Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112th

 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION

b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m.

Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

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H5203 

Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012 No. 112 

House of Representatives 

The House met at 10 a.m. and was 

called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. FARENTHOLD

f 

). 

DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO 

TEMPORE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following communication from the Speaker: 

WASHINGTON, DC, 

July 25, 2012. 

I hereby appoint the Honorable BLAKE

FARENTHOLD to act as Speaker pro tempore 

on this day. 

JOHN A. BOEHNER, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

f 

MORNING-HOUR DEBATE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 17, 2012, the Chair will now recognize Members from lists submitted by 

the majority and minority leaders for 

morning-hour debate. 

The Chair will alternate recognition 

between the parties, with each party 

limited to 1 hour and each Member 

other than the majority and minority 

leaders and the minority whip limited 

to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall 

debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. 

f 

END OF LIFE CARE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, 

our colleague, JIM MCDERMOTT, sent 

each of us a letter with a Time magazine cover article by Joe Klein entitled 

‘‘How to Die.’’ This article is jarring to 

many because it’s an issue that most 

would rather not confront. As a result, 

there’s a great deal of unnecessary 

pain, confusion, and suffering. It masks 

one of the most important issues in 

health care, which, despite the manufactured controversy over ‘‘death panels,’’ is a rare, sweet spot in the health 

care debate. It can improve the quality 

of life, in some cases the length of life, 

and most importantly we can help people understand their circumstances and 

get the care that they want. If this 

happens, the cost of health care will go 

down even as satisfaction and quality 

goes up. 

For most Americans, the protocols 

followed by almost every hospital and 

practitioner will be to give the maximum amount of the most aggressive 

care in end-of-life situations. Especially if patients have the money or insurance, they will be hooked up in 

their final stages of life to be resuscitated, their ribs cracked, and hearts 

massaged. There will be tubes inserted, 

chemicals pumped, and defibrillators 

will shock people, even if they have no 

awareness of what’s going on, other 

than that they are being tortured. 

When people are given the information, resources, and choices, the outcomes are much different. A telling 

story in The Wall Street Journal last 

February pointed out how doctors die 

differently. These are people with 

knowledge and where money is not 

usually a consideration. They can get 

any health care they want, but as a 

group, they regularly choose less intense, aggressive treatment and more 

palliative care. They are choosing the 

comfort and consciousness of being 

with family and friends in awareness 

over being hooked up in an ICU and 

struggling in their last minutes. 

Doctors have a better quality of life, 

and it costs less money. Why can’t all 

Americans spend their final days like 

doctors? The truth is, they can. My 

legislation—Personalize Your Health 

Care—was developed with leaders in 

health care insurance and palliative 

care. Patients and doctors alike would 

help make sure that patients and other 

health care professionals work with patients to help them understand what 

they’re confronting, what their choices 

are, determine what works best for 

them and their families, and then 

make sure that whatever their decision 

is, that choice will be honored. Over 

ninety percent of Americans agree that 

this is the right approach. 

There’s an interesting little secret 

here that extreme treatments not only 

deteriorate your quality of life, but 

they’re no guarantee of giving you 

more hours to live. Studies have shown 

that managing the pain perhaps in the 

hospice, along with the love and company of families in a familiar setting, 

in some cases actually leads to patients living longer. People can actually enjoy their remaining hours, and 

there are more remaining hours to 

enjoy. 

If most of us were to script our departure, it would probably be to go 

quietly in the middle of the night in 

the comfort of our own bed. The second-best scenario would be to go at 

home in that same bed surrounded by 

family and friends, comfortable, and 

conversing until the end. The least favored option, I suspect, would be 

semiconscious with tubes in our bodies 

in an ICU setting with the institutional hum around and strangers bustling about. Is that anybody’s hope for 

their final memories? Sadly, that’s the 

fate that awaits many people who do 

not personalize their health care. 

I strongly encourage my colleagues 

to look at this bipartisan legislation, 

H.R. 1589, and then to do what you can 

to have a thoughtful and rational conversation about this policy. Let’s modernize Medicare to give people the care 

they want, to find out their choices, 

and make sure that those choices are 

respected. 

We owe it to the American public, 

and we owe it to our families and 

friends to make sure that every American can have the same high quality of 

life in their final weeks as doctors 

have. 


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