Important Issues Facing America

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, with no shortage of topics to discuss and cover today, the House of Representatives just recently passed the Protecting Health Care for all Patients Act, a crucially important bill.

I appreciate my colleagues joining me today to share their messages regarding the ongoing turmoil and unnecessary strain on our border due to President Biden's inability to get that under control, as well as other topics, from women's sports and beyond.

They have come to share their messages and speak to not only America but their own district.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bean), a good colleague and friend representing the Fourth District.

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I can't overemphasize the point about fentanyl enough, and I am glad the gentleman made it again.

That was something that was top of mind, as I just had constituent meetings in Utah, particularly with law enforcement, in trying to squelch this overabundant invasion of fentanyl. It is catching people in situations that they would have otherwise not gotten into. It is overtaking our communities, and we need to communicate about it and have it addressed.

Fentanyl becomes more and more the clear topic that we need to get out ahead of, and I think that is something that is motivating the Republican Conference more than anything to address this border issue.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose).

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Rose) for his willingness to always show up and share his message. His constituents and Americans alike appreciate it.

Madam Speaker, I am from Utah's First, and I call it the best district. I believe California is also the First District, so we will also call it the best district.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), the first best district.

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I served on the Natural Resources Committee with the gentleman from California. The point that we continually tried to make is that American innovation and American leadership need to be invested in.

The policies that are playing out and the rhetoric and all of hyperbole, it moves us away from improving the situation on anything related to energy. It is fascinating. He and I had a chance to spend a lot of time on that.

To further emphasize and discuss the bill we just recently passed, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, is an incredibly important voice within our conference, from Pennsylvania's 13th District, and a physician himself. I look forward to hearing his thoughts.

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the doctor from Pennsylvania for his remarks. I appreciate his support on the bill and communicating the importance of the bill.

Madam Speaker, I welcome the gentleman from the Sixth District of Virginia to share his remarks.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the nearby State of Virginia (Mr. Cline).

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Mr. MOORE of Utah. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for sharing his perspective from his district just west of here. I think that is the point. A lot of folks come up and use this time to share a message in speaking to their constituents, but across the country this impacts everywhere. We use the terminology that every State is a border State, but it does impact everywhere.

Madam Speaker, again, we passed a very important healthcare bill today. Healthcare policy is oftentimes misunderstood and difficult to really communicate. That has continued on for decades.

I want to highlight some of the aspects of this bill that we just recently passed out of the House of Representatives. Before doing so, I wanted to use this moment to also highlight something that I have done from this podium before on why this moment, when we talk about all the crises that are going on--we have major turmoil going on in the Middle East, we have a border crisis, and we have inflation running rampant-- in all of these different areas, I want the American people to know my perspective.

I want my constituents to know that right now the political reality is that we have what is called split government. We have a White House with a Democratic President and a Democratic Party. We have a Senate controlled by the Democratic Party, and we have a House of Representatives controlled by the Republican Party.

What the Republicans in the House of Representatives have been trying to do for just over the year that we have had as the majority--for a time we were in the minority--is to just highlight several different things.

Let me speak very plainly. The American Rescue Plan was passed several weeks after President Biden was inaugurated. What took place then was everything switched in Washington. When we have a split government like we do now, we usually, hopefully, get outcomes like we did with the tax package last week where Republicans and Democrats on committee sat down, looked through the entire Tax Code and realized that certain provisions had expired. They tried to uncover what the important aspects were of what we needed to accomplish.

We came to an amazing tax package that I have celebrated. I have celebrated along with my committee members; I have celebrated along with the entire House of Representatives and back home. I am so proud of the work that we did there. Oftentimes that is what creates a lot of really good results.

Returning to the American Rescue Plan, it was a $1.9 trillion bill that within months created some of the worst inflation our Nation has seen in four decades. It is simple. When we add that much monetary supply and we have too much money chasing too few goods, then there is only one equation, and it is inflation.

When the Republicans took over the House of Representatives this last cycle, it is being reported all the time now that inflation is sort of squashed. These are simple equations. Republicans are putting the clamps on what President Biden tried to massively spend during his time when he had the White House, the House, and the Senate, because in that scenario, Madam Speaker, you don't have to even dialogue with the other party. I am proud of the work that Republicans have done in that scenario.

So I use that as an example. That is a simple equation. It is basic economic fundamentals. If we don't load up the monetary supply so much then you won't create this type of inflation, and we have been doing that. Prices are still high because a lot of these prices are here to stay, unfortunately. After a massive inflationary period, those prices stay high, but inflation is down. I am thrilled to have been a part of it and to be able to put the clamps on the Biden administration's spending appetite and get this back to a reasonable level.

The point that I am trying to draw a correlation on is we have been hitting this border issue for 3 years now, and we are going to continue to do this. It is now clear from all of the data and all of the polling--colleagues of mine from the Democratic side recognize that this isn't just a post-pandemic issue where we are overloaded on the border--we have a fundamental issue.

The thing that I am appreciative of on my side is just highlighting very specific and simple things that could be done to fix this. I wish we could do it legislatively, but they don't even need to be done legislatively. They are simple things like re-implement the Migrant Protection Protocols or the remain in Mexico policy. This is the strongest signal to the cartels that says: You can't overrun our borders because through this asylum process, you will get put in the system, you will get a spot and you will get your case heard, but you are not allowed to be released.

It is the most simple and basic policy. If President Biden wanted to truly effect positive change at the border, then he would just re- implement things like the catch and release program. There are simple fixes to that, and I have highlighted it over and over again. I will continue to do that and to call this out. Hopefully, we can.

Even going forward, it is a tumultuous time in the House of Representatives and in the Senate right now about figuring out where to land on some of these negotiations. We cannot give up just because things seem difficult or overwhelming. We have got to be willing to find a way to massively improve our situation at the southern border.

Again, back to the legislation that we covered today and that we recently passed. This is another step to improve our healthcare system and ensure all patients get access to the best treatments and care that they need.

Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers' Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act will help ensure the value of lifesaving cures and treatments for people with disabilities is not discounted.

The bill will provide all Federal healthcare programs, including the VA and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, as well as federally funded State healthcare programs like Medicaid, from using prices that are based on quality-adjusted life years or similar measures. Quality- adjusted life years are intended to measure the value of medical interventions relative to someone's condition and how it will impact the patient's longevity.

Nonetheless, this can devalue certain patients' lives and lead to picking winners and losers, ultimately taking the decision out of the hands of patients and their healthcare provider. A ban on quality- adjusted life years currently only applies in Medicare, so by extending this prohibition to all Federal payers, we show people with disabilities and chronic illnesses that we value and cherish their lives and their ability to get the care they need.

This is particularly important in Medicaid and the VA. Medicaid serves a large population of people with disabilities, and the VA, as we know, cares for injured veterans and those with service-related disabilities like the brave men and women who serve at Hill Air Force Base in Utah's First Congressional District.

This policy also protects the ability of payers to use utilization management tools and other measures to determine cost effectiveness to keep our healthcare costs down, so long as those measures are not discriminatory.

The Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act is widely supported by leading advocacy organizations that support vulnerable patients with chronic diseases or people with disabilities ranging from The ALS Association, to Autism Speaks, to the National Down Syndrome Society among many, many others.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Rodgers for her passion for these issues. I urge the Senate to take this up and to seriously consider it, not to look on party lines, and pass this legislation. There is merit to this, and it will go and serve vulnerable populations.

Again, Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for being willing to come and share their message. I appreciate their willingness to always come and do this and be a part of our Special Order.

I will end with just saying there are simple fixes to a lot of this, and we cannot continue to make it so difficult.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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