Marc Molinaro: “I thank my friend (Mr. Guthrie) for his leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee in support of this legislation.…”

“I thank my friend (Mr. Guthrie) for his leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee in support of this legislation. I certainly look forward to his leadership in the 119th Congress. Mr. Speaker, this is the first bill I introduced when I came to the House of Representatives. As noted, I am the parent of four children, one of whom lives with a disability. My wife and I have navigated the Medicaid supported system like every other American, and it is confusing, it is burdensome, it is bureaucratic, and many times, it is just too difficult to find your way to Medicaid-supported services. Let me assure you, there is always a waiting list, and most families around America with individuals that they care for with the intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities, don't have the time to find their way to local service providers and certainly don't always know the ins and outs of accessing those services. It becomes a full-time job. That is why, by the way, most families that are caring for those individuals with disabilities don't have two parents working, and many rely on Medicaid for much broader support like SNAP benefits and other subsidies and social services because they just can't find their way to services and supports. It is actually one of the last, in some ways, great prejudices in America, the bias of low expectation.…”