Terri Sewell

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1135, to reauthorize the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation program. I am so grateful to Congressman Clyburn for his leadership over the years to strengthen and protect the Historic Preservation program on behalf of our Nation's HBCUs. He has been a tireless advocate on behalf of historic preservation of HBCUs, and I am honored today to join him in this effort. Mr. Clyburn has worked tirelessly during his time in Congress to preserve and protect our Nation's historic treasures and the legacies of those who came before us. Many of us have HBCUs in our district. They represent a steep history of student activism in the civil rights movement. Many of the buildings, sites, and historic records that exist on these campuses have existed for over a century and a half. In 1998, as a matter of fact, the GAO found that there were 712 historic buildings and sites on HBCU campuses. If we do not do more to protect and preserve the vestiges that remain, we will surely lose this important history. Tuskegee University is one university in my home State of Alabama, where Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and the Tuskegee Airmen all made their place in our Nation's history. Stillman College; Selma University; Concordia College; Miles College; Talladega College; Alabama A&M University; and Alabama State University, where my mother and father graduated, are Historically Black Colleges in the State of Alabama. At Talladega College, these funds were used to restore Foster Hall, which was erected for girls and teachers in 1869, and is the oldest dorm on that campus. This program has helped so many HBCUs in my State. The buildings were nearly destroyed 5 years ago, but the funds from the historic program were used to restore the buildings on Talladega's campus. When I think about my own district, the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama, at Miles College in Birmingham, students were leaders in the civil rights movement and led a selective buying campaign at local department stores and major retailers in 1963. Congress has recognized that we have a responsibility to be stewards of these great national resources since we first enacted grants to HBCUs for historic preservation in 1996. The program was then expanded in 2003, thanks to Mr. Clyburn and others. Historical buildings and sites at more than 60 HBCUs have benefited. If we continue making investments in this program, we can meet the dire historic preservation and restoration needs that remain at these threatened sites. We must not only know our history, but we must also protect our history. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to continue this important work by voting for this bill today to reauthorize the HBCU Historic Preservation program through 2024.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 325.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of President Trump's proposed budget for the fiscal year 2018, specifically those within K-12 education. The President's budget proposal aims to cut education spending by 13.5 percent. $9.2 billion dollars would be stripped from the federal education budget which would limit programs such as Title I, which provides targeted financial assistance to schools with high percentages of low-income students. The President's budget is narrowly focused on 10 percent of students enrolled in private and charter schools, while neglecting the 90 percent enrolled in public schools. My job as a Member of Congress is to vote and be a voice for the constituents in my home state of Alabama. This budget will implement, and promote unproven programs such as charter schools and vouchers which will only benefit 10 percent of the student population and threaten public schools in my district. This budget proposal will not only extract money from the public- school system, but will divert $1.4 billion dollars from already struggling public schools to unaccountable charter schools. Due to the lack of transparency within the charter schools and voucher system, it would appear as though school choice is a program that allows people to contribute to a charitable act to improve student's education. However, research has shown that the ``private'' schools that students would be sent to are often not accredited and the children's performance does not improve in these settings. Alabama has some of the lowest property taxes in the country and doesn't target any state and local funding to schools with a high need. For schools in low-income, rural districts like mine these disinvestments result in a heavy reliance on federal education dollars. President Trump's plan not only redirects money to private schools, but will also allow states more flexibility to control how local educational dollars are spent. This could be fatal for public schools across rural Alabama. The legacy I want to leave as Representative of the 7th Congressional District is to equip young people with the tools needed to succeed in the workforce. This is the chief reason I am concerned about the impact of the disinvestments in public schools and students proposed in President Trump's budget.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, our country is in the midst of a drug overdose epidemic that's devastating families and communities nationwide. Each day, 144 people die from drug overdose. Opioids kill more people than car accidents, and heroin kills more than all gun- related homicides. Recently, President Trump stated the opioid crisis ``is a crippling problem throughout the United States'' and vowed to ``expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted.'' After promising the American people that he would take action to alleviate this suffering, he endorsed a GOP health reform bill that would decimate mental health and substance abuse treatment for those most in need. Now, we all know about TrumpCare. We know the House version of the bill would cut more than $800 billion to Medicaid, cause 23 million Americans to lose their health insurance, and disproportionately hurt the same low- and middle-class voters in rural areas who helped elect him in order to give a massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans. And the Senate version, released today, is expected to have largely similar effects. Today, I want to focus on one particularly harsh way TrumpCare harms Americans and their families: It severely reduces access to critical mental health and substance abuse services for victims of this public health crisis, especially the 62 