Bipartisanship and End of Life Care

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as we begin the new Congress, America
sees the two parties in both the House and the Senate, along with the
White House, making statements that establish positions that
distinguish one from another.

But what if we started not by defining our differences but with
efforts that would bring us together?

We ended the last Congress with the passage of the Paul Simon Water
for the World Act, something I have worked on with my friend and
partner from Texas, Ted Poe, for years here in the House. There was
extraordinary bipartisan leadership demonstrated by Congressmen Charlie
Dent, Aaron Schock, Senator Dick Durbin. It did take 6 years, but this
bipartisan effort for a humanitarian cause, especially benefiting women
and girls around the globe, was worth the time and effort.

The legislation focused and enhanced American efforts dealing with
international water and sanitation. Today 152 million hours will be
spent by women and girls traveling to get water, often dirty water, to
meet the needs of their families in some of the poorest regions of the
planet.

This legislation created more focused American leadership, and it was
backed up by unprecedented increases in American aid for water and
sanitation. It will pay benefits for generations to come for millions,
making friends for America while it allows children to live longer and
makes the lives of women and girls more bearable. And we did it
together.

Are there other such candidates for legislation that will bring us
together? Dr. Phil Roe and I have been working on the Personalize Your
Care Act with medical groups, advocacy organizations, experts in
palliative care, hospitals, the community of faith.

This is an effort to make sure that at the end of life for our loved
ones, they actually get the treatment they want, not health care on
autopilot.

We have had tragic stories about how medical decisions by reflex and
default have put people in isolated ICUs in painful and foreign
settings when actually most of them, and in fact most of us, would
rather be comfortable at home, surrounded by our loved ones.

There has been a brilliant and exhaustive report by the Institute of
Medicine that deals with the problems and concerns and how we can do
better. Dr. Atul Gawande's bestselling book, ``Being Mortal,'' makes it
clear that there are crying needs and simple, commonsense compassionate
solutions.

There is a revolution taking place in health care today. What if, as
part of that revolution, Congress started the new year with our
bipartisan legislation, the Personalize Your Care Act, to make sure
those families understand their choices, that their choices are known,
and--most important--their choices are respected?

We had dozens of cosponsors and broad support across the medical
establishment and the community of faith. Maybe we can pick up where we
left off and have this legislation bring us together to protect our
families and start the year on a united front, giving families the
protection they want for the care they need.

There is no reason we in Congress need to spin our wheels and shout
at and past each other. Mr. Speaker, I could have made this same
presentation not about the water and sanitation, but about how this
Congress came together in the final hours to help save the lives of
Afghans and Iraqis who are now at risk from the tender mercies of the
Taliban and al Qaeda because they helped Americans as guides and
interpreters when we needed them.

These are some of my examples of bipartisan cooperation that are
important which we have done in the past. I would invite my colleagues
to share their agenda of bipartisan, low or no-cost legislation that
allows us to work together.

It is not too late to start the year and this Congress right.

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