housing, against lynching, and against segregation. Bea began her career in education at age 47 when she became a Chicago Public School teacher. She later became an assistant math professor at Malcolm X College, publishing numerous groundbreaking books on the multicultural roots of mathematics and science. To this day, she is an active member of the Chicago Teachers Union, never missing a rally, always fighting for the rights of teachers and their students who deserve a quality education. In 1983, Harold Washington, former Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman, ignited the hopes and dreams of Chicagoans across the city when he ran for and won election as mayor. Bea and Frank were on the frontline of the campaign and remained committed supporters throughout his administration. That same year, the Republican Governor of Illinois proposed a budget that slashed funding for basic human needs. Bea and Frank responded to the call to join the Crisis March to Springfield. They walked 200 miles to the state Capitol with a group organized by Illinois Public Action, stopping for meetings in small towns, talking to the media as they went, and being met for the last mile by more than one thousand supporters. The Governor capitulated and the cuts were restored. As the organizer of that march, I had the opportunity to begin a never-ending friendship with Bea and with Frank that lasted until he died. Bea wrote many books, but her most acclaimed is Always Bring a Crowd: The Story of Frank Lumpkin Steelworker, that chronicles Frank's battle against Wisconsin Steel. On March 28, 1980, Wisconsin Steel closed its plant with no notice. Three thousand workers lost their jobs, their last paycheck, their benefits and their pensions. With Bea at his side, Frank formed the Save Our Jobs Committee. Their fight would last 17 years and win those workers $19 million. Bea participated in the formation of the Coalition of Labor Union Woman in 1974, remains involved in the organization, and continues to mentor young trade union sisters. To this day, Bea remains active on the national and local stage. She is an activist member of the Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans, fighting to protect and expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. She is a familiar face at demonstrations, peace vigils, and rallies. She has joined countless picket lines including in front of laundries, as she did as a young organizer, still fighting for workers' rights. By example, Bea Lumpkin has demonstrated how one person's passion for social justice can transform families, communities and societies. For the last one hundred years, Bea has devoted her life to improving the condition of others, from exploited laundry workers in New York City to unemployed Steel workers in Chicago, from union women fighting for equality in the workplace to seniors demanding affordable health care. It's impossible to feel cynical about the potential of ordinary people to shape history when one thinks about the indelible mark Beatrice Lumpkin has had on so many lives. Her relentless and passionate pursuit of justice has inspired me to be a better person and fills me with hope for the future.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship of The Village Press, founded in 1903 by Frederick W. Goudy in Park Ridge, Illinois. Goudy modeled his Village Press venture on the world-famous ideals of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, inspired by Nature and expressed through artful, traditional, hand-wrought crafts. Goudy's publication of the William Morris essay, Printing, was awarded prizes at the 1904 World Exhibition in St. Louis, Missouri. The Village Press also produced The Door in the Wall & Other Stories by H. G. Wells, Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, and more than 160 other literary works. In 1947, the United States Library of Congress held a retrospective exhibition of the work of Frederick W. Goudy and The Village Press, which received critical acclaim. The Village Press was extraordinary due to Frederick Goudy's legendary typeface design. Typefaces have distinct personalities that help convey ideas, just as images and words do. The handsome, hand- forged elegance of typefaces designed by Frederick Goudy earned international fame. Many of Goudy's more than 100 magnificent typefaces are still in popular use today, including Copperplate Gothic, Californian, Italian Old Style and Goudy Old Style. Frederick Goudy remains America's superstar designer of the shapes that dress our words. His designs bridge the gap between the print and digital ages with an elegance and energy that are eloquent--and timeless.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, like so many of my colleagues, I rely on Judy Schneider of the Congressional Research Service. A long-time Hill staffer with 42 years of Congressional experience, she is a valued source of guidance and trusted source of information. Tomorrow, Judy will receive the Congressional Management Foundation's first Staff Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award, and I can think of no one more deserving of that honor. Judy literally wrote the book on Congressional procedures--The Congressional Deskbook--which she co-authored with Michael Koempel. In addition to giving us this written reference guide, Judy is always available to give personal guidance. Her knowledge and her creativity are both invaluable and legendary. When I got to Congress, one of the first things I did was reach out to Judy to train my staff and me. She taught us how to use sometimes arcane rules and procedures to get things done. Whenever we had a question about committee or floor procedures or wanted to know about Congressional precedent, we called Judy Schneider. We still do today. Judy is always available to answer our questions--and to let us know the questions we should have been asking, then answer those as well. Throughout her career, Judy has served to help all of us on the Hill and many off the Hill understand how Congress was designed to work, how it actually works and how we could make it work better. Her commitment to public service, her love of the institution and its people, and her willingness to share her gifts are evident. Judy is valued and a valuable resource, and she is also my friend. I congratulate Judy on winning the Democracy Award, and thank her for all the help she's given me and so many others. I look forward to benefitting from her wisdom for years to come.