Mary Scanlon

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster).

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to hear that we should all be working together to get to the bottom of this, because that is exactly what the resolution puts forward. It says that these are allegations. It doesn't say that they are conclusively proved. But the resolution asks for an investigation, and it asks our government to pull out all the stops to do that. The reason we need a resolution and a sense of Congress about this is because we see ICE and the Department of Homeland Security undermining this investigation already. When the news broke 2 weeks ago, they promptly moved to deport one of the central witnesses. One of our colleagues, Sheila Jackson Lee, had to get that witness removed from a plane. She was on the tarmac ready to be sent overseas, where she then would not be available to testify. That same person was given humanitarian relief. She is allowed to stay in the country. Today, this morning, as we speak here, she reported to check in to ICE, as she was required to and as most immigrants do in our system, and when she reported, they tried to arrest her and deport her again. As we speak, Members of this body are having to work to keep ICE from undermining this investigation. So, yes, we need this resolution to move forward. Madam Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, the whistleblower complaint raises multiple serious questions which should concern every Member of this body and the administration. First, these women were apparently subjected to unnecessary and inappropriate medical care without their consent, which, in many cases, has rendered them unable to have children, one of the most precious decisions a family can make. Second, think about the circumstances. Many of these women did not speak English and had no access to interpreters to explain the procedures to which they were subjected. They were being held in detention, awaiting adjudication of their legal applications to stay in this country, not for any crime. But they had no access to family members, their family doctors, or legal counsel. Many report that they went to the doctor for unrelated medical conditions and only learned that they had been subjected to surgery after the fact. Finally, we must determine how such outrageous and inhumane treatment of human beings in the custody of a U.S. agency could be allowed to occur, and we must hold that agency, as well as the detention center, the facility, the private prison operator, and the medical personnel, accountable. I cannot even begin to express how appalling these allegations are and the stain that, if found to be accurate in their entirety, they will leave on this country. I am sure there is not a single Member of this body who doesn't want to see a full independent investigation into these claims, and that is exactly why we are offering this resolution today. This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that this investigation must begin immediately. Any delay is simply unacceptable. Members of this body have already been forced to intervene in ICE's attempts to deport witnesses central to the investigation since the complaint was filed. This further affirms the necessity for the investigation and that the very nature of how Federal agencies like ICE and DHS are operating under this administration, in violation of the rule of law and without accountability, that this is unacceptable. Our current administration is aware of the structural flaws in our immigration system and exploits them to great political effect. What we are left with is a leader and a party that vilify immigrants as a tool for political gain. Then they systematically round up and detain immigrants in some of the most horrific ways possible, using private detention centers, separating children from their parents, denying basic medical treatment such as flu shots or COVID prevention, and inflicting lifelong trauma on our fellow humans, creatures of God. The allegations from the Irwin County detention facility are repugnant, but they are consistent with a pattern of inhumane and similar injustices that have been perpetrated by this administration. ICE and DHS operate with impunity under a President who is using them as a secret police force. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in passing this necessary resolution, but more than that, I hope that we can come together to reform our broken immigration system. Our current system harms significantly more than it helps, inflicting physical and emotional pain without protecting our borders. We are long overdue for serious changes that will better reflect our values and interests as a country. Next, Madam Speaker, we have H. Res. 1154, a resolution condemning the rightwing conspiracy theory QAnon. I am not entirely sure where to start with QAnon, but basic research tells us it is a rightwing conspiracy theory concocted in some of the darkest corners of the internet that purports to hail President Trump as a savior of the country by combating shadowy members of a deep state who kidnap children in order to drink their blood. This is a theory so ludicrous that it could be considered absurd if not for the thousands of Americans