Greg Walden

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I will close by again thanking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Thanks to the gentleman from New York, the gentleman from Texas, my colleagues on this side of the aisle. I know Dr. Phil Roe, who chairs our Veterans' Affairs Committee, a very strong advocate and supporter of this, could not be here to speak on it because of a conflict. Mr. Speaker, let me just say this is really important. It will change lives. It will improve lives. With that, I hope our colleagues will join us in supporting this very important measure. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1676) to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent faculty in palliative care at accredited allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, nursing schools, social work schools, and other programs, including physician assistant education programs, to promote education and research in palliative care and hospice, and to support the development of faculty careers in academic palliative medicine, as amended.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676. As we have heard, this is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, and it is sponsored by my colleague from New York, Representative Eliot Engel. This bipartisan legislation will authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts for palliative care and hospice education centers, promote the career development of nurses and physicians in palliative care, and promote research and outreach in the delivery of care for patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses at the National Institutes of Health. Now, I have heard about this bill's impact from palliative care specialists and disease advocates all across Oregon. Dawn Frazier in Bend, Oregon, told me about her daughter, Rhonda, who tragically passed away at the age of 34. She suffered from early onset Alzheimer's. In an opinion piece that Dawn had published in the Bend Bulletin, she wrote: ``Palliative and hospice care are vital services for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. For people with advanced dementia, team-based care--which focuses on managing and easing symptoms, reducing pain and stress, and increasing comfort--improves quality of life, controls costs, and enhances patient and family satisfaction.'' She wrote: ``Here in Oregon, 19 percent of people in hospice have a primary diagnosis of dementia. Yet, the availability and quality of palliative and hospice care is a concern.'' Dawn went on to say that this bill will help make critical palliative care and hospice services available to millions of patients across the country. I have long been a supporter of this bipartisan legislation and programs for palliative and hospice care. My own parents both received valuable care in this regard, especially hospice care, as their lives came to a close. This is all part of why I am a cosponsor, along with 284 of my colleagues in the House, and why I have worked with Representative Engel and our subcommittee chair on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee for Health, Chairman Burgess, to move this legislation forward in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where, by the way, it received unanimous votes in both our Health Subcommittee and in our full committee. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important measure. Let's advance our public health. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), who has been a real leader on this issue and several others related to healthcare, and especially on diabetes.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 959, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2018. I'd like to thank Representative David Joyce for his work on this important bill. It is one of four bipartisan public health bills the House will vote on today, each of which passed through the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously at both the Health Subcommittee and our full committee. H.R. 959 would reauthorize nursing workforce development programs, which support the recruitment, retention, and advanced education of skilled nursing professionals. The bill extends advanced education nursing grants to support clinical nurse specialists and clinical nurse leaders, defines nurse-managed health clinics, adds clinical nurse specialists to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education, and reauthorizes loan repayments, scholarships, and grants for education, practice, quality, and retention. In rural areas of the country, like my district in Oregon, nurses play an especially critical role in our health care delivery system, and they've told me about the importance of this legislation. That's why it's critical we reauthorize these programs. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues Mr. Gene Green and, certainly, Dr. Burgess for their great leadership on this issue. I rise is support of H.R. 5385, the Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children's HOSPITAL GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, and I want to thank them for their good work on this. As you have heard, this reauthorizes payments to children's hospitals that operate graduate medical education programs, and it does so for the next 5 years, giving these programs great certainty going forward. This legislation will continue to enable the Nation's freestanding children's hospitals to provide education to graduates of medical schools, enhance pediatric research capabilities, and care for these vulnerable and underserved children. Representative Green and Chairman Burgess partnered to lead this bipartisan bill in our committee, and they brought about unanimous votes in both the Health Subcommittee and in our full committee. I appreciate their work on this and thank them and their staffs for the great work they all have done as we work together to reauthorize these very, very important programs. