This year has seen our health care workers and the American public experience an unprecedented health care crisis.  As our physicians and nurses continue to work to save lives and combat this pandemic, we must work to ensure that our health care workforce, hospitals and community health centers have the support they need to do the critical work they do.  In addition, we must work to ensure that Americans have access to quality, affordable health care.  As we have seen, access to health care is critical in saving lives, and those with access to care will have better health outcomes.

In the 116th Congress, I will continue to advocate for greater access to health care for all Americans.  This includes building on the success of the Affordable Care Act, working in Texas to expand Medicaid so that more Texans have the safety and security that health insurance provides, and that Texas no longer has the unfortunate designation of being the state with the highest uninsured rate in the nation.  

Last year, House Democrats responded to the nation’s calls for Congress to address the soaring costs of lifesaving drugs by passing the bipartisan Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.  This bill ensures that American seniors and families do not have to choose between purchasing a lifesaving drug and putting food on their family’s table.  By allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies on prescription drugs, American families will not be overcharged for their medication and have to pay more while other countries pay less for the same drug.  The Senate must act to pass this bill so that Americans have the relief they need, and drug companies are no longer overcharging working families for lifesaving medications.