million Americans living in rural areas. Folks living in rural areas, including many of my constituents in Alabama, are older and sicker than the average American and have higher rates of premature death, which is largely driven by drug overdoses. More than one third of Alabamians live in rural areas and report poor mental health. What's worse, for every 11,000 of my constituents living in Wilcox County, there is only one mental health provider. Wilcox County is only one example of the mental health provider shortage in rural America. While the ACA didn't solve all of these problems, it made real progress towards increasing access to affordable and high-quality mental health and substance abuse services. It ensured that all individual and employer health plans covered therapist appointments, hospital visits, and medications. It banned lifetime and annual limits on the amount that health insurance companies would pay for critical mental health and substance abuse services. It capped out-of-pocket costs for these services, and finally, it ensured that no one would be discriminated against because they had pre-existing mental health or substance abuse conditions. Together, these reforms gave Americans suffering from this drug epidemic hope for lasting recovery. TrumpCare, rather than building on the successes of the ACA and strengthening treatment for the 22 million Americans suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders, wipe out access to life- saving health services for the families that need it most. The House version of the bill would allow states to eliminate requirements that health plans cover mental health and substance abuse services, and it would allow insurance companies to inflate prices for Americans who suffer from pre-existing conditions in certain states. As a result, the independent Congressional Budget Office has projected that individuals with a mental health or substance abuse history could be charged ``thousands'' more under TrumpCare than under the ACA. In addition to affecting the 175,000 Alabamians who purchased health insurance on the ACA marketplace, these cost hikes could extend to 1.6 million Alabamians with employer-sponsored health insurance. Republican ``solutions'' to these problems are drastically underfunded, partly in an effort to reduce the total cost of TrumpCare in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest executives and heirs in our country. As a demonstration of my Republican colleagues' priorities, they vetoed an introduced TrumpCare amendment that would mandate coverage for mental health and substance abuse services. To put it simply, more people will die from drug overdose if TrumpCare is passed. Instead of helping the rural voters who helped President Trump get into office, he betrayed them by supporting legislation that wipes out life-saving mental health and substance abuse treatments in order to cut taxes for Americans like him. TrumpCare will lead to more families torn apart by addiction, more out- of-home placements for children whose parents are suffering from this epidemic, and a larger burden on child welfare and foster care systems already at capacity. We have made real progress in combatting the opioid crisis in recent years, but our fight is not over. Regardless of partisan affiliation, we must ensure affordable and comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services for all Americans. Those who do not will have to answer to the grief-stricken families whose loved ones fall victim to this drug overdose epidemic.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of a critical piece of legislation, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. I am proud to sponsor this legislation and to be joined by my colleagues, Representatives Judy Chu, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and John Lewis. In March of 2015, I, alongside former Presidents Barack Obama and George Bush, both Republican and Democrat Members of Congress, and thousands of people from across the world marched over Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ``Bloody Sunday''. We honored great Americans like Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was brutally murdered for attempting to vote, Ms. Amelia Boynton Robinson and our fellow Congressman John Lewis, who were both bludgeoned for marching for their right to vote. Their sacrifices and courage paved the path for Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with overwhelming bipartisan support. As we reach the fourth anniversary of Shelby v. Holder, the landmark case that overturned and gutted a vital part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is clear that Americans' right to vote is under attack now more than ever. While people of color are no longer subject to irrational literacy tests, arbitrary grandfather clauses, or high poll taxes, the reversal of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act once again subjugates minorities to voter discrimination tactics. This section provided preclearance measures for states where voter discrimination has occurred. Section 4(b) required any changes of voting laws to first be cleared by the court in the determined states. Since Shelby v. Holder nullified this crucial part of the Voting Rights Act, 10 states have passed laws requiring photo identification to vote, and several more states now require government issued identification in order to cast a ballot. These identification laws have been proven to negatively affect minority and low-income voters disproportionately time and time again. Moreover, instead of working to enhance the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and working to protect the voting rights of all Americans, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable time and resources creating a commission to investigate the groundless claim that millions of people voted illegally in the last election. The creation of this commission demonstrates a clear disregard for the millions of disenfranchised minorities across America. My legislation, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, will effectively create a new coverage formula and provide updated preclearance procedures for states that have had 15 or more voting violations within the past 25 years. With the addition of this new formula, 13 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, 9 of which have already passed discriminatory voter identification laws, would be subject to federal oversight. The Voting Rights Advancement Act presents a clear solution to the problem of voter discrimination and helps ensure Americans of all races and socioeconomic statuses are able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote. Just as in 1965, we remain at a pivotal crossroads--the choice to give every American equal access to the ballot or to continue marginalizing and disenfranchising minorities and low-income communities. I urge my colleagues to take action and support the Voting Rights Advancement Act and not to let the bipartisan effort of previous Congresses be in vain. Congress must pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act and restore the right to vote to every American citizen.