who have fully bought into these premises and the rash of violence, hatred, and criminal activity that these wild theories have encouraged. In August 2020, a woman in Colorado was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping of her daughter, who had been placed in foster care as her mother was deemed unfit to care for her. The woman is a fervent QAnon follower and was even found to have consulted other QAnon believers in a plot to kidnap her son, also in the foster care system. Then there is the case of an Arizona man who was a QAnon follower. He was charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats after he was inspired by QAnon theories to use an armored van to block a bridge over the Hoover Dam and demand release of a report he believed existed that would expose the deep state, whatever that is. The court ultimately blocked his guilty plea as the judge determined that the sentencing would have been too lenient for the crimes he had committed. One of the most high-profile QAnon incidents came after an alleged leader of the Gambino crime family in New York was murdered by a QAnon supporter who, according to his testimony, believed that the murder would assist President Trump. While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to flirt with these fringe conspiracy theories, including riling up their base with allegations of invasions by antifa, which have been debunked by the administration's own FBI, QAnon and those who have bought into it are genuine threats to our democracy. We are talking about a coordinated, sophisticated cult that is poisoning the brains of more and more Americans each day. In our Rules Committee meeting last night, many of my colleagues claim to have never even heard of this deadly cult. I cannot possibly believe that these skilled political operatives are so clueless, but that is beside the point. President Trump is certainly aware, and his tacit support and encouragement of these dangerous narratives are a threat to the law and order he so noisily embraces. I hope that every single one of my Republican colleagues joins us in condemning QAnon today for the sanity of this country. It is particularly important that we do so now because the Republican Caucus may not be united on this front in the next Congress. Madam Speaker, with more than 15 QAnon believers on the ballot this November across the country, it appears likely that at least one or two of them may be taking seats in Congress next term. In the meantime, every single Member on both sides of the aisle must take their share of blame if these Hallowed Halls are going to be contaminated by Representatives of a deranged conspiracy theory. In any case, I look forward to seeing how Minority Leader McCarthy will find a spot for this kind of expertise next Congress. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1164, providing for consideration of H. Res. 1153, condemning unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals without their full, informed consent, under a closed rule. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment offered by Chairman Nadler, which clarifies the last statement in the resolved clause. The rule provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee. The rule also provides for consideration of H. Res. 1154, condemning QAnon and rejecting the conspiracy theories it promotes, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee. Madam Speaker, I am proud to offer the rule for two timely and necessary resolutions, one that addresses allegations of gross human rights violations conducted under the watch of the United States Government and the other a long-overdue resolution that forcefully condemns QAnon, an anti-Semitic, racist, and, frankly, unhinged conspiracy theory that has infiltrated the internet and infected the rightwing of our Nation's politics. Let's start with H. Res. 1153, offered by my colleague, Congresswoman Jayapal of the House Judiciary Committee, in response to some of most repulsive and inhumane allegations ever directed at a U.S. Federal agency. In mid-September, just a couple of weeks ago, a whistleblower came forward to disclose that women who have been detained for immigration offenses at Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, operated by a private prison company, LaSalle Corrections, have been subjected to a pattern of nonconsensual and inappropriate medical treatment, including forced partial and full sterilization. This complaint was submitted to the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security and outlined concerns raised by a nurse at the facility and numerous immigrant detainees at the facility. While the IG's investigation is just beginning, many of the central allegations in the complaint have already been confirmed in reporting by The New York Times and by a delegation of a dozen of my colleagues who visited the detention center last weekend, interviewed women who had suffered through these procedures, and consulted with medical professionals who have reviewed the women's medical records relating to those incidents. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record The New York Times article from yesterday entitled ``Immigrants Say They Were Pressured Into Unneeded Surgeries.'' [From the New York Times, Sept. 29, 2020] Immigrants Say They Were Pressured Into Unneeded Surgeries (By Caitlin Dickerson, Seth Freed Wessler, and Miriam Jordan) Immigrants detained at an ICE-contracted center in Georgia said they had invasive gynecology procedures that they later learned might have been unnecessary Wendy Dowe was startled awake early one morning in January 2019, when guards called her out of her cellblock in the Irwin County immigration detention center in rural Georgia, where she had been held for four months. She would be having surgery that day, they said. Still groggy, the 48-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, who had been living without legal status in the United States for two decades before she was picked up by immigration authorities, felt a swell of dread come over her. An outside gynecologist who saw patients in immigration custody told her that the menstrual cramping she had was caused by large cysts and masses that needed to be removed, but she was skeptical. The doctor insisted, she said, and as a detainee--brought to the hospital in handcuffs and shackles--she felt pressured to consent. It was only after she was deported to Jamaica and had her medical files reviewed by several other doctors that she knew she had been right to raise questions. A radiologist's report, based on images of her internal organs from her time at Irwin, described her uterus as being a healthy size, not swollen with enlarged masses and cysts, as the doctor had written in his notes. The cysts she had were small, and the kind that occur naturally and do not usually require surgical intervention. ``I didn't have to do any of it,'' Ms. Dowe said. The Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga., drew national attention this month after a nurse, Dawn Wooten, filed a whistle-blower complaint claiming that detainees had told her they had had their uteruses removed without their full understanding or consent. Since then, both ICE and the hospital in Irwin County have released data that show that two full hysterectomies have been performed on women detained at Irwin in the past three years. But firsthand accounts are now emerging from detainees, including Ms. Dowe, who underwent other invasive gynecological procedures that they did not fully understand and, in some cases, may not have been medically necessary. At least one lawyer brought the complaints about gynecological care to the attention of the center's top officials in 2018, according to emails obtained by The New York Times, but the outside referrals continued. The Times interviewed 16 women who were concerned about the gynecological care they received while at the center, and conducted a detailed review of the medical files of seven women who were able to obtain their records. All 16 were treated by Dr. Mahendra Amin, who practices gynecology in the nearby town of Douglas and has been described by ICE officials as the detention center's ``primary gynecologist.'' The cases were reviewed by five gynecologists--four of them board-certified and all with medical school affiliations--who found that Dr. Amin consistently overstated the size or risks associated with cysts or masses attached to his patients' reproductive organs. Small or benign cysts do not typically call for surgical intervention, where large or otherwise troubling ones sometimes do, the experts said. The doctors stressed that in some cases the medical files might not have been complete and that additional information could potentially shift their analyses. But they noted that Dr. Amin seemed to consistently recommend surgical intervention, even when it did not seem medically necessary at the time and nonsurgical treatment options were available. In almost every woman's chart, Dr. Amin listed symptoms such as heavy bleeding with clots and chronic pelvic pain, which could justify surgery. But some of the women said they never experienced or reported those symptoms to him. Both the reviewing doctors and all of the women interviewed by The Times raised concerns about whether Dr. Amin had adequately explained the procedures he performed or provided his patients with less invasive alternatives. Spanish- speaking women said a nurse who spoke Spanish was only sporadically present during their exams. The diagnoses and procedures are ``poorly supported'' and ``not well documented,'' said Dr. Sara Imershein, a clinical professor at George Washington University and the Washington, D.C., chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Even if the patients had reported the symptoms recorded by Dr. Amin, ``there would have been many avenues to pursue before rushing to surgery,'' she said. ``Advil for one.'' ``He is overly aggressive in his treatment and does not explore appropriate medical management before turning to procedures or surgical intervention,'' said Dr. Deborah Ottenheimer, a forensic evaluator and instructor at the Weill Cornell Medical School Human Rights Clinic. But the doctors who reviewed the cases noted that aggressive overtreatment is all too common among doctors-- especially with patients who do not have the resources to seek a second opinion. Dr. Ada Rivera, medical director of the ICE Health Service Corps, said in a statement that