Donna Shalala

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Christopher Columbus High School, which celebrated its first football state championship last week. This recent victory is the result of the hard work and determination of student-athletes, coaches, parents, and the entire Columbus community. This strong character is what helped the Columbus Explorers pull off a dramatic victory with a two-point conversion in the final seconds of the championship game. This year's state title put Columbus' reputation for resilience and hardwork reputation on full display. In the state championship game, Columbus was faced with what may have been its biggest challenge all season. With little over four minutes left, the Explorers were down 20-7. In spite the odds being stacked against them and the early celebrations of opposing team, Columbus came out on top once again. The Explorers overcame obstacle after obstacle. They scored 14 unanswered points, with the final two points coming with eight seconds left to take the lead and win the championship game. The state title is reflective of Columbus' success not only as a football team, but also as an institution. For decades, Columbus has produced illustrious alumni who have contributed to our community, our country and the world. This success is only made possible through the school's fighting spirit and integrity, which is exactly what the football team left on the field for all to see.

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I come to impeachment with deep sadness. The facts of this case are painful and indisputable. We know that the President illegally held up congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine. We know that he conditioned the release of this aid on Ukrainian President Zelensky's opening an investigation based on a debunked conspiracy theory about his political rival and foreign interference in the 2016 election. We also know that the President has actively blocked congressional attempts to determine the extent of his misconduct by ordering executive branch officials to defy subpoenas and withhold information. Despite the unprecedented obstruction from the President, the evidence in this case is powerful enough that to delay this vote any further would risk interference in the 2020 election and the permanent erosion of our system of checks and balances. Madam Speaker, this is not a matter of politics. This is a matter of protecting the integrity of our democracy for the next generation. As we labor to pass on to future generations many of the great hallmarks of our society, we must also work with active stewardship and vigilance to pass on a vibrant and functional democracy. If we don't do our duty to protect the Constitution, the republic that we hand to our children will be less vibrant. If we do not do our duty to protect the Constitution, the republic that we hand to our children will be less resilient and less effective than the system that we were so fortunate to inherit. Democracy is fragile. Its survival depends on the strength and courage we display in maintaining it. But this fragility is also a strength. It requires our public servants to put our nation's interests ahead of their own and to hold each other accountable to the high standards democracy demands. That's why we take an oath to defend the Constitution. If protecting the Constitution were trivial, we wouldn't have to take an oath. For over 200 years, honesty and vigilance have won out as generations of public servants have adhered to their oaths of office and met the standards of service that our democracy demands. We cannot let this legacy die on our watch.

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Joe Cardona, the award-winning documentarian and former Miami Herald columnist. Mr. Cardona recently received a David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award from the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for his show ``Arcoiris,'' the first program in Radio Marti's history to address LGBTQ+ issues in Cuba. ``Arcoiris,'' which means rainbow in Spanish, premiered last year and is produced and hosted by Mr. Cardona. The program provides a platform for the LGBTQ+ community in Cuba to express goals and concerns and to engage with other LGBTQ+ communities around the world. ``Arcoiris'' has already been enormously successful. The show has aired numerous stories, including on the experiences of gay prisoners in Cuba and the policies of Mariela Castro, director of Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX). Mr. Cardona has created a space for the long-underserved LGBTQ community to prosper. I'm proud that USAGM has recognized his important work.