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for that response.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Davis for yielding me the time. At this time, I would like to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly). As we have discussed, H.R. 2866 requires HHS to identify reputable model licensing standards so that States can determine whether their current requirements are in accord. Is it your expectation that the National Association for Regulatory Administration's Model Family Foster Home Licensing Standards would be the kind of standards envisioned by the bill?

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Davis for yielding me the time. H.R. 2866, the Reducing Unnecessary Barriers for Relative Foster Parents Act, is a commonsense piece of legislation that has strong bipartisan support right here in the House. I want to especially thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker) who is joining me in introducing this bill. I want to thank him for his leadership on foster care and foster youth and again say thank you for looking for what is in the best interests of the most vulnerable children in our society. H.R. 2866 has been supported by not only bipartisan support here in the House but has the support of many foster care advocacy groups, including Generations United, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Mr. Speaker, we need to do everything in our power to make the foster care system family friendly, and H.R. 2866 takes an important step in that direction. By motivating States to update the foster care licensing regulations, we can reduce red tape and make it easier for family members to become foster parents. Research conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, academics, and advocacy groups all show that children experience better outcomes when they are in the care of family members compared to children in nonrelative care. When kids are placed with a relative like a grandparent, they experience fewer school changes, are less likely to reenter the foster care system, and are more likely to be adopted. Moreover, data shows that foster youth experience better behavioral and mental health outcomes, are more likely to report that they ``feel loved,'' and are more likely to stay connected with their communities. I want to again thank Representative Smucker from Pennsylvania for his leadership and sponsorship of this bill with me, as well as my Democrat and Republican colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee for unanimously supporting this legislation. I am encouraged to see that this body values our foster youth, and I hope we can continue to keep up the spirit of bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Davis for yielding. I want to give a big thanks to my friend and colleague, Representative Karen Bass of California. She is a true champion for our foster youth. I was happy to participate in her Foster Youth Shadow Day last month, which gave me the opportunity to meet with a constituent of mine that directly benefits from the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to host a foster child next year. I also want to voice my strong support for Representative Bass' bill, H.R. 2847, the Improving Services for Older Youth in Foster Care Act. The current Chafee Foster Care Independence Program plays an important role in our larger foster care system, and the services it provides should be extended to cover older youth up to the age of 23. I was able to hear firsthand from my foster youth shadow, Khadejah Moore, about the struggles that foster youth face when they age out of the system. These young adults are thrown into the real world with little to no support system. It is an incredibly frightening time for these young youth. But if we can extend the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program and also allow youth more time to use education vouchers, they have a better chance of having the opportunity to graduate college and successfully enter the workforce. This is an important, commonsense bill, and I want to thank both Representative Bass and Representative Faso for introducing this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2847.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on June 8th, I joined my colleague Rep. Lloyd Smucker, in introducing H.R. 2866--the Reducing Barriers for Relative Foster Parents Act. This bipartisan bill encourages states to update their licensing requirements for foster parents in order to ensure that relatives have the ability to become foster parents. Under current law, states have tremendous flexibility to set their own rules and guidelines for licensing foster homes. Unfortunately, many states have outdated regulations that make it difficult for family members to become foster parents. For example, some states fail to notify family members when relative children enter the foster care system. In other states, children can be removed from a family member's home and thrown into the foster care system if the relative adult does not have a separate bedroom for the child. H.R. 2866 would require that the Department of Health and Human Services create model licensing requirements. States then must either adopt the HHS requirements, or provide an explanation for why the licensing requirements are not ideal for the state. My home state of Alabama has updated, family-friendly licensing standards, so compliance with HHS's standards will be simple. However, families residing in states with antiquated standards would face fewer barriers when trying to become a foster parent. Many studies prove how beneficial placement with family members can be for foster children. According to Generations United, children in the care of family members experience higher stability, permanency, and positive mental health outcomes. Furthermore, allowing children to stay with their family members gives children the opportunity to maintain strong connections to their community. I was very pleased that my bill was unanimously supported in the Ways and Means Committee, and I look forward to its passage through the House this evening.