Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor H.R. 647, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, which has 296 bipartisan cosponsors and endorsements from 54 national organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The goal of palliative care is to provide patients relief from the symptoms of a serious illness. This form of medical care can accompany treatments and even cures. Often, an interdisciplinary team of healthcare providers consisting of doctors, nurses, social workers, and chaplains provide palliative care. In this capacity, these professionals often help patients with medical decisionmaking and care coordination. Palliative and hospice care has been shown to improve health outcomes for patients, but not many people are aware of the benefits. Furthermore, our Nation has a shortage of qualified palliative and hospice care professionals. The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act will help remedy these issues. This bill will create programs to train the next generation of providers of palliative and hospice care. It will also better educate patients, families, and health professionals about palliative care's benefits, and it encourages the National Institutes of Health to expand research in this field. Nearly every one of us has felt the pain and stress of a serious illness, either personally or standing beside a loved one.…”