On the recordSeptember 20, 2011
I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1852, the Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education Support Reauthorization Act of 2011, would enable the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to provide funding to freestanding children's hospitals to support the training of pediatricians and other residents. This funding is critical to ensuring the adequacy of the pediatric workforce in the United States. The program was first enacted by Congress in 1999 with wide bipartisan support and has been reauthorized twice. Since the enactment of the bill, the number of pediatricians trained has increased by 35 percent. The week we marked up this bill, I met 10-year-old Anna Lipsman. Anna is a bright, outgoing young girl who is fighting leukemia. Diagnosed just a few months ago, Anna spent 2 weeks undergoing treatment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She is successfully fighting her disease, but will still need additional treatments over the next 2\1/2\ years. Anna is a strong, personal reminder of why I introduced this bill. With the reauthorization of H.R. 1852, we hope to send a clear message to the Obama administration and the Department of Health and Human Services that this bill is important to ensuring that children receive adequate health care. I would like to thank Mr. Pallone and all the 114 cosponsors that worked on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