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, on behalf of the men and women who have served our country, I want to apologize that the majority excluded our Nation's Veterans when they voted for Trumpcare. Make no mistake, Trumpcare, would disallow any veteran eligible for government healthcare from receiving a tax credit even if the veteran has an individual health plan. The majority had an opportunity to fix this but they chose to exclude Veterans so they could pass their bill through reconciliation. Veterans lost in the Majority's procedural gimmicks. Today, they are trying to fix this mess but it simply isn't enough. The underlying bill, Trumpcare, would only make health coverage less accessible and affordable for Veterans. Political expediency should never be used as an excuse to use Veterans as an afterthought. As others have mentioned, this bill is like adding new tires to a car you're sending to the junkyard. This bill does nothing to improve the inadequate tax credits under Trumpcare for all Americans, nothing to eliminate the age-tax in Trumpcare causing older Veterans to pay more, and nothing to protect Veterans when their state opts to waive essential health benefits or reinstate lifetime caps. The majority of House Republicans voted for Trumpcare, which caps and guts Medicaid by $800 billion. Trump proposes another $600 billion from Medicaid in his budget. Almost 2 million veterans and 660,000 veterans spouses rely on Medicaid for their health services. In my home state of Alabama, around 28,000 veterans are enrolled in Medicaid. According to a study by the Urban Institute, the rate of uninsured veterans fell by 42 percent between 2013 and 2015. States that expanded Medicaid saw a 34 percent increase in the number of Medicaid-enrolled veterans, whereas states that declined the expansion saw a 3 percent increase. In Alabama, percent about 13,000 uninsured Veterans would have qualified for health coverage had the state expanded. The President and the majority aim to cut Medicaid in all states, and therefore cap coverage and benefits to hundreds of thousands of Veterans across this country. Recalcitrance didn't work for Alabama and it will not work in the rest of the country. Now is the time to build on the progress the ACA made for our Veterans, not roll it back by dismantling coverage and access for millions of Veterans. Veterans deserve better than stale lip service.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to President Trump's misguided decision to withdraw America from the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement, which was negotiated and signed by President Obama, was a strong step in the right direction to combat climate change. The deal developed goals to reduce carbon pollution by increasing energy efficiency and investing in energy research and development. Joining Syria and Nicaragua, the United States is now one of three countries not participating in this groundbreaking pact of 195 nations. With this decision, President Trump has chosen to relinquish America's position as a leader in global environmental policy and thus, forfeits the United States from technological advancements and solar jobs that would drive our global economic growth. To retreat from the world stage gives other countries, such as China and Russia, the opportunity to gain universal influence. Moreover, President Trump's decision to break America's promise on energy commitment with no plan in place to reduce our carbon footprint jeopardizes our progress toward a more sustainable energy future. Because of the lack of leadership in the White House, citizens across our nation must rely on city and state officials to lead their communities in an effort to combat climate change. More than 200 mayors from around the United States have joined the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda to adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement as well as strengthen local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I am proud to say that Birmingham Mayor William Bell has joined this initiative. Our constituents deserve a responsible energy strategy that meets our obligation to protect the environment for future generations. This strategy should also include a proposed plan to eradicate environmental injustice, an issue that affects many Americans today, including citizens of my district. For example, Perry County is a largely African American community in Alabama where coal ash from around the country is dumped. Time and time again, we see that communities of color, as well as the poor, are burdened with the negative health outcomes that stem from exposure to pollution and industrial waste. America deserves a President that will work to establish an energy policy that will position the United States as an energy independent country that also leads the world toward a sustainable future.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and legacy of Fairfield, AL, Fire Chief Kevin D. Sutton. Chief Sutton was a native of Birmingham, AL, who tragically passed in an auto accident on April 30, 2017. His seasoned leadership, engaging personality, and heart for his community will certainly be missed. Chief Sutton attended Birmingham public schools and was a 1981 graduate of Phillips High School. Upon graduation, he pursued higher education at Mississippi Valley State University on an academic and football scholarship. Chief Sutton would later receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Safety Administration from Athens State University. Chief Sutton served with the City of Fairfield, AL, for 23 years, the previous 13 years as Fire Chief. Prior to serving as Fire Chief, he served the city as a firefighter then as the city's Fire Marshal. Under his leadership, Fairfield Fire Department became an integral partner with the Fairfield community. Chief Sutton coordinated several programs in the city for seniors and children, including the annual ``Safety is Fun Day,'' which involves all city and private elementary schools in Fairfield. Chief Sutton also led the department's involvement in charitable works such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ``Boot Drive,'' which collects money for Jerry's Kids. Previously, Chief Sutton served on the Executive Committee of the State Fire Marshal's Association and was the past President of the Central Alabama Fire Chief's Association. