Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act
Floor Speech
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Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my strong support for H.R. 1520, the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act.
Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, I am proud to co-lead the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act alongside my colleague, Representative Kat Cammack. I thank her for her partnership on this vital bill named after the incredible young woman whom you just met.
I came out here looking for her because I said to Frank months or years ago: Frank, she will be in the committee. She is the living energy of somebody who knew that something had to be done, and Charlotte is just always there. Her energy is going to get this issue righted. She has been the bill's biggest supporter, sitting time and time again in the Energy and Commerce Committee room for nearly every hearing and markup and telling her story and her tremendous work.
For those who don't know her story, it has been mentioned that Charlotte was born with Down syndrome and a heart condition. Due to this heart condition, she successfully underwent a lifesaving heart transplant in 2012. In the years since, she has become the advocate we all know, sharing her story to educate and advocate for others with disabilities.
In her honor, this important bill prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the organ transplant system. Specifically, it prohibits eligible individuals from being denied a lifesaving transplant procedure based solely on their disability status. It is unthinkable that people with disabilities are passed over for lifesaving transplants based on discriminatory and subjective assumptions about their ability to comply with postoperative care.
With this legislation, we can take action and ensure that all Americans, regardless of their disability status, receive equitable access to the care that they need.
I thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for fighting with us for this important piece of legislation. Again, I thank Representative Cammack for being such a great bipartisan partner.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bill.
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