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw my colleagues' attention to the Out of Reach 2018 study recently issued by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). The findings of this report are sobering, although perhaps not shocking: in no state, county, or metropolitan area in the United States can a full-time minimum wage worker afford a modest two-bedroom rental home, without spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent alone. Furthermore, there are only 22 counties nationwide where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford a one-bedroom rental home. According to the study in the Chicago area I represent, an employee, working 40 hours per week, would need to earn at least $22.69 per hour to afford a simple two-bedroom rental home. Today, a worker earning Illinois' minimum wage of $8.25 must put in 99 hours of work per week to afford rent and have enough left over for other necessities. At the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a worker would have to put in, at least 122 hours per week--the equivalent of three full-time jobs--to reasonably afford rent at the fair market price. Think about the impact on individuals and families. The NLIHC reports that many low-income renters are forced to settle for substandard rental housing options, where property maintenance is not a priority of property owners. Even still, many Americans are forced to spend more than half of their limited incomes exclusively on rent, leaving them without enough resources to pay for essentials such as child care, health care, or transportation. Family life takes a hit when mothers and fathers must work so many hours away from their homes, often leaving their children alone. What purpose does it serve to create more and more minimum-wage jobs, if Americans must to work two or three of them just to be able to afford a place to sleep? According to this study, not only do minimum-wage working Americans feel the burden of the high housing cost, so too do senior citizens and those with disabilities living within our communities. The NLIHC study found that 71 percent of extremely low-income households spend more than half of their incomes on housing alone. Persistent underfunding has resulted in 3 out 4 low-income households, eligible to receive federal aid, to be left unassisted. Now, as the FY2019 appropriations process moves forward, think about what we can do to help address this crisis. Not only do we need to reject the Trump Administration's budget cuts which, according to the report, ``would, if enacted, lead to the largest reduction in affordable housing and community development investments in decades'' and result in the loss of rental assistance for 200,000 families. Instead, we should increase funding for Housing Choice Vouchers, the national Housing Trust Fund, public housing and project-based rental assistance. And, of course, we need to replace the $7.25 federal minimum wage with a living wage by passing H.R. 15, the Raise the Wage Act. I want to congratulate the National Low-Income Housing Coalition for giving us such critical information about how the inadequacy of the federal minimum wage, coupled with the unaffordability of housing, is creating day-to-day crises for millions of Americans. We can solve those crises by investing in housing and providing workers with a better deal and better wages.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my dear colleague and friend from New York for holding this moment so that we can all speak out. Like so many of my fellow Americans, I have absolutely been distraught the last several days, many days. Many days crying. We are getting hundreds of calls to my office here in Washington, my office in the district. Many of those people are actually crying as they watch what is happening to children. I have to tell you that, in my life--and I am a mother and a grandmother and, for the last 20 years, a Member of this United States Congress--I have never seen such state-sponsored cruelty, state- sponsored child abuse that we are seeing right now. There really isn't any other word for it. Child abuse. The President of the United States has announced some sort of a so- called improvement, trying to fool an enraged Nation into thinking that they have reversed course on this issue of children coming, with their parent, across the border. In reality, the President's executive order enables the indefinite incarceration of immigrant families and has absolutely no plan to reunite babies who were ripped from their families, ripped from the arms of their parents. There are children who will still be in cages, Mr. Speaker. Frankly, I can't stand it. I wonder if you can stand it, Mr. Speaker. I am the daughter of immigrants. Neither of my parents was born here in the United States of America. They came here because Jews were being persecuted in Russia, and they fled here. They were able to get to this country. They were helped to be resettled in the city of Chicago by the Salvation Army, for whom I am ever grateful in my life. My grandfather made it by getting a horse and wagon, getting up before dawn and loading up the wagon with vegetables, and going through the alleys of Humboldt Park in Chicago and schlepping bags of potatoes over his shoulder, up stairs, and into apartments. He and my grandmother--who made clothes for all the children, including my mother--sent four children