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Alabama Fire Chief's Association, and was the immediate past president of the Board of Directors for Better Basics, a nonprofit that provides literacy intervention, enrichment programs, and educational opportunities for elementary and middle- school students throughout Alabama. Chief Sutton was also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Chief Sutton is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and daughters, Tabathia Norman, Karmen Patterson, and Taylor Sutton. On a personal note, I will also remember Chief Sutton's warm smile, generous heart and servant leadership. Although he left us too soon, his family should find comfort in the exemplary life he led. Chief Sutton made a tremendous impact on our community that will have a lasting significance. Chief Sutton will live on in the hearts and minds of the many people he touched. On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama, and this nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Fire Chief Kevin D. Sutton--an outstanding servant leader who faithfully served the Fairfield, AL community.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to an outstanding public high school in my district--the A.H. Parker High School Thundering Herd in Birmingham, AL. Parker High School has been at the cornerstone of education in the Birmingham community for nearly 117 years, preparing students for future leadership and life. During the school year of 1899, a few Negro citizens of Birmingham called a historical mass meeting to draw up a petition in which they would request the Board of Education establish a tax supported school for blacks. Dr. W. R. Pettiford, president of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank, a black-owned financial institution, and Mrs. B. H. Hudson, a cashier of that bank, were the leading supporters of the effort. The school officially opened as a high school for African-American children in the fall of 1900 with a freshman class of 19 students and one teacher. Arthur Harold Parker was appointed by the board to serve as the first principal. In 1939, Parker retired and the school was subsequently renamed in his honor. The school's first graduation was held June 3, 1904, at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church, which is now part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. Fifteen students received diplomas at the ceremony. In September 1910, the school moved to a temporary location--the Lane Auditorium--and began offering skills for women such as sewing, knitting, and child care. By that time the enrollment was about 100 students. Construction of a permanent facility began in 1923, and by 1929, the school had an industrial building, a library, and a gymnasium. By 1937, the school had an enrollment of over 2,700. The school continued to grow steadily to 3,761 students in 1946. Due to the large number, the school became known as the ``Largest High School for Negroes in the World.'' In 2004, acclaimed journalist Michele Norris, host of All Things Considered with National Public Radio, chronicled Parker's story in ``Parker High: Integration's Unfulfilled Promise,'' a look at the paradoxical effect integration had on all-black schools such as Parker. For Norris, the story is personal as her father and five uncles all attended Parker. Parker's current principal, Darrell Hudson, assumed leadership of the school in 2013. Principal Hudson is a veteran educator of the Birmingham and Montgomery, AL, public school systems, who truly believes all students can learn through hard work, determination, and the right educational environment. He is a graduate of Alabama State University and Auburn University of Montgomery. Principal Hudson is a faithful member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, and an active member with the Alabama State University National Alumni Association, as well as Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Principal Hudson was also recently appointed to the Board of Directors for his Alma mater, Alabama State University. Notable graduates of Parker include, among others, jazz music legends Sun Ra and Erskine Hawkins; Nell Carter, Tony award-winning actress; Oscar Adams, Jr., the first African American Alabama Supreme Court Justice; Arthur Shores, noted civil rights attorney; Alma Johnson Powell, wife of former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Eric Bledsoe, star NBA player with the Phoenix Suns; and the current Mayor of Birmingham, William A. Bell. On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama, and this nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing this outstanding educational institution and its 117-year commitment to public education.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, the GOP healthcare bill today marks a disappointing abdication of now more than 50 years of work to invest in the health care of our citizens. The bill strips coverage from at least 24 million Americans. WHAT A SHAME. This GOP bill is being rushed to passage without an updated CBO score. My Republican colleagues should be ashamed of themselves for playing such silly, political games with the health of the American people and 1/6th of the American economy. In my home state of Alabama, this GOP bill will exacerbate the cost of uncompensated care, which already exceeds $694 million annually in Alabama. Alabama's hospitals collectively would see an increase of more than $97 million (at least) in uncompensated care costs due to the coverage losses in this bill. This GOP bill will gut Medicaid, which is the single largest insurer for children in America. It is a lifeline for disabled and nursing home patients across my district and across this country yet this GOP bill slashes Medicaid by more than $800 billion. This GOP bill will be devastating to America's hospitals. Children's Hospital of Alabama, for example, is projected to lose $752 million in Medicaid revenues through 2026 under this bill. In 2018, the hospital would lose $1.4 million in uncompensated care costs. I am honored to represent UAB here in Congress, which is Alabama's largest employer and is set to lose $613 million in Medicaid revenues. Bad debt would increase by 90 million a year for the hospital. The CEO of UAB health, Dr. Will Ferniany, says the bill is ``bad for Alabama, bad for older people, bad for Alabama hospitals, and bad for the poor.'' The good, hard-working people of America have much to lose under this GOP bill. Our rural hospitals can absolutely NOT afford these cuts as this GOP bill will only worsen the rural hospital closure crisis. Almost 80 percent of rural hospital closures since 2010 have occurred in states that haven't expanded Medicaid under the ACA. As Representative of a state with one of the most bare-bones Medicaid programs in the country, I know full well that capping and cutting Medicaid is not the direction we want to go in. Our sacred responsibility to make strategic investments in the health of every American has the stark and immediate urgency of right and wrong. I urge my colleagues to vote against this harmful GOP bill, which will result in higher costs, less coverage, and fewer protections.