Political Quotes

“To my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, this is really important legislation we are working on today. H.R. 1839, the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019, includes short-term extensions of several key Medicaid programs that have previously passed the House on a bipartisan basis. I know our staffs on both sides of the aisle put a lot of time and effort into this, and I thank them all. I especially want to draw attention to Caleb Graff, who brought his own audience with him today in the gallery, his parents and brother. He has worked very hard on this, and we appreciate it. I thank my chair and colleague, Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, for the partnership on this extenders package. Personally, I know a lot of us would have liked to have had these extended programs go out further to give beneficiaries and providers more certainty and more stability, and we will continue to put forth offers in good faith to work across the aisle to fund these critical parts of America's safety net. However, we are here today up against a deadline, and I am pleased we were able to get at least through June and September, respectively, with these programs. I am particularly pleased to see this package includes a short-term extension of the Excellence in Mental Health demonstration for my home State of Oregon.…”