to college, because they worked so hard to fulfill the dream of taking care of their children and having a better life. The parents who are fleeing across this border are desperate. They are leaving domestic abuse, abuse from gangs threatening the lives of their children, sometimes leaving some children behind and taking the ones that they can across this border, because they believed that they could seek asylum in this country. And that was the rule, that is the law, until the Attorney General of the United States, directed by the President, said: No, we are no longer considering a right of asylum for people who are victimized by domestic abuse or gang abuse. No, not anymore. We are going to arrest them. We are going to put them in jail. Now understand, I bet you--we haven't talked about this--that many of these children are not well, or their parents are not well, because this was a journey across countries, often walking for mile after mile after mile--dehydration, lack of proper nutrition--and now confined in places, separated from their parents. You have the children in one place and the parents in another place--in jails, essentially, and in cages for the children. What happens if there is a sickness that could pass across these children? If a child dies, will we know? Will we be told? Many times, they try to keep even Members of Congress out of seeing exactly what is going on. Some of my colleagues--God bless them--have been able to visit and see. How come there are so few images? Because you can't even take your phone in there to take pictures of what is going on. What do we know about the reality of the life of these children, the suffering of these children, the screaming of these children, that is now on the cover of Time magazine? I am telling you, this is not the United States of America. Shame, shame on President Trump; shame on congressional Republicans for their heartless, radical immigration agenda; and shame on anyone who is silent in the face of this abuse of children. People are heartbroken, and now they have to rise up and say no to this. Mr. Speaker, I understand that there were mothers and children today at ICE in New York protesting. We need to see more of that.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, what do you call a country that institutionalizes child abuse? Tragically, today you call that country the United States of America. We have heard the children screaming. We have seen the images of children being told to go to sleep in cages. We know that children have been ripped from the breasts of nursing mothers and taken away, maybe never to be found to be reunited again. As a mother, as a grandmother, I can't stand it. Madam Speaker, can you stand it? Can this country stand it? What happens to the soul of America when we do this to children? These parents have come with their children, fleeing violence; thinking they are coming to the land of the free, the home of the brave; thinking that they are going to be able to get asylum here in the United States of America or at least a chance to get asylum here and to be safe, finally, with their children. Instead, they are put in jail. They are put in prison. I am here today with Bruce and Felix, children whose parents are in the gallery. They will go home tonight and sleep in a comfortable bed while thousands of children are put to sleep in cages. I say to you, Mr. President: You can end this. This is your decision. Please, for the sake of our country, for the sake of the children, for the sake of families, end this now.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 262. personal explanation

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, too many Americans feel that Washington is out of touch with their priorities. They feel that too few people have too much influence. Americans want the culture of corruption cultivated by rich lobbyists and massive corporations to end. Look no further than Big Pharma, the pharmaceutical companies. Since 1998, they have spent $4 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions. They employ 1,400 lobbyists, three lobbyists for every Member. No wonder the system seems rigged against commonsense solutions to lower drug prices. Americans are getting a raw deal when big money controls politics. Democrats offer A Better Deal for our democracy: a bold, comprehensive program to bolster our Nation's ethics laws, overhaul our campaign finance system, and create more transparency and accessibility. Americans deserve a government that works for them. They deserve A Better Deal. I want to acknowledge Mimi Quin, with me today as part of Foster Youth Shadow Day.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed in its current form.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, this that I am proposing today would be the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended, and this amendment would offer a more targeted approach to improve FDA's expanded access program that allows patients access to experimental drugs that can possibly save their lives, which is the goal of all of us. The FDA ensures that expanded access requests are safe, and it approves nearly 100 percent of all the requests that are made, and most in a matter of hours, if necessary. The right-to-try legislation we are considering today presents a huge risk to patients and is much worse than the House bill we passed in March, as our ranking member explained. If this bill is so good, why are 104 patient groups--these are the groups that represent the sick and dying people--opposed? And PhRMA, the big pharmaceutical companies, are not supportive because this gives open license to snake oil salesmen. This bill exposes far more patients to serious risks through a dangerous and unnecessary pathway for experimental treatment. FDA Commissioner Gottlieb noted this legislation is not limited to patients with terminal illness anymore: ``We are certainly going to be exposing patients