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, as you may know, this week marks the end of the first 100 days of the Trump Administration. It's an important time to reflect on the legislative progress of a new President and the path forward for our country. Today, I'm disappointed to report that this President has broken every important promise that Candidate Trump made to the American people. As a Member of Congress, my top priority is to represent the best interests of my constituents. When leaders from either party, Republican or Democrat, propose REAL solutions to the challenges my constituents face, I want to work with them. So when President Trump said he had a plan to improve our healthcare system with more affordable ``insurance for everybody,'' I was ready to see what he had to offer. When President Trump promised to create 25 million jobs across the country, I wanted to see his plans on day one. When the President said he would restore a government by the people, I wanted to believe him. I am truly disappointed to report today that President Trump not only failed to follow through on any of his biggest promises, but he has failed to make any real effort to even address the big issues he promised to tackle. After 100 days in the White House, President Trump has not put forth a single job-creation bill. Instead of draining the swamp, President Trump has filled his cabinet with lobbyists and insiders. Instead of offering a healthcare plan to insure everybody, President Trump has proposed a plan that would eliminate insurance coverage for 24 million Americans. For Americans struggling to pay their bills or afford their health premiums, empty rhetoric is not going to cut it. Not when my constituents' health, their jobs, and their futures are on the line. In the state of Alabama, ten hospitals have closed in the past six years as residents struggle to afford care for themselves and their families. When it comes to healthcare reform, the stakes for my constituents could not be higher. But instead of following through on his promise of healthcare for everybody, President Trump has pushed a plan in Congress that asks my constituents to pay more for less. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that TrumpCare would increase premium costs in some of the counties in my district by thousands of dollars. That's not healthcare for everybody--that's healthcare for the privileged few. My district has a 10 percent unemployment rate. So when the President said he had a plan to create 25 million jobs over the next decade, the stakes, again, could not be higher. But rather than helping to find employment for those Americans who want to rejoin our workforce, President Trump's proposed budget slashes jobs training and guts funding for infrastructure programs. I come from a district where most constituents have never been to Washington, D.C. So when a candidate promises to bring their voice to our nation's capital, it means something. But instead of working to drain the swamp, President Trump is leading the least transparent administration since the days of Richard Nixon. Rather than opening up our democracy, President Trump has become the first President in decades to keep his tax returns hidden, leaving the public in the dark when it comes to any potential conflicts of interest. So what has President Trump's administration accomplished in its first 100 days in office? In his budget, President Trump has proposed cutting programs that seniors rely on like Meals on Wheels, and he has eliminated programs our rural areas depend on for infrastructure investment like the Appalachian Regional Commission. In his first 100 days, President Trump has put the programs and policies most important to working families on the chopping block. I want the President to deliver on his promises to increase employment and reduce the cost of healthcare for everyone. But what our nation has witnessed so far is an assault on working families and policies that undermine our core democratic values. Mr. Speaker, as we mark the President's first 100 days in office, I implore my colleagues to put aside the empty promises and actually work with Democrats to put forth smart and sensible legislation that moves our country forward and benefits all Americans. I truly hope that after 100 days of broken promises, this Administration will refocus its agenda on helping America's families rather than Washington's special interests. My constituents can't afford another three years of big talk and no action.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, for 7 years, our Republican colleagues have railed against the Affordable Care Act, but is this the best they can offer now: TrumpCare? The Republican bill, TrumpCare, is a bad deal for Americans, and it is a bad deal for Alabamians. By every matrix, cost, coverage, and care, it is a bad deal. On cost, TrumpCare will cost more and give us less. For Alabama hospitals, TrumpCare will mean a $97 million increase in uncompensated cost care, and it is an age tax for seniors. Seniors will pay five times more than the young for their health insurance. On coverage, TrumpCare will mean 24 million Americans and 243,000 Alabamians will lose their healthcare coverage. On quality of care, TrumpCare will mean that essential benefits will be lost: essential benefits like rehabilitative care, mental health, and preventive services. Mr. Speaker, what is clear, TrumpCare is not a healthcare bill. It is a tax-cut-for-the-wealthy bill--$600 billion in tax cuts. So I say to you, my Republican colleagues know what they are against, the Affordable Care Act. But what are they for? What are they for? I ask all of you.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for supporting this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it as well. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Chair, today I rise in support of bipartisan work to enhance recruitment and retainment strategies at VA medical centers. While we focus on strengthening the VA workforce, we must also focus on making sure the geographic diversity of our VA workforce is reflective of the veteran patient population and that rural populations are adequately represented. I thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for working with me on this critically important amendment and for their dedication to our Nation's veterans. My amendment is simple. It allows the Secretary to select eligible employees for the fellowship program who represent or service rural communities in order to alleviate the systemic burdens of rural healthcare workforce shortages for our Nation's veterans. In order to best serve our Nation's heroes from rural America, we must invest in training VA workers who understand the unique needs of rural America. This amendment would help ensure that veterans who are serviced by rural VAs have access to the most cutting-edge healthcare industry procedures and practices. My amendment also helps address an issue that is indicative of a larger systemic issue in rural America where healthcare workforce recruitment is a barrier to improved population health. Workforce shortages, especially in health care, permeate every aspect of rural life, aggregating already long driving distances and minimal access to care. There is significant evidence that increased recruitment and retention of professionals to underserved areas can exist if we recruit people from rural areas to come into our healthcare profession. To help address concerns of veterans' access to care, Congress established the Office of Rural Health within the VA in 2007. This office has done outstanding work over the years to recruit, train, and retain rural healthcare professionals. Everything we do in Congress in relation to the VA workforce must complement that work. Approximately 25 percent of our Nation's veterans live in rural communities and comprise nearly 11 percent of the adult rural population. Rural veterans account for 36 percent of all VA enrollees. 43 percent of rural veterans earn an annual income of less than $26,000, and more than 40 percent do not have access to broadband internet. This limits the accessibility of our rural veterans to online healthcare services. According to the Census, the rates of uninsurance, disability, poverty, and unemployment among veterans all increase as the levels of rurality increases. Four in ten have at least one service-connected disability. The Seventh Congressional District of Alabama is home to more than 36,000 veterans and over 5,000 VA employees at eight facilities. I visited with the VA staff at several of these facilities, and I am always impressed with the work that they do every day on behalf of our Nation's veterans. With all of the negativity surrounding our VA employees over the past several years, I want to take this opportunity to commend those public servants who rise every morning to help our veterans lead productive and healthy lives. I hope my colleagues, both urban and rural, will work with me to ensure that rural veterans thrive in their communities and rural Americans are included in this outstanding VA workforce recruitment bill. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to express my opposition to the GOP healthcare bill. On Monday, we received from the CBO a report that the House repeal bill will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 24 million in 2026. Fifty-two million Americans will be uninsured in 2026, which is more than ever before, and definitely more than the Affordable Care Act. The intentions here are clear. The bill's drafters are choosing to ration care for the elderly and the working class to fund tax cuts for the Nation's highest earners. Under the GOP bill, a 64-year-old, with an income of $26,000, will have to pay a net of $12,900 more each year for her coverage than she currently does. In addition to the disproportionate harm that this bill will do to seniors, it will also accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare trust fund by 3 years. Mr. Speaker, the GOP plan cuts $880 billion from projected Medicaid spending over the next decade, while providing almost $600 billion in tax cuts to the wealthy and to corporations. Sixty-four percent of the tax cuts would go to millionaires and billionaires, while an additional 20 percent would go to those making between $500,000 and $1 million. Mr. Speaker, less than 1 percent of my constituents make more than $200,000, so it would be irresponsible of me not to voice my concern for a bill that contradicts the interests of my constituents so blatantly. When I first got a copy of the bill less than 2 days before we marked it up in the Ways and Means Committee, I was left wondering if the bill was written to address our Nation's healthcare challenges or just to relieve the wealthy few of their tax obligations. The drafters of this bill made the disappointing choice to favor value tested and failed trickle-down economics over investing in a stronger, healthier America. Large numbers of unhealthy and uninsured Americans are not reflective of the governing bodies that make good choices. The Republican health plan directly slashes funding for people with disabilities by $12 billion, cutting the program that helps people live in their communities and reach their full potential. I represent a historically underserved constituency in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District. The median income in my district is less than $34,000. The majority of the health providers in my district have a patient population that is disproportionately dependent on Medicare and Medicaid and is uninsured. These healthcare providers cannot withstand caps to Medicaid or increases in their uninsured population. If this bill is implemented without substantial changes, rural health care will be lost and rural lives will be at risk. In my district, I have met constituents who have weekly made choices between whether to buy medicine or to put food on the table. I have a pediatrician in my district in Birmingham who will stop what she is doing to track down patients newly infected with STDs so they do not transmit it. In States with so many high rates of STDs in this country, every attempt to curb the spread of disease is critical. The GOP bill guts the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which helps community doctors provide preventative care and reduce the threat of public health crises. Mr. Speaker, over the past several weeks, my office has received over 600 emails from constituents about health care. Many shared positive stories about the Affordable Care Act. Others, particularly those from low-income areas, fall in that gap, that Medicaid gap; and the State of Alabama, like so many Republican-led States, did not choose to expand Medicaid. Unfortunately, the GOP health bill is not the answer. This bill will take Medicaid away from America's children, working parents, and seniors in nursing homes. By 2026, nearly 30 percent of Americans aged 50 to 64 earning $30,000 will be uninsured. Surely, Mr. Speaker, this is not what this body intended. This bill is not only morally unsound, but fiscally irresponsible, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' for the GOP repeal bill.