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support us in this legislation from the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the distinct honor and pleasure of welcoming Pastor Steve William Schenewerk as the guest chaplain in the United States House of Representatives this morning. Pastor Schenewerk serves the congregation of Community Baptist Church in Winston, Oregon. He was raised in the Midwest but followed the call of God to the Pacific Northwest to become a pastor. His path led him to Community Baptist Church, where he has humbly offered spiritual guidance and encouragement to the community for over 25 years. Pastor Schenewerk's devotion to his community does not stop there, though. He serves on the board of the Winston Area Community Partnership and is involved in several organizations that help the needy in Douglas County. Ever committed to serving those who have served others, Pastor Schenewerk has most recently become the chaplain to the local police force in Winston. Of all the joys in his life, nothing compares to that for his wife, Cindy; his daughter, Megan; and son, Josh. Mr. Speaker, I thank Pastor Schenewerk for his words this morning. They are most inspirational.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman McClintock and my friend from Arizona for their work on this, especially Chairman Bishop as well. The Natural Resources Committee has been terrific to work with on this measure over a period of time. The bill is really an important public safety measure. This is a life-and-death measure. There are more than 5,000 people who live in Crooked River Ranch. This is an unincorporated community in central Oregon. It is wedged between two river systems, river canyons. You can see it here on this map. I want to point out the two rivers here. It is actually on a peninsula. It sits up. These are deep canyons. To the west over here is where the wilderness study area is that we are talking about. It is juniper. It is cheatgrass. It is sagebrush. These are the most volatile fuels you can have. Unlike here on the East Coast, where in the summer you get thunderstorms and heavy rain with it, out in Oregon, we have humidity. We call it rain that stays in the ground. But in the summer, we don't get that. What we get is dry lightning and very little rain. When lightning strikes occur in that kind of vegetation, it explodes. I have talked to the firefighters, and I will show you what happens when this happens. This the terrain. The overstocked juniper, you can see it over here. This is very volatile terrain. That is grasslands. As I say, there are all kinds of other volatile fuels in there. This is at the highest risk category for exposure to catastrophic wildfire. The wildfire planning community protection plan calls it that in Jefferson County. Fire season is already underway in central Oregon. In fact, wildfires have already burned 120,000 acres so far this year. It has just gotten started. By the way, that is the equivalent of burning about 2\1/2\ times the entire size of Washington, D.C. So what does that look like? When fire gets into these junipers, they basically explode. It is very volatile. Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins took this picture out of his rig of the Graham fire. This fire nearby--not right at Crooked River Ranch, but in the same county-- burned a few weeks ago. It burned two homes. Altogether, it burned about 2,000 acres--2,000 acres--and a couple of homes before they could get in and get it out. So what we are doing here with this legislation is removing 832 acres. That is it. Three-thousandths of 1 percent of all the WSAs in Oregon, three-thousandths of 1 percent of the acreage, 832 acres, we are saying that we are just going to take it back to the rim of the canyon, and, on that flat land, you can go in and thin out these junipers and get it back to where you can do fire management. Now, when I have talked to the fire chiefs and crews there, they have told me: Look, in this community of 5,000, there is one road in and out. If you have a fire that blows up like this out on the peninsula, out on the end, the fire chiefs basically said: If the conditions are wrong and there is wind, I am not going to put my firefighters' lives at risk, so we will probably not go in and fight that fire. We will just try and get people out. Can you imagine, on a two-lane road, trying to evacuate more than 5,000 people with a monster fire breathing down your back? That is what we are trying to avoid here. This WSA was determined in 1992 by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to not be suitable for inclusion as wilderness. They said: No, it doesn't meet the criteria. It should not be included. But the way the Federal law works, once the agency decides to study one of these areas, all the restrictions come on the land. As you have heard from both sides of the aisle--well, at least our side of the aisle--that means that you can't go in and do mechanical thinning. You can't do the kind of work we need to do. By the way, if there is a fire, it takes all kinds of permission to drop the retardant or to get in there with mechanical means. All we are saying is, let's back that up 832 acres along the rim line, send people in, thin this back to where it is in balance and will not cause devastating wildfire to consume Crooked River Ranch. Let's look at what happens when that does occur. You will remember this tragedy from my friend's home State in Santa Rosa, California. You don't think fires are monsters and killers and deadly? Look at what happened to this community, the homes and lives that were lost. This is what we are trying to prevent from happening at Crooked River Ranch. With bipartisan support, the House is going to show its will today, and I think overwhelmingly, to say this is a measured, thoughtful piece of legislation with enormous support in the community and the county that will prevent a Santa Rosa from occurring at Crooked River Ranch. Remember, there is one way in and one way out, and 5,500 people who live in this area. I thank the gentleman from Alaska for his leadership on this. He and his staff have been terrific. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I know we have some differences about adding other things in. That can be dealt with, discussed at another time, but we have a serious and deadly threat staring us down every summer. We have fires already burning in the area. If we want to save lives and prevent deadly fires, this is the bill to do it. This is the time to do it. Let's get it done.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my good friend Boyd Britton for his many years of dedicated public service in Grant County. Boyd has executed faithfully his duty as a Grant County Commissioner for 15 years, and I would like to pay tribute to his leadership for the people of Grant County and Eastern Oregon. Boyd was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, but due to his father's service in the United States Air Force, spent much of his early childhood on the move. His father was a co-pilot of the famed World War II B-17 Bomber known as Old '666, which was the most decorated B-17 aircraft in the history of the United States Air Force. Eventually, his family settled in Mesquite, New Mexico. After he started college, he transferred from New Mexico State to Western New Mexico University, which is where he met his soon-to-be wife, Bonnie. Boyd and Bonnie were married in 1974. Boyd worked 17 years for James Hamilton Construction Company, eventually becoming a superintendent of the company. At the time, it was one of the biggest construction companies in New Mexico. Meanwhile, his wife, Bonnie, worked for the United States Forest Service as a Financial Manager. Bonnie's job with the United States Forest Service moved the family to Susanville, California, where Boyd started his welding business, and where their daughter, Brandi, graduated high school. In 1995, Boyd and Bonnie moved to John Day, Oregon, where Boyd planned to become an artist but quickly realized it was a lonely craft. Boyd again opened a welding business, but that trade also lacked the social interaction he craved. In 2002, Boyd won his first Grant County Commissioner race and served for 15 years until June 30, 2018. Commissioner Britton had a unique talent for recognizing potential in people, skillfully bringing them together to accomplish nearly every challenge the county faced. Boyd's ability to bridge political divides led him to build the Blue Mountain Forest Partners collaborative group, which has helped improve log supply to the local timber industry. That same skillset helped Boyd negotiate a contract for Community Counseling Solutions to operate Grant County Health Department, which brought mental health services to Grant County for the first time in its history. Boyd had a reputation as the most polite commissioner the Association of Oregon Counties had ever known. That said, it was never a mystery where he stood on any issue. Boyd has always taken pride in three notable things: his beautiful marriage to Bonnie, his highly successful daughter Brandi, and having the most famous mustache in Grant County. I know Boyd will take that same pride with him to his new home in Show Low, Arizona. Boyd has never stood on the sidelines and watched the world move. Rather, he has always tried to be a driving force behind the motion. I am confident he will continue to be a key player wherever his travels take him. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, Boyd Britton is a true friend of mine, and I would ask that you please join me in recognizing and thanking him for his many years of leadership in Grant County. I wish Boyd and Bonnie all the best in their new pursuits.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to raise an issue that would ``shock the conscience.'' Those are not my words. Those are the words of a distinguished Federal judge when he refused to sentence two ranchers in my district to 5 years in prison. Judge Hogan looked at the case and he said: That is not right. It would ``shock the conscience.'' This Friday, the younger of those two ranchers will mark his fourth year in prison for starting a fire--by the way, fire on the range, high desert, is a management tool. They were using it for that purpose. They were tried. They were convicted. They never should have been sentenced to this. The Obama administration came back and resentenced them to 5 years for 139 acres. We burn hundreds of thousands of acres every year. The government starts fires that burn onto private land. Nothing seems to happen. It is time for the President to review this situation and to grant a pardon to Steven and Dwight Hammond, pull them back together with their families. They have served long enough. This is an issue that shocks the conscience. It is time for real justice, and President Trump can administer that.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Ms. Clark and Mr. Mullin for bringing that issue to our attention. We were proud to work with them to get it in the bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), who is one of our doctors on the committee.