the whistle-blower's allegations ``raise some very serious concerns that deserve to be investigated quickly and thoroughly.'' She added, ``If there is any truth to these allegations, it is my commitment to make the corrections necessary to ensure we continue to prioritize the health, welfare and safety of ICE detainees.'' Dr. Amin's lawyer, Scott Grubman, said in a statement that the physician ``strongly disputes any allegations that he treated any patient with anything other than the utmost care and respect.'' ``Dr. Amin also strongly disputes that any patient was treated without full informed consent,'' the statement continued. Mr. Grubman said that patient privacy laws prevented him from discussing any specific patient's treatment, but in each case it ``was medically necessary, performed within the standard of care, and done only after obtaining full informed consent.'' The statement added that Dr. Amin always uses an interpreter when treating patients who do not speak English and ``always attempts to treat his patients with more conservative treatment, including medicine and less invasive procedures, before even recommending surgery,'' which he views as a last resort. Independent doctors that provide treatment for ICE detainees are paid for the procedures they perform with Department of Homeland Security funds. Procedures like the ones that Dr. Amin performed are normally billed at thousands of dollars each. Dr. Amin's billings had previously come to the attention of federal authorities. In 2013, the Justice Department named him in a civil case alleging that he and several other doctors had overbilled Medicare and Medicaid by, among other things, performing unnecessary procedures on terminal patients and leaving the emergency room staffed by nurses while billing for diagnoses and treatments as if they had been performed by doctors. The case was settled for $520,000 with no admission of fault on the part of the defendants. I could not ask any questions In many cases, Dr. Amin's patients said they were confused about why they ended up being sent to his office in the first place--some after raising medical issues that had nothing to do with gynecology. Yuridia, a 36-year-old immigrant from Mexico, sought out a nurse at the center soon after she arrived because she was having pain in her rib after a fight with her abusive ex- partner just before she was picked up by ICE. She asked to be identified by her first name because she feared for her safety. She was sent for a medical exam at Dr. Amin's office, where she said he began to prepare an ultrasound machine. ``I was assuming they were going to check my rib,'' she said. ``The next thing I know, he's doing a vaginal exam.'' Dr. Amin recorded in his notes that Yuridia had cysts in her ovaries and scheduled a surgery to remove them. He also wrote that she had complained of heavy menstruation and pelvic pain. She said that she never experienced or reported those conditions and that she had not asked to see a gynecologist. Weeks later, she underwent surgery. Pathology reports show that she did not have dangerous cysts, but small ones of the kind that occur naturally in most women and do not call for surgical intervention. Yuridia said she had expected only a minor procedure that would be performed vaginally, but she was surprised when she woke up to find three incisions on her abdomen and a piece of skin missing from her genital area. ``I woke up and I was alone, and I was in pain and everyone spoke English so I could not ask any questions,'' Yuridia said. Three days later, still sore and recovering, she was deported. Yuridia's case bears striking similarities to others that the panel of doctors reviewed. Many of them led to two surgical procedures performed simultaneously: ``dilation and curettage,'' often referred to as a ``D & C,'' which involves inserting tools into a woman's vagina and scraping tissue from the uterus, and laparoscopy, in which three incisions are made to insert a camera into the abdominal cavity to examine or perform procedures on the reproductive organs. The cases suggest a pattern of ``excessively aggressive surgical intervention without adequate trial of medical remedies,'' Dr. Ottenheimer said. A report reveals longstanding complaints It was the Irwin County center's handling of the coronavirus pandemic that inspired Ms. Wooten, the nurse whose whistle-blower complaint was first reported by The Intercept, to come forward about another issue that troubled her: Dr. Amin's surgeries. She said in an interview that she had for years noticed that an inordinate number of women were being referred to Dr. Amin. She said she would hear reports that they had undergone surgeries but that they had no idea why the surgeries were performed. ``After they get up from general anesthesia,'' Ms. Wooten said, the women would ask, ``Why'd I have this surgery?'' ``And I don't have an answer for why,'' she said. ``I am just as shocked as they are. Nobody explained it to them.'' Data from ICE inspection reports show that the center, which is operated by a private prison company, Lasalle Corrections, refers more than 1,000 detainees a year for outside medical care, far more than most other immigration detention centers of the same size. It is not clear