Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, currently, more than 113 million Americans are facing long-term disease or disability. Significant policy advancements have recently been signed into law to encourage the development of drugs for those with limited medical options and continued efforts to get advanced diagnostic tests to patients more quickly. Yet a segment of the population remains who are in the midst of an ongoing struggle. As someone who spent most of my professional career serving those with life-changing disease and disability, a shared goal of health care providers is to improve the quality of life for their patients. This is particularly true when it comes to those with limited speech, whether they have suffered from stroke, trauma, or progressive neurological diseases such as ALS, MS, or Huntington's. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that after years of recommendations, earlier this month the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has lifted prohibitions on unlocking of speech-generating devices from accessing our technologies such as email or Internet access. Moving forward, our goals should be the continued empowerment of those facing disease and disability, to ensure their dignity, mobility, and communication abilities can be enhanced in our modern world. ____________________”