Action for Dental Health Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding, and I thank both the gentleman from Kentucky and the gentlewoman from Washington for bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3843, the bipartisan reauthorization of the Action for Dental Health Act of 2023.

First, I thank my colleague from Illinois, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, for her continued leadership on this issue. I was proud to partner with her in 2018 when the Action for Dental Health Act first passed, and I am pleased to see the House of Representatives working again in a bipartisan fashion to consider the reauthorization of the Action for Dental Health Act.

Since its implementation, the Action for Dental Health Act has improved dental care in communities across the United States, strengthened the dental safety net, and brought disease prevention and education into underserved communities.

This reauthorization is an essential step in continuing to address barriers to oral healthcare services that still exist, like tackling the oral health workforce issues and reducing the number of adults and children living with untreated dental disease.

As a former dentist in Blackfoot, Idaho, I know that the more we can provide patients with an early diagnosis, the better off our patients and our oral healthcare system will be.

As co-chair of the Congressional Oral Health Caucus, I am proud to, once again, join Congresswoman Kelly in this effort, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this critical reauthorization so we can continue the work to decrease dental health disparities in communities where better access to care is most needed.

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