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Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gift of Life Medal Act of 2008

Date: Sept. 23, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES GIFT OF LIFE MEDAL ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 23, 2008)

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Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6950, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gift of Life Medal Act of 2008.

As everyone in this Chamber knows, the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a wonderful woman and was a tireless public servant. She sought to use her time each day to serve the people of her district and of this Nation, and the extraordinary generosity she exhibited in so many of her actions proves to be one of her lasting legacies. She was also a very joyful woman, and she brought much joy to all of those who were fortunate enough to know her. I include myself in that group.

However, nowhere have her selfless nature and leadership qualities been more apparent than in her decision to be an organ donor. Her untimely death was a tragedy, but because of her decision, others will be fortunate to enjoy the gift of life.

Currently, there are close to 100,000 individuals on the national transplant waiting list. Each hour, this number increases, adding a new name approximately every 16 minutes. Yet, despite how sobering this statistic is and the even harsher statistic that my colleague mentioned, more sobering is the number of people who die while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. This number is 16 people per day. Understanding that reality, Representative Tubbs Jones did what she always did. She volunteered to give to those in need.

This legislation honors her actions. The bill before us today would establish a Stephanie Tubbs Jones Gift of Life Medal, and it would make any organ donor or family of the organ donor eligible to receive the honor. The legislation empowers the Secretary of Health and Human Services to direct the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to establish an application and assessment process for donors in order to receive the award.

By agreeing to this legislation, this Congress honors the actions of Representative Tubbs Jones and the actions of so many others who sought to give what they could to those in need. This is an important action, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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