Prospect Medical Filing for Bankruptcy

Floor Speech

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Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, this week, Prospect Medical Holdings, which owns Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence and Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, filed for bankruptcy, threatening to undermine Rhode Island's already-stressed healthcare system.

Unfortunately, this is a day that many of us feared would come because, for years, Leonard Green & Partners, the private equity firm that owned Prospect Medical, and executives of the company engaged in outrageous profiteering, buying up hospitals and extracting hundreds of millions of dollars of management fees and dividends, money that should have been spent on patient care.

In the decade that private equity firm Leonard Green owned Prospect Medical, they extracted over half a billion dollars from the hospitals they owned. Their partner, Prospect CEO Sam Lee, personally made more than $100 million, buying luxury properties for himself at the same time that he shut down emergency rooms. Shameful.

When I was State treasurer in 2020, I sent a letter to Leonard Green, expressing my frustration at their unethical practices and the impact they were having on healthcare in Rhode Island. In response, they put out a statement insisting that all was well and that the operations at Fatima and Roger Williams were doing just fine.

Now, 4 years later, wouldn't you know it, Prospect is declaring bankruptcy, threatening the health and safety of thousands of Rhode Islanders who rely on Fatima and Roger Williams and the livelihoods of the hundreds of healthcare workers who work in those hospitals.

The executives at Leonard Green and Prospect, who sucked all the money out of those hospitals, are long gone, counting their millions. It is greed, plain and simple.

I commend Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Attorney General Peter Neronha, who have been sounding the alarm about Prospect for years. I am committed to working with State officials and my colleagues in the Rhode Island congressional delegation to clean up the mess that Leonard Green left behind and to do our best to save Fatima and Roger Williams and stabilize our State's healthcare system.

Mark my words, we will not stop there. The time has come for Congress to take a hard look at the consequences of private equity ownership of hospitals. Rhode Islanders and the American people are counting on us for action, and they are going to get it. Honoring Officers for Serving on January 6

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Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, 4 years ago last week, a violent mob attacked our Nation's Capitol, assaulted police officers, and threatened to kill elected officials, all with the goal of blocking the results of the Presidential election and denying the will of the American people. They did it because the losing candidate in that election, President Donald Trump, incited them by falsely claiming he won.

On that dark day, hundreds of Capitol and Metropolitan Police officers bravely did their duty, putting their lives in harm's way to protect this building, the people in it, and our very democracy.

Over 140 police officers suffered injuries, including broken bones, concussions, and PTSD. They were attacked with baseball bats, axes, and chemicals, among other deadly weapons. In the weeks that followed, five officers died from their injuries.

The officers who served that day are all heroes who fought for our country and deserve our thanks and praise. Congress passed, and President Biden signed, a law to honor the Capitol Police officers who defended our country during the January 6 riots with a plaque here in the Capitol Building that they fought to defend.

Shamefully, Republicans in Congress continue to refuse to hang that plaque. Every day that my Republican colleagues delay is an insult to the brave officers who served on January 6 and who continue to protect us day in and day out.

Mr. Speaker, I say to my Republican colleagues: No more delays, no more disrespect. Hang the plaque now.

Every pivotal event in American history has heroes and cowards. January 6 is no different. History will always remember the heroic officers who risked their lives to defend our country and will also remember the cowards who refused to honor them.

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