how many of these referrals are for gynecological care. Lasalle Corrections did not respond to requests for comment. Concerns from women detained at Irwin emerged long before Ms. Wooten came forward. Ms. Dowe, after being told by Dr. Amin that she had a mass the size of a ``cantaloupe'' on her uterus, had reached out in early 2019 to Donald Anthonyson, an immigrant advocate she had met through a fellow detainee. She was asking for help, Mr. Anthonyson said. ``She expressed real concerns about going to that doctor,'' he said. ``She was concerned about what was happening to her and what she was hearing from other women.'' Unlike some of the women who had no gynecological complaints, Ms. Dowe was experiencing intense menstrual cramping, which the doctors who reviewed her case said could sometimes justify the procedure she underwent--but only if the patient understands the options and elects to move forward. Even then, the doctors raised questions about several seemingly healthy and naturally occurring cysts that Dr. Amin might have removed unnecessarily while he was operating on her. After the procedure, Dr. Amin wrote in his notes that Ms. Dowe requested a second surgery--a full abdominal hysterectomy and removal of her ovaries. But Ms. Dowe insists she never made any such request. A note in her medical records from the detention center appears to corroborate her denial. ``Detainee is requesting a second opinion to have a hysterectomy,'' it reads, ``OB/GYN scheduled hysterectomy and patient refused.'' Complaints about Dr. Amin had also been raised with senior officials long before Ms. Dowe's case. In November 2018, a woman named Nancy Gonzalez Hidalgo was left shaken after several visits with the physician, during which she said he performed rough vaginal ultrasounds and ignored her when she cried out in pain. Ms. Gonzalez Hidalgo's lawyers sent an email to the warden of the center, David Paulk. In the email, Erin Argueta, a lawyer at the Southern Poverty Law Center, explained that Ms. Gonzalez Hidalgo's health was worsening because of complications she was experiencing from an earlier miscarriage. ``Nancy hesitated to seek medical attention because her last experience with Dr. Amin was so painful and traumatic that she did not want to be sent back to him,'' Ms. Argueta wrote. She referred in her email to several previous verbal complaints about Dr. Amin that lawyers had taken to the center's inmates services director, Marteka George. ``Ms. George stated that this was not the first time someone complained about Dr. Amin, and she said that she would look into whether Nancy could see a different provider,'' the lawyer wrote. The warden responded twice, stating on Nov. 30 that Ms. Gonzalez Hidalgo had been scheduled for an appointment with an outside provider ``that is unassociated with Dr. Amin.'' The other doctor, Warden Paulk said, was ``reportedly well thought of by his patients.'' Warden Paulk did not respond to requests for comment. Other women who questioned Dr. Amin's care in the past said they had also faced challenges when they tried to seek answers. On the morning of Aug. 14, Mileidy Cardentey Fernandez said, there was no interpreter present at the Irwin County Hospital when she was presented with consent forms in English to sign for a procedure she was undergoing that day. She asked the technician, ``Spanish, please? Little English.'' The woman urged her to sign the forms--and so she did. Afterward, she said, she filled out a form on numerous occasions at the detention center requesting her medical records but got no response. ``I wanted to know everything they had done,'' she said. ``I made requests for the biopsy, analyses, and they don't want to give them to me. They said they don't have the results. How can they not have the results?'' When she was released from detention on Sept. 21, she called her daughter in Virginia and then headed straight to Dr. Amin's clinic with her lawyer to demand her records, which she received. Some women said they had managed to avoid surgeries by Dr. Amin but not without facing resistance. Enna Perez Santos said she objected when Dr. Amin suggested that she undergo a procedure similar to the ones that other women had complained about. Dr. Amin, she said, counseled her that it was a mistake to forgo the treatment and he wrote in his notes that she had asked to speak to a mental health care provider. Back at the detention center on the same day, Ms. Perez Santos was given a psychiatric evaluation. ``I am nervous about my upcoming procedure,'' Ms. Perez Santos told the examiner, according to the practitioner's notes. ``I am worried because I saw someone else after they had surgery, and what I saw scared me.'' Ms. Perez Santos was brought three more times to Dr. Amin's office over the next several months, she recalled. Each time, she said, Dr. Amin raised the prospect of a surgery. She felt ``pressured'' to agree, she said, but each time she told him she did not consent. Three board certified gynecologists who reviewed Ms. Perez Santos's medical files say that her instincts appear to have been correct. ``Based on what I see here, Amin was inappropriately suggesting a D & C scope,'' Dr. Ottenheimer said. ``There is nothing at all there to support the procedure.''