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 758 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, 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. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 758, providing for the consideration of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act; H.R. 5038, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act; and the conference report to accompany S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3 under a structured rule and makes in order 12 amendments, including the Republican substitute. The rule provides 4 hours of general debate, with 3 hours equally divided among and controlled by the chairs and the ranking minority members of the Committees on Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, and 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and minority leader. The rule also provides a motion to recommit. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 5038 under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. It also provides for a motion to recommit. The rule further provides for consideration of the conference report to accompany S. 1790 with 1 hour of debate and a motion to recommit, if applicable. The rule also authorizes the chair of the Intelligence Committee to insert in the Congressional Record explanatory statements as he deems necessary. Finally, the rule provides housekeeping items to close out the first session of this Congress, such as same-day authority, suspension authority, district work period instructions, and language to convene the Second Session of the 116th Congress on January 7. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the bills in this rule. Mr. Speaker, only a few times in our history has Congress come together to pass legislation to dramatically improve the life of every American--Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Medicare's drug benefit, and, of course, the Affordable Care Act. We change lives. We save lives. Now, we continue that work with H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. The passage of this bill will take this legislation forward to join those momentous commitments to the health and security of all Americans. Mr. Speaker, we pay more for our prescription drugs than any other country on Earth. We have made incredible advances in medical science and developed cures not only for our own people but also for the rest of the world. Yet, even when our own researchers and scientists have dedicated their lives to creating lifesaving drugs, too many of our fellow Americans can't afford to benefit from their brilliance. In the United States today, a disease or a chronic condition can force you into bankruptcy or require you to choose between paying for medicine or paying for food or rent. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3 makes fundamental reforms to reduce drug prices to keep the cost hikes to no more than inflation and to limit out-of- pocket costs for those on Medicare, employer plans, and private health insurance. To help secure these patient protections, we will require our government to negotiate prices directly with drug companies. Mr. Speaker, I served as Secretary of Health and Human Services for 8 years in the Clinton administration. I repeatedly asked for the ability to negotiate with drug companies. Only drug companies get to come to Medicare and set their own prices. Hospitals don't get to do that; doctors don't get to do that; home healthcare agencies don't get to do that; and medical equipment providers don't get to do that. Negotiation is the hallmark of good governance and a standard feature of government policy. Mr. Speaker, we negotiate for everything, including military equipment and work with contractors. If we can negotiate for big ships, then we can negotiate for little pills. It is only drug companies that are able to write themselves a blank check from our taxpayers. Our legislation ends that practice. Now is the time to join every other country on Earth in allowing our government to bargain for better prices and to put a cap on our out-of- pocket costs. As citizens, we have always been willing to subsidize poorer countries. But subsidizing England, France, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark is not our responsibility. We are not their deep pockets. Mr. Speaker, we should not pay substantially more for the same medicines than people in those countries. The current broken system is costing our families and businesses hundreds of billions of dollars. We must not accept this waste or this unfairness any longer. Our bill is a solid plan to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs for every American, and it will create a huge savings for taxpayers. These savings will allow us to make significant investments in the extraordinary biomedical science institutions that foster innovation, such as the National Institutes of Health and our great research universities. These savings will allow us to modernize Medicare hearing and vision benefits and dental coverage. This bill will expand our capacity for innovation and make drug companies more efficient. H.R. 3 is a historic step forward, and it will make all of our lives better. Mr. Speaker, this rule also contains the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019. This bill empowers families to build lives in the United States without the constant fear of being uprooted. It prioritizes the well-being of immigrant families, many of whom provide essential support for our Nation's agricultural sector. This bill is an important step forward in improving our immigration system, in helping to make sure that we treat everyone with compassion and dignity. Finally, this rule also allows for consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act conference report. The first NDAA under our new Democratic majority fulfills one of Congress' crucial constitutional duties: providing for the common defense of our Nation. The final conference report delivers a wide-ranging list of priorities the American people strongly support, such as paid parental leave, the end of the widow's tax, better services for our men and women in uniform, and protections for Dreamers. This report is the product of months of hard work by Chairman Smith and members of the committee and will undoubtedly keep our country safe. Mr. Speaker, I proudly support these historic steps forward. Let's pass this rule and these bills. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess). Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the distinguished chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman.

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

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), my colleague for representing Florida in the negotiations so well. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas).

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

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

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

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan).

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we have heard doomsday predictions from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that our Nation's drug innovation will be decimated by this bill. Mr. Speaker, if I thought this bill would slow down or eliminate our brilliant biomedical research and development enterprise, I would not support it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that much of our drug innovation starts with our own government-funded research paid for by the taxpayers either at the National Institutes of Health or at our great research universities, two of which I have led. This bill provides critical additional investments in NIH. $10 billion will extend research investments in projects like Cancer Moonshot to accelerate cancer research and make more therapies available to more patients. It will also help fund innovation and research for rare diseases and fighting antimicrobial resistance, which currently kills 35,000 Americans per year. This bill also makes explicit that pharmaceutical companies should be able to recoup the costs of research and development and still make a profit. Nine out of 10 Big Pharma companies spend more on marketing, sales, and overhead than research. Maybe they won't be making as big of a profit as they currently do because they will no longer be able to take the American people to the cleaners, but they will make a substantial profit. Medicare will continue to cover all the drugs they cover today so that patients' choices will not be limited. Rather, patients' choices will be expanded. Patients will no longer be leaving drugs behind at the pharmacy counter because they can't afford them. It is time to end sky-high drug prices. It is also time to reform Medicare benefits for the 21st century. This bill does exactly that by finally adding vision, dental, and hearing benefits to the Medicare program. Seniors have been asking for this for a long time, and the quality of life of millions of Medicare beneficiaries will improve with access to these benefits. I also look forward to the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the conference report for the NDAA. These are bipartisan pieces of legislation that will improve our national security and the lives of families and workers across this Nation. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the previous question.

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. SHALALA

Ms. SHALALA. Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of Michael Tilson Thomas, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, America's Orchestral Academy in Miami Beach. Michael Tilson Thomas is also Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to these posts, he maintains an active presence guest- conducting with the major orchestras of Europe and the United States. The New World Symphony has helped launch the careers of more than 1,000 alumni worldwide. Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Tilson Thomas is the third generation of his family to follow an artistic career. His grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, were founding members of the Yiddish Theater in America. His father, Ted Thomas, was a producer in the Mercury Theater Company in New York before moving to Los Angeles where he worked in films and television. His mother, Roberta Thomas, was the head of research for Columbia Pictures. Mr. Tilson Thomas is a Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, was Musical America's Musician of the Year and Conductor of the Year, Gramophone Magazine's Artist of the Year, and has been profiled on CBS's 60 Minutes and ABC's Nightline. He has won 11 Grammy Awards for his recordings. In 2008 he received the Peabody Award for his radio series for SFS Media, The MTT Files. In 2010, President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists in the United States