The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Women's Healthcare (Executive Calendar)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S2734-S2735 on May 8, 2019.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Women's Healthcare
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, this coming Sunday, mothers and other special women who are mother figures and caregivers for our children across the country will be honored for the important work they do to nuture the next generation.
Many moms will receive cards and flowers. Some will enjoy breakfast in bed or dinner out. A few lucky ones might get plaster handprints or handmade mugs--I love those. These gifts, no matter what they are, will be treasured because when it comes right down to it, all moms really want are a couple of things. They want their children to be happy, and they want their children to be healthy.
Unfortunately, thanks to this administration's continuing attacks on our healthcare, a lot of mothers can no longer count on that. Just ask Rachel whose daughter Alice was born in Detroit with a heart condition called Shone's complex. When Alice was only 1 day old, she had her first open heart surgery. Think about that. She was 1 day old. Four years later, she has an artificial heart valve, a love of dancing, and the biggest grin you have ever seen. She also has what the insurance companies call a preexisting condition. She will have to take heart medication for the rest of her life.
Alice's mom, Rachel, writes:
Her hospital stays and medications cost well over a million dollars--closer to two million. Without the (Affordable Care Act), our family would be bankrupt, worrying about how to pay for her life-saving medications.
No mom should have to worry about going bankrupt because her child was born with a heart condition. It could happen to any of us. No family should go broke paying for the medication that is keeping their child alive. Alice deserves better, and Alice's mom deserves better too.
I have said it before, and I will say it over and over again: Healthcare is personal. It is not political. We should be working across the aisle to expand access to care, improve quality, reduce costs, and we should be doing something to resolve the maternal and infant mortality crisis that is happening right now in the United States of America so Mother's Day is a day of joy instead of a day of sorrow.
Instead, we find ourselves fighting an administration that will not stop trying to take away the protections that people like Alice count on and that thousands, millions across the country count on. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice last month agreed with a Federal judge in Texas who said the entire Affordable Care Act must be struck down, and that includes coverage for those with preexisting conditions.
Not to be outdone, the Senate Republicans passed a budget resolution out of committee that includes repeal of the Affordable Care Act with no replacement. What would that mean for Michigan families? Our Healthy Michigan Program that provides healthcare to more than 650,000 Michiganders, gone. Children staying on their parents insurance until age 26, gone. Lower drug prices for seniors, gone. Protections for people with preexisting conditions, gone. That would be horrible news for Alice and every other Michigan child born with a heart condition or any other health challenge.
So what is the Republican alternative to the ACA? They don't have one, but don't worry. President Trump says Republicans will unveil a
``really great'' healthcare plan after the 2020 election--after the 2020 election.
In the meantime, the Affordable Care Act could be struck down in the courts, with the support of the Trump administration, and Alice and her mom could really be out of luck.
In honor of Mother's Day, here is what we should be doing together. We should reaffirm the Affordable Care Act's protections for Alice and all people with preexisting conditions. We should, once again, guarantee that every insurance plan covers prenatal and maternity care--by the way, instead of the junk plans the administration is approving right now that don't cover prenatal and maternity care. We should also strengthen healthcare for moms and babies through the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid, which cover about half of the births in our country.
A few years ago, the Finance Committee reported out a bipartisan bill that I led with Senator Grassley. It was called the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act. This bill would create a set of maternal and infant quality care measures in the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid. The goal is simple: improving maternal and infant health outcomes.
It is amazing that we don't have uniform quality health standards across the country. The Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act will help make sure that every mom gets the best pregnancy care possible and every baby gets a healthy start. That is what we should be passing.
In America today, that is, unfortunately, not the case. Our maternal mortality rate is climbing. African-American women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than are other American women, and our infant mortality rate ranks a shameful 32 among the world's 35 wealthiest nations--32 out of 35 in our great country.
We need to change this so more moms and their children will enjoy a happy Mother's Day. Moms like Rachel shouldn't be spending their Mother's Day worrying about what will happen to their children if the Republicans succeed in undoing the Affordable Care Act.
In thinking back on Alice's diagnosis, Rachel said:
I cannot express how stressful and gut-wrenching a time this was for my family. I am thankful every day for the Affordable Care Act.
Moms deserve more than flowers and a card. They deserve the peace of mind that comes from knowing their children are born as healthy as possible and will have the healthcare coverage they need. Our moms gave us life. This Mother's Day, let's pay it forward.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