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. We are in trying times. We have an erratic administration that operates with the primary, if not exclusive, goal of winning reelection at any cost and a Republican Party willing to do anything necessary to aid in that goal. We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has already upended virtually every facet of our lives. Millions of people are unemployed or facing unemployment, and over 207,000 of our friends and neighbors have died. Many of my constituents are facing eviction or are struggling to find food for their families. The fact that much of this suffering could be alleviated if not for the apathy of Senate Republicans is tough to reckon with, but the American people know who is on their side. This Congress has passed more than 600 bills, and a quarter of them have become law. Over 350 bipartisan bills lie untouched on Mitch McConnell's desk while he focuses all of his energy on confirming as many rightwing judges as he can. We stand ready to negotiate, and we will pass a COVID relief bill every day and twice on Sundays if that is what we have to do to get Mitch McConnell's attention. And we will do it while passing other legislation that is for the benefit of all the American people--not just a select few, not just for those who dodge taxes--because that is what governing is, and that is what we will continue to do. We have a duty to provide an equal opportunity for all Americans to live, work, and thrive in this country, and that is a responsibility the administration and Senate majority leader have abdicated. So for all of the criticism lobbed from the other side of the aisle for taking up important resolutions like the ones we do today while a COVID package still hasn't been signed into law, your words are misplaced and you know exactly who to blame. We were elected to govern, and that is exactly what we are going to do. You are more than welcome to join us, but we are not going to let you stand in our way while we move to protect human rights and advance the best interests of the American people. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the rule and underlying legislation. The text of the material previously referred to by Mrs. Lesko is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 1164 At the end of the resolution, add the following: Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 8265) to amend the Small Business Act and the CARES Act to establish a program for second draw loans and make other modifications to the paycheck protection program, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Small Business; and (2) one motion to recommit. Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 8265.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. SCANLON. No, Madam Speaker. I do not yield for that purpose, and I have no intention of doing so during this debate.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, of course, I look forward to joining my colleagues in passing another round of coronavirus relief, as we did unanimously or near unanimously the first four times, because we know our communities, our colleges, our schools, our State and local governments, our law enforcement officers, our healthcare systems all need that relief that has been held up by the Senate and the White House since May. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1164 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, our elections are foundational to our democracy, the pulse of our Nation, and the most sacred form of protest that we as Americans have at our disposal. We, the people, have a right to vote without obstruction, without fear, without intimidation, and with the assurance that every vote will be counted. Madam Speaker, I want to take a minute to assure the American people who are receiving mail-in ballots for the first time, making a plan to vote on election day, looking for locations where early voting is taking place, signing up to volunteer, or feeling a sense of uncertainty as we participate in one of the most important elections of our lifetime: your vote is safe, your vote is secure, and your vote matters. And, Madam Speaker, to the young people who will be casting their votes for the first time: you are the future of this country, and we need you to participate in our government now more than ever. To those who have lost faith in our government: we, the people, are the gatekeepers of our democracy, and our participation has never been more important. There is far too much on the line for us to take voting for granted.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, the Not Invisible Act does precisely what its title aims to do. It ensures that the Federal Government dedicates proper attention and gives visibility to the crisis of violence and sexual violence committed against American Indian and Alaska Native men and women. Indeed, these communities have been subjected to invisibility and neglect for far too long. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 982, the Not Invisible Act of 2019, introduced by Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and passed by the Senate last March, addresses the crisis of violence and sexual violence committed against American Indian and Alaska Native men and women in two concrete ways, by directing the appointment within the Bureau of Indian Affairs of a coordinator of Federal efforts to combat violence against Native people and by establishing a commission on reducing violent crime against Indians. I commend my colleague, Representative Debra Haaland from New Mexico, for introducing the companion bill here in the House and for her efforts in advancing this important legislation. For decades, Native American and Alaska Native communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of women. Community advocates describe the crisis as a legacy of generations of government policies promoting forced removal, land seizures, and violence inflicted on Native peoples. Advocates and victims' families also complain, and rightly so, that the investigation and monitoring of disappearances and killings of members of their communities have gotten lost in bureaucratic gaps generated by a system that lacks clarity on whether local or Federal agencies should investigate. The Federal Government must do something to address these problems. The statistics on violence in Native American communities are staggering. More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including 56.1 percent who have experienced sexual violence. American Indian and Alaska Native men also have high victimization rates, with 81.6 percent having experienced violence in their lifetime. This problem is, in large part, the result of decades of neglect