with potentially less severe conditions to a risk.'' It is troubling that, in some States, patients using an investigational drug can lose their hospice coverage and, in other States, that they can be denied home care. These are the very people who need this care. Why should we put more patients at risk when the current process does work? FDA already approves, as I said, nearly 100 percent of the requests for experimental therapies through the expanded access program. If a person is denied treatment, it is because the manufacturer will not provide it. It also isn't going about giving the terminally ill hope. If that were true, then why would these 104 patient groups, including the American Cancer Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Vietnam Veterans of America also oppose this bill? The main reason that this bill is being pushed is to remove FDA oversight of the safety and effectiveness of our drugs. It allows manufacturers to serve as the gatekeeper and protector of patients. It opens the door for bad actors to prey on people desperate to save their lives or the lives of their children. Imagine if someone like Martin Shkreli, the infamous pharmaceutical bad actor, promised a cure to save a child's life provided that the parents pay whatever price he might charge, under this bill, FDA would play no role in determining if that drug were safe and effective. Bad actors do exist, and this Republican bill gives them the opportunity to prey on desperate people who are looking for any treatment that might help to save their lives. Unlike S. 204, this motion to recommit is not based on the false premise that the FDA approval is a barrier to investigational treatments; rather, it provides clarification of the liability and how FDA will utilize clinical outcomes. With this motion to recommit, the FDA would provide manufacturers guidance to clarify how FDA will consider clinical outcomes associated with treatments under expanded access when making a decision about whether or not the drug should be granted full approval. It also provides transparency as to how many patients are making expanded access requests and how often these requests are granted or denied by the FDA and manufacturers. It also offers to provide manufacturers or sponsors liability protection if they comply with the requirements of the expanded access program. I believe that these legislative fixes facilitate patient accessing of experimental treatments while ensuring critical FDA oversight to protect public health. In conclusion, patients already have the right to try. Rather than creating an unnecessary pathway that puts patients at risk by allowing the sale of snake oil, I would urge my colleagues to join the over 100 patient groups, organizations that care about their neighbors and their friends and people who have these diseases, in support of the expanded access program. These targeted improvements are one way to achieve that goal, so I urge my colleagues to support my motion to recommit and oppose the dangerous Republican proposal. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs are forcing families to make impossible choices every day. No one in America should have to decide between putting food on the table and paying for the lifesaving medication their children need, but pharmaceutical corporations will keep raising their prices for one simple reason: because they can. There are a number of things that we can do, and number one is negotiate prescription drug prices under Medicare; number two, shed light on the pharmaceutical corporations' drug pricing system; number three, end patent system abuse by eliminating tactics that thwart competition; number four, allow safe importation of prescription drugs from other countries; and number five, ensure access to affordable drugs through fair trade agreements. Lukewarm pharma-friendly approaches just won't work. Failing to take truly meaningful action could mean the difference between life and death.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. First, the Republicans passed a tax scam that blows a $2 trillion hole in the budget and gives 83 percent of its tax cuts to the wealthiest among us and corporate CEOs. Then they offer a budget that would fill that gap by cutting more than $2 trillion in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and even programs like Meals on Wheels. And now, they want to amend our Constitution to require a balanced budget. We know how the Republicans plan to balance the budget--on the backs of seniors. We have seen this movie before--budget after budget that cuts Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; budgets that leave seniors without their earned benefits or access to long-term care; budgets that privatize the Veterans Administration and Medicare; providing vouchers and not health benefits; that raise the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security; that cap and slash Medicaid, the largest source of long-term care. And no wonder seniors groups are raising the alarm. Under this resolution, the AARP says: ``Social Security and Medicare would cease to provide a predictable source of financial and health security in retirement.'' The Alliance for Retired Americans calls it ``irresponsible'' and ``extremely harmful to older Americans.'' The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare says it ``would force severe cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other vital Federal programs.'' The Strengthen Social Security Coalition says: ``We regard a vote for the balanced budget amendment as a vote to cut Social Security, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.'' When Paul Ryan announced his retirement yesterday, he said before he leaves, he hopes that he is going to be able to go after these retirements and entitlements and cut them: Social Security and Medicare. This has already been announced. This is the future if we let it happen. We need to vote ``no.''