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in protest of President Trump and his Justice Department's failure to protect Americans' voting rights. The right to vote is a sacred right for which Americans have fought for generations. From the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, to the Women's Suffrage Movement, to Bloody Sunday in my hometown of Selma, Alabama, Americans have risked their lives for the right to vote. Unfortunately, The Trump Justice Department recently decided to dismiss their discriminatory purpose claim against Texas's voter ID law. Texas's current draconian Voter ID law places harsh restrictions on minorities and young voters. In 2013, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas claiming that their voter photo identification law, SB 14, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Since then, two courts have agreed that this law is discriminatory. So it is incredibly disturbing that the new Department of Justice reversed their position and withdrew their lawsuit. This action represents a dramatic shift from the Obama Administration's policy of protecting Americans' voting rights. The American people deserve a Justice Department that values and protects the right to vote. New barriers to voting are being erected across the country, threatening the integrity of our electoral process and our democracy. For example, after the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, many states, like Alabama and Texas responded to the Supreme Court's decision by imposing voter ID laws similar to those of the Jim Crow era. These laws are blatantly discriminatory, undemocratic, and un-American. In Alabama, the state government passed a law requiring a photo ID to vote while simultaneously closing 34 DMW offices. Doing so had a discriminatory effect on 8 out of the 10 counties in Alabama with the highest percentage of Black registered voters. Clearly we cannot yet trust certain states to protect their citizens' right to vote. As Americans, we should all be horrified of these laws and the Department of Justice's failure to fight these regressive measures. States must not be allowed to return to an era of mass-voter discrimination, and historically, it has been the responsibility of the Justice Department to protect Americans from new Jim Crow like laws. Unfortunately, President Trump's Justice Department seems to be rolling back this policy. In 2015, I introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would require states with a recent history of voter discrimination to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before making any changes to their electoral laws. Specifically, this bill will restore Section 4(b) of the VRA which the Supreme Court invalidated in Shelby County v. Holder. Under the new Trump Administration, it is more important than ever that we pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, and have an independent Justice Department that is committed to protecting Americans' right to vote.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in response to the recent and unfounded claims of voter fraud made by President Trump. Throughout our nation's history, it has been tradition for a newly inaugurated president to try and establish common ground across party lines and heal divisions to ensure that our society transitions between administrations with a positive outlook. However, many of the President's actions have been contrary to this tradition, and his obsession with voter fraud is just a senseless distraction from the real issue of voter suppression in this nation. The reality is that there is quantifiable evidence that voter fraud is so rare it never influences the outcome of any major U.S. election. Instead of investigating these baseless claims of voter fraud, our taxpayer dollars would be better spent looking into how millions of Americans were denied their constitutionally protected right to vote because of modern-day voter suppression tactics, like voter ID laws, across the country. In my home state of Alabama, nearly 250,000 Alabamians who don't have a valid voter ID, could not vote in the 2016 election. This is unconscionable and should not be allowed to continue. The solution to the voting issue is a simple one. We can strengthen our democracy by making it easier, not harder, to vote. We should work in a bi-partisan way, as has been our history, to restore the full protections of Voting Rights Act of 1965. The narrative of voter fraud is a myth. However, voter suppression is a real and overly prevalent national issue that must finally be addressed once and for all.

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to President Trump's recent nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. I now call on my Senate colleagues to rigorously vet his nomination and ensure that his values and constitutional philosophies align with those of mainstream America. At this critical juncture in our nation's history, it is important that this nominee be a fair and impartial adjudicator of the laws that protect the rights of all Americans. In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to learning more about the judicial opinions and constitutional philosophy of Judge Gorsuch. Unfortunately, Republicans did not extend this same courtesy to President Obama's nominee Merrick Garland. For 300 days, Senate Republicans defied the Constitution, ignoring President Obama's nominee, and refusing to even give him a hearing. However, I along with my Democratic colleagues value the Constitution over partisan politics. Therefore, I hope for a fair and vigorous vetting process of Judge Gorsuch and his judicial record. The Supreme Court will likely make many critical decisions in the upcoming decades, affecting issues from voting rights to privacy rights to consumer protections. America needs a justice whose interpretation of the Constitution aligns with American values and the rule of law.