by the Federal Government. This crisis has particularly affected Native American women, scores of whom have gone missing and have been found murdered. Recently, these women's stories have begun to be told to a wider audience. But these stories are not new, and it is long overdue that we address them. The Not Invisible Act of 2019 is an important step for the Federal Government in finding an adequate response to the problem of violence against Native Americans. By making a permanent position within the Bureau of Indian Affairs that reports directly to the Secretary of the Interior and who will submit an annual report to Congress, we will greatly improve the Federal response to combating violence in Native communities. Significantly, this bill also directs the BIA coordinator to take into consideration the unique challenges faced by Native American communities, both on and off Tribal lands, and to work in cooperation with outside organizations to train Tribal law enforcement, Indian Health Service care providers, and other Tribal community members on identifying, responding to, and reporting on cases of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking. For 2 years, a joint commission on reducing violent crimes against Indians will be tasked with preparing recommendations on concrete actions the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice can take to help combat violent crimes against Native Americans and on Native American lands. These include the development and implementation of strategies for identifying, reporting, and responding to instances of missing persons, murder, and human trafficking; tracking and reporting relevant data; and increasing prosecutions in this neglected arena. These are long-overdue critical measures. It is well past the time to help rectify these problems, and I am pleased that the Not Invisible Act will go a long way in that process. Therefore, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this bill today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 982) to increase intergovernmental coordination to identify and combat violent crime within Indian lands and of Indians.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5546 is an important measure to reinforce the attorney-client privilege, an issue that is essential to the fair administration of our criminal justice system and one that is even more urgent in this pandemic. For all the reasons discussed here today, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 227, Savanna's Act, responds to the epidemic of missing and murdered Native Americans. This crisis is appalling and threatens millions of innocent people living both on Tribal lands and beyond. This bill is a bipartisan effort introduced by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and passed by the Senate by unanimous consent last March. I want to especially commend the leadership of Representative Norma Torres, who introduced the House companion in 2019 and has been a constant champion for Savanna's Act here in the House. The available data indicates that violence against Native Americans is particularly high. In some Tribal communities, Native American women experience murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average. This is unacceptable. Savanna's Act is named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe, who vanished from her apartment in Fargo, North Dakota, while 8 months pregnant. Eight days after she disappeared, her body was found wrapped in plastic in the Red River. This legislation empowers Tribal governments with the resources and information necessary to respond to cases of missing or murdered Native Americans like Savanna and to increase the collection of data in such cases. It also increases coordination and communication among the Federal, State, and Tribal officials responsible for investing these cases in a variety of ways. This legislation provides best practices in conducting searches for missing persons on and off Native American land; establishes standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains; and will lead to the culturally appropriate identification and handling of human remains identified as Native Americans. Savanna's Act provides guidance on which law enforcement agency is responsible for inputting information into databases, guidance on improving agency response rates and followup to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans, and guidance on ensuring access to culturally appropriate victim services. Lastly and most importantly, Savanna's Act adds two new purpose areas to two existing grant programs administered by the Justice Department, specifically, allowing grantees to use funds to implement policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Native Americans, and to compile and report data to the Attorney General. In short, this important legislation will help address the alarming cases of missing and murdered Native Americans in a robust and effective way. I strongly urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 227) to direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians, and for other purposes.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Healthy competition in health insurance markets is one of the most critical elements for ensuring that Americans have access to high- quality, affordable healthcare. When insurance companies are forced to compete, the American people win. Unfortunately, too many families are still paying higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, in part, because of anticompetitive practices that health insurance giants are allowed to engage in under existing law. What is more, there is a statutory loophole for this conduct that allows insurers to engage in egregious actions like price-fixing, bid- rigging, and market allocation with total impunity so long as they are engaged in the business of insurance and it is regulated by a State. There should be no safe harbor whatsoever for this conduct which allows insurers to increase the cost of health insurance and impose additional burdens on families across our Nation when they are already struggling to make ends meet. Health insurance companies should be subject to antitrust liability to the extent that they collude or otherwise engage in anticompetitive behavior. H.R. 1418 would achieve this result. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for his leadership on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation that is long overdue. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SCANLON

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5053) to exempt juveniles from the requirements for suits by prisoners, and for other purposes.

Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.