Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of En Bloc 3, which includes my amendment to the Labor-HHS-Education Division of H.R. 4502, the minibus Appropriations Act.

My amendment will provide an additional $2 million to the Health Centers Program within the Department of Health and Human Services. This funding will provide increased assistance to our community health centers which serve as a lifeline to many of the most vulnerable members of our community, and have been hit especially hard during the pandemic.

Today there are around 1,400 health centers in over 14,000 urban and rural communities, across the U.S. serving 30 million patients in every state and territory. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic they provided vital comprehensive, quality health services--including, primary and preventive care, behavioral health, dental care, pharmacy, and vision care--to vulnerable and underserved communities. In recent years, they have been expanding their services to include mental health and treatment of substance use disorder.

Throughout the pandemic crisis, community health centers have stepped up to help their communities by providing essential testing, contact tracing, education, and vaccinations. And they have done so while continuing to meet the ongoing health care needs of their patients. However, these vital health care providers, who already operate on very tight budgets with thin margins, were stretched even thinner in the last eighteen months. At a time when they needed all hands on deck, community health centers around the country had to cut hours, reduce services, and lay off or furlough employees. Some even had to shut down temporarily.

As we continue to work our way through to the other side of the pandemic, community health centers still need our support to care for our vulnerable and underserved Americans. Thanks to the efforts of the Congress and the support of the President, our health centers have been given some of the assistance they need in order to do so. Fortunately, the American Rescue Plan provided over $6.1 billion in funding to 1,377 health centers around the country. In my state of Massachusetts, 37 community health centers have received over $146 million to help them continue their work.

I was pleased to see the substantial increase that the Appropriations Committee provided to health centers in this spending bill, and again, I appreciate the Committee's acceptance of my amendment which will help our community health centers to continue to provide quality, comprehensive health care to millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this En Bloc amendment and the underlying bill.

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