On the recordApril 13, 2021
I thank the chairman very much for yielding, and I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 1868, an act to prevent direct across-the-board spending cuts, which would include protecting Medicare. Madam Speaker, one of the happiest days of my life as a Member of the United States Congress--and I have passed many legislative initiatives--is the passing of the American Rescue Act. Just in the time that I was in the district in the work recess, I was able to see the smiles of so many--such as our Federally qualified health clinics getting almost 50 million to provide vaccinations to well-deserved communities--smiling faces about the American Rescue Act. And so the reason why this is an important initiative is because it retains language included by Congress in the CARES Act and subsequent legislation to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicare plans and providers are receiving payment rates at approximately 2 percent higher than what they otherwise could have received during this time. The pause in the operability of the sequestration was slated to expire on March 31, 2021, but H.R. 1868 extended the suspension to December 30, 2021. We do not want any cuts from Medicare, and Democrats will not have any cuts in Medicare. The Senate amendment to that legislation reduced that time to the end of the fiscal year 2021--September 30--but I know that even though it has been reduced to that, we will extend it because we will not have any cuts.…
