Ranking Member Tim Scott and I are introducing a bipartisan resolution, the very first of its kind, to raise awareness about the impact of mental health conditions and substance use disorder on older adults.

I am grateful to this Committee for considering including access to care related to Medicare policies, coordination of care for older adults with complex health issues, and the critical need for expanding the behavioral health workforce…

Mental health care is a critical component of our overall health care system.

We are grateful for the work you have done to bring that level of insight and expertise to the hearing today.

Both Congress, House and Senate, and the Biden Administration are focused on this issue, and that is good news but we have got to get a lot more done.

Part of the reason for this is that Medicare reimbursement rates for older adult mental health and substance use is inadequate for engaging providers to enroll.

I represent a state that has 67 counties, but we have 48 counties that are considered rural.

One of the big challenges, of course, is these rural hospitals and rural health centers don't have the resources that some of the big cities do.

I am a member of the Intelligence Committee, just became a member in 2021.

I don`t think we should be banning abortion and the only legislation now that is in front of us is this bill which would prevent a ban like that from going forward.

Well, I hope that, were you to be confirmed, that would be a priority for you. This is a matter that has been around way too long. We candidly, the U.S. Congress hasn't done enough.

We know now that in the Nation we have got just about 1,000 employers across the country that are permitted to pay their employees with disabilities a wage below the minimum wage.

It undermined, weakened the age discrimination in employment or the so-called ADEA, and sent what I think is a damaging and negative message.

We now know that because of that decision, that older adults face a higher burden of proof when making a discrimination claim.

Fortunately, that number is down from where it was a number of years ago, but it is still too high.

I want to start by thanking Ms. Kotagal for her willingness to put herself forward for this nomination.

I think addressing pregnancy discrimination in the workplace is of central importance and overlaps with other issues that we have discussed, including the gender wage gap.

Fortunately, now we have a bill in the Senate, imagine this it is bipartisan, that we are trying to pass.

Senator Grassley and I introduced the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act.

I rise this morning to express concern for the people of Ukraine and the hundreds of millions who are going to bed hungry across the globe. Every day since that terrible day, February 24, we have watched in horror as Vladimir Putin and his…

I thank the majority leader. I will resume my comments about food security. As I mentioned earlier, across the world now, we not only have 276 million people who now face acute food insecurity--as I said, meaning that they are in immediate…

I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. The ACTING PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

last week, I travelled overseas as part of a congressional delegation conducting meetings on Russian aggression, security, and food security, among other things. Our delegation was scheduled to return on Monday, April 25, but due to…

I have been particularly excited to hear about tremendous progress in the area of cell and gene therapy and the promise they hold in curing devastating diseases and transforming the lives of patients.

I am concerned that progress on these technologies could be slowed by insufficient face-to-face communication--the intention for these meetings--and an overreliance on WROs.