Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2006

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL GME SUPPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2006

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Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express gratitude for the passage of H.R. 5574, the Children's Hospitals GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2006. This bill will extend funding through fiscal year 2011 for children's hospitals that provide approved graduate medical residency programs. Hippocrates once said, ``Healing is a matter of time, but is sometimes a matter of opportunity.'' Kansas City's Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics continue to provide numerous opportunities for the children of Missouri and Kansas to receive the best pediatric healthcare available. The services Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) provides are invaluable. The $7 million received by Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area trains 125 interns and residents from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School each year. The CHGME program ensures that children will continue to receive excellent healthcare and our Nation's pediatric health workforce will remain strong and competitive for years to come.

Since Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City is the only children's hospital between St. Louis, Missouri and Denver, Colorado, I know it is essential to continue to provide this vital funding. These valuable funds will keep the hospitals running efficiently while training our future pediatric care providers. I will support the restoration of CHGME's full funding for $300 million when the House considers the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2007.

Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics provide services spanning from Wichita, Kansas to Springfield, Missouri, and the passage of H.R. 5574 will ensure on-going financial support for over 60 children's hospitals, including Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City where the program started. From heart surgery to brain tumors to burn treatment, patients at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics know they are receiving the best medical care possible and parents will never forget the ``angels'' who saved their children's lives. I am proud to support a program that has improved the lives of countless children nationwide, especially in my district, Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, while also expressing gratitude to the Missouri and Kansas delegation for their unending support.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our pleasure at the passage of this bill, and also to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for providing such a valuable service to so many families. The residents of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District take comfort in knowing the medical experts up at Children's Mercy Hospital are constantly on call ensure our children's well being. The health and safety of our children should remain a national priority, and today, I am proud to be a Member of Congress as we pass H.R. 5574.

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