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his generosity and time. I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that I rise in opposition to H.R. 5247 because it creates a dangerous back door for modern-day snake oil salesmen, a back door around the FDA approval process for people who may or may not be preying on desperate people, and it ignores that there actually is a safe pathway for terminally ill patients to get treatment. This bill failed to pass last week and it should fail again. It is a harmful policy that both Republican-and Democratic-appointed former FDA Commissioners concluded there is ``no evidence'' that this bill ``would meaningfully improve access for patients, but would just remove the FDA from the approval process and create a dangerous precedent that would erode protections for vulnerable patients,'' the most vulnerable patients. People whose lives are in danger feel that they will try anything, and there are people out there who will prey on that. This bill denies patients what they really need, which is safe and effective treatments. This bill strips away important safeguards in the name of helping patients, but it does not, and that is why 78 patient groups and doctors, groups like the American Cancer Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, oppose this bill. In total, there are now 110 groups opposing this bill. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Congressional Record a multipage list of opponents to this bill. Groups Opposed to Right To Try Legislation ADNP Kids Research Foundation; AIDS Action Baltimore; Alliance for Aging Research; Alliance for Regenerative Medicine; American Academy of Neurology; American Association of Justice; American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; American Lung Association; American Society of Clinical Oncology; American Syringomyelia and Chiari Alliance Project; Amyloidosis Support Groups; Association for Creatine Deficiencies; Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation; Biomarin; Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation; Breast Cancer Action; Bridge the Gap--SYNGAP Education and Research Foundation CancerCare; Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund; Charlotte and Gwenyth Gray Foundation to Cure Batten Disease. Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy; Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation; Congenital Hyperinsulinism International; CurePSP; Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Defeat MSA; The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation; The Disability Rights Legal Center; Dupl5q Alliance; Dysautonomia Foundation; Equal Access for Rare Disorders; Fight Colorectal Cancer; FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered; Former FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg; Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf; Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA); Friends of Cancer Research; Georgia State University College of Law; The Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders. Glutl Deficiency Foundation; The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation; Hemophilia Federation of America; Hematology/ Oncology Pharmacy Association; HLRCC Family Alliance; Hope for Hypothalamic Hamartomas; Hyper IgM Foundation, Inc.; International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Association; International Myeloma Foundation; International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation; International Society for Stem Cell Research; International Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF); The Isaac Foundation; Jack McGovern Coats' Disease Foundation; The LAM Foundation; The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Lymphoma Research Foundation; Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Association (LFS Association/LFSA); LUNGevity Foundation; Max Cure Foundation. M-CM Network; Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation; MitoAction; MLD Foundation; Moebius Syndrome Foundation; The MSA Awareness Shoe; Mucolipidosis Type IV Foundation; The Myelin Project; Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation; National Brain Tumor Society; National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship; National Comprehensive Cancer Network; National Consumers League; National Health Council; National MPS Society; National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation; National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD); National Patient Advocate Foundation; National Physicians Alliance; National PKU Alliance. National PKU News; National Women's Health Network; Neurofibromatosis Northeast; NYU Langone Health; Operation ASHA; Our Bodies Ourselves; PRP Alliance, Inc.; Prevent Cancer Foundation; Public Citizen; Rare and Undiagnosed Network (RUN); Sarcoma Foundation of America; Scleroderma Foundation; The Snyder-Robinson Foundation; Sofia Sees Hope; SSADH Association. Susan G. Komen; TargetCancer Foundation; Treatment Action Group; The Turner Syndrome Society; TMJA (Temporomandibular Joint Disorders patient organization); United Leukodystrophy Foundation; United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF); University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Veterans Health Council; Vietnam Veterans of America; VHL Alliance; Washington Advocates for Patient Safety; Woody Matters; Worldwide Syringomyelia & Chiari Task Force; Yale School of Public Health.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, it opens the door for bad actors to take advantage of terminally ill patients. It is the FDA's job to ensure that drugs are safe and effective, and we can't trust manufacturers to act as this gatekeeper. There is already a safe process for terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments. Under what is called the expanded access program, 99 percent of applications are approved. The expanded access program plays a vital safety role. I am very troubled by what can happen to patients in some States who undergo treatment from right-to-try companies. In 19 States, patients using an investigational drug could actually lose their hospice coverage; in 6 States, they could be denied home care coverage. These are the very people who are dependent on hospice and home healthcare, and this bill would cause them to lose that coverage. This is not a humane, patient-centered bill for people who are facing death; it is just a dangerous pathway for bad actors to exploit those very people. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 5247, and, again, I thank the gentleman for the opportunity to speak against this piece of legislation.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Since it was signed into law, Americans have relied on the ACA for access to quality, affordable healthcare; but Republicans have attacked Americans' healthcare at every turn. Last year, Republicans tried to pass TrumpCare, a bill that would have imposed a crippling age tax, raised out-of-pocket costs, and increased the number of uninsured Americans by 23 million. After the American people stopped TrumpCare in its tracks, Republicans went after the Affordable Care Act again in their tax scam. On top of that, the administration waged a persistent campaign to discourage people from enrolling in the ACA plans. Despite GOP sabotage, Americans still signed up for the Affordable Care Act. Americans want better, more affordable healthcare, and that is what Democrats offer: A Better Deal for better healthcare.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, Congressman Waters, for pulling this little surprise together. I thank Marcy Kaptur. It is so great to be able to stand on the floor of the House and laud one of our great, great Members on her great achievement of serving here for 36 years in the House of Representatives. She continues every day to bring her intelligence and persistence to issues from labor and working people to Ukraine. Her accomplishments are enormous. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She earned a BA and an MA, served in the White House, and now is the longest serving woman in Congress. Marcy has never forgotten her blue-collar roots. She knows the importance of unions in providing job security and good wages. She has focused on making sure that workers get their earned pension benefits. This is a big issue right now that she is leading the charge on. I feel, and have felt from the beginning, a special affinity, being a midwesterner and coming to this Congress with these Midwestern values: nothing fancy; it is just about working people who want a good life and deserve to get it. Marcy can match anybody with her understanding in the details of pension policy. She always stays focused on the fundamental goal of pensions, which is simply making sure that, after a life of hard work, women and men can retire with dignity and security, something that I am afraid is in too short supply today. Marcy is continuing to lead that battle. Marcy has been an expert on trade policy. I learned that early on in my tenure here in the House. On the 10th anniversary of NAFTA, Marcy, with the help of the Teamsters union, organized a visit and took a group of us first to the border city of El Paso, Texas, to look at and talk to people who had lost their jobs and had moved across the border. We then crossed the border to Ciudad Juarez, where we actually saw people living in the packing crates of the products they were working to manufacture at the maquiladoras. So, on both sides of the border, we saw the pain that was caused. On that trip, we went to Mexico City, talked to leaders, talked to union leaders and political leaders, government leaders. We also went to the city of Puebla and talked to people there. It was a really comprehensive trip that gave us a sense of what happens to people when they are not being considered when policies are being made. She continues today, as we renegotiate the NAFTA agreement and the administration works on that, to have input on what a really fair trade deal looks like--not just free trade, but fair trade--where it is not just the big corporations, but it is the workers in all the countries, in the United States of America and the workers in countries that we have trade agreements with, and that all the workers get a fair deal. Marcy fights for people who played by the rules, faithfully going to work every day and making their pension contributions. They are counting on her and us to fight for them and to fight for a middle class in this country to help people who are poor get to the middle class and stay there. Those people--our people--could not have a better champion in this United States House of Representatives, in this Congress, than Marcy Kaptur of Ohio. I love you, Marcy.

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, it opens the door for bad actors to take advantage of terminally ill patients. It is the FDA's job to ensure that drugs are safe and effective. We can't trust manufacturers to act as a gatekeeper. The important thing to know is there is already a safe process for terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments. Under the Expanded Access Program, 99 percent of applications are approved, and they are done in a speedy way. This process is not merely a rubber stamp. The FDA plays a vital role in ensuring these experimental treatments are safe. Even more important, in 19 States that have passed right-to-try laws, patients using an investigational drug can lose their hospice care; and in 6 States, they can be denied home healthcare. These are the very people who depend on hospice and home care, and they could lose those services. This is not a humane, patient-centered bill for people who are facing death. It is just a dangerous pathway for bad actors to exist. Let's go with the positive ability right now that we have. Ninety- nine percent of those desperate people looking for hope will get it from the Food and Drug Administration. So I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 5247.