House Energy and Commerce Committee passes 3 healthcare bills offered by McMorris Rodgers

Three healthcare-related proposals that U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) helped introduce received approval this week during a markup session held by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which passed a total of 26 bills.

“These are bipartisan solutions and I’m thankful for their passage today and will continue to work with my Democratic colleagues to get these bills signed into law,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said.

Legislation she introduced with U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) to extend the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program received committee approval as part of the Reauthorizing and Extending America’s Community Health (REACH) Act, H.R. 2328, which would reauthorize and extend funding for community health centers and the National Health Service Corps.

The committee also passed the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act of 2019, H.R. 2035, which Rep. McMorris Rodgers introduced with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) to authorize $200 million in funding over the next five years to continue building coordinated respite services for families caring for loved ones with chronic, disabling conditions. The same-named S. 995, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), is under U.S. Senate committee consideration.

Lastly, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2019, H.R. 3637, introduced by the congresswoman and U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) to authorize assistance for increasing workforce diversity in physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology.

H.R. 3637 received committee approval as part of the Educating Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness (EMPOWER) for Health Act of 2019, H.R. 2781.

“From bringing more doctors to eastern Washington to ensuring respite care is accessible for those who need it to promoting diversity in allied health fields, these three bills will make improvements in our healthcare system that will benefit people here in our community,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers.