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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to uplift the story of a hero from Ohio's 13th Congressional District, Mariah Stacy Frederick.
Mariah is the voice and advocate for her daughter, who lives with spina bifida, a condition that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don't form properly.
For Mariah and her daughter, Medicaid is a crucial resource without which they would not be able to afford the proper care that her daughter requires for her condition.
In her message to my office, Mariah said: ``I am asking for the budget to not touch Medicaid funding. My daughter is 2 years old and is just starting to walk on her own. This is all with the support she receives at physical therapy and the Help Me Grow [program]. I would be lost without all of these resources for her.''
Mariah's story is one of heroism, but not different than many of my other constituents', a mother working hard to provide for her daughter who was born and lives with a condition that requires the care that Medicaid provides.
Mariah is fighting to make sure that her daughter is able to keep receiving that care alongside the 200,000 people in Ohio's 13th Congressional District.
What makes this even more infuriating is that this bill is robbing the working poor to pay for tax cuts to buy a yacht or a second home.
Mariah's story is inspiring, and she is not alone. Thousands of constituents from Ohio's 13th Congressional District have called and written to my offices in Akron, Canton, and here in D.C., imploring me to save Medicaid.
That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to fight for Mariah and Ohio's 13th Congressional District.
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