Mr. WALDEN. It is now my great honor, Mr. Chairman, to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), who is the majority leader of the United States House of Representatives. He has been extraordinarily helpful in our efforts to move this entire bipartisan package forward to save lives and help people in addiction.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleague from California for working with us. We were happy to include his bill in this compilation of legislation. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), our resident pharmacist in the United States Congress and on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley), who has been a fierce fighter to resolve this issue in his State and our country.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from California for bringing this issue to our attention and helping us help these kids who need this assistance. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 6. This is the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, or the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. I was proud to introduce this bill with my bipartisan colleagues: Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member, my friend from New Jersey, Mr. Pallone; Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady; and Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal. These past 2 weeks, this House, the people's House, has dedicated tremendous amounts of time and energy to send a simple message to millions of Americans impacted by the opioid crisis. And that message is: Help is on the way. Not only are we passing legislation, dozens and dozens of bills that will save lives, but also we want to leave no doubt in the minds of those suffering from addiction that the United States House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats alike, stand with them together. For too long, embarrassment and stigma surrounded the disease of addiction. It is time for that to change. If you are struggling with addiction, if you are fighting that invisible battle, please know that it is okay to seek help. Opioid overdoses take the lives of more than 100 Americans each and every day. In fact, Mr. Chairman, a thousand people in our country will go to an emergency room in the next 24 hours, suffering an overdose from opioids. We don't want those people to become part of that deadly statistic. You matter. You are worthwhile. And I pray that the various legislation we vote on here today, and that we voted on throughout the last 2 weeks, can help you begin your journey of recovery. H.R. 6 includes several bills that went through regular order at the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees, but the bill we will vote on today also includes dozens of other pieces of legislation that have recently passed the House, most unanimously or with very strong bipartisan majorities. You see, at a time when it seems we couldn't be more divided, it is clear that striking back against addiction is something that transcends politics and brings us together as a community, as a country, and as a Congress. Remember, this legislation is not the first action that this Congress has taken to combat the opioid crisis, and I am sure it will not be the last. I guarantee you that. The Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act, both of which were signed into law nearly 2 years ago, and an additional $4 billion in resources for States and communities that was provided in the omnibus appropriations bill just a few months ago, indicate we have been at this for awhile, and we will be at this for a while longer. Taken together, this is one of the most significant congressional efforts against a drug crisis in our Nation's history. But we must continue to legislate, evaluate, conduct oversight, and work together to provide new solutions, so that we can rise to this ever-challenging situation. Today, we have an opportunity to continue our work to combat this crisis, an opportunity to save lives, and we cannot let it pass. The legislation before us will help advance treatment and recovery initiatives, improve prevention and educational efforts, protect our communities, and bolster our efforts to fight deadly synthetic drugs like fentanyl. We owe it to the families we have heard from. We owe it to our friends. Our communities need this and our country needs this to lift our people out of addiction and, together, win this fight. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), the vice chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, a great leader on these issues and more.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, although I am not opposed to the amendment, I ask unanimous consent to claim time in opposition.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in support of the amendment and to thank my friend from Utah, Mr. Curtis, for his hard work on this very thoughtful piece of legislation. It is important that women who take opioid pain medications are aware of the possible risks during pregnancy. You heard him delineate those tragic, tragic risks, such as premature birth and neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. While there is increasing awareness and use of nonopioid approaches in the management of pain over all, information about their use in pregnant patients and unique considerations of mother and child are simply lacking. So this amendment requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report on the opioid prescribing practices and opioid misuse during pregnancy, and evaluate nonopioid alternatives to pain management during pregnancy. This will complement the efforts of the Protecting Our Infants Act, which required a report on prenatal opioid exposure and NAS, presenting a strategy and clinical recommendations for preventing and treating infants withdrawal. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), a very important Member not only of the U.S. House of Representatives as our whip, but a very influential and effective member on our Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in support of the amendment that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidelines for prescribing an opioid overdose reversal drug. The guidelines would cover dosage safety, standing orders and other education, and distribution measures. In April, the Surgeon General issued an advisory calling for more people to carry naloxone. Expanding the use of this lifesaving drug is a key part of the public health response to the opioid crisis, along with effective prevention, treatment, and recovery programs for substance use disorder. I can just tell you, Mr. Chairman, from my own district, I have had multiple roundtables in every corner of the district. I have, of course, met with families that have been affected. I have met with addiction treatment specialists. I have met with medical providers. But I have also met with law enforcement. In Oregon, we lead in a lot of this recovery effort, but also in making sure naloxone is available. This is the antidote. Mr. Chair, these fentanyls that are coming into our country illegally, if I had a little salt shaker here and put out, I don't know, a half a dozen, a dozen grains of salt, and you put your hand on it, you would likely absorb that through your skin and pass out. And if somebody in this Chamber didn't have naloxone, or the medical people who are nearby didn't get to you in time, you would be one of those 115 people who will die in the next 24 hours, or one of the thousand that will show up in our emergency rooms. So moving forward with guidelines for prescribing an opioid overdose reversal drug really makes sense. Moving forward with naloxone really makes sense. We will save lives with this amendment, and I commend my colleagues from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania for their good work on this. We are happy to accept it as part of H.R. 6, and I yield back the balance of my time.