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[Page H4645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIRTH OF THE HERO ACT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. Bera) for 5 minutes.
Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of my
bipartisan measure, H.R. 1646, the Helping Emergency Responders
Overcome Act, or the HERO Act.
The HERO Act is the best of what we do in this people's House, which
is accessible to our constituents and others, and that is why we love
the House of Representatives.
Over 2\1/2\ years ago, two of my fire chiefs, Mike McLaughlin and
Maurice Johnson, visited my office here in Washington to talk about
some issues. In passing, they also talked about the number of
firefighters and first responders that succumb to suicide, and the
stresses of the job.
We talked about it and we started to do a little bit of research. We
realized we didn't have good statistics on the actual incidence of
firefighters or first responders that were succumbing to suicide.
We started to talk to others, the International Association of
Firefighters, and we talked to law enforcement. We realized the
stresses that these individuals, men and women, who are out there
protecting our communities every day, face. They see untold challenges
that normal human beings don't see. So we started talking about this.
We looked for those statistics, talked to the Firefighter Behavioral
Health Alliance founder, Jeff Dill, and again, realized we ought to
challenge the CDC to collect these statistics, and we ought to do
something about it. We ought to help relieve the suffering of these
first responders, firefighters, law enforcement individuals.
So we went about writing a bill and working with our partners. That
was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. What we have seen since the
pandemic is untold pressures on our frontline healthcare workers, our
nurses, the folks in the hospitals. And I want to applaud a fellow
doctor, a Republican Member, Mike Burgess, who is the ranking member
on the Energy and Commerce Healthcare Subcommittee, he realized this
fact. And working together with our staff, we amended the HERO Act to
include and recognize the unique stresses that these frontline
healthcare workers are facing.
We talked about how they don't need to suffer by themselves, how we
could put in place peer-to-peer contacts where folks could reach out,
create a space for some of these individuals that might be suffering
alone to talk about what was going on.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member
Walden on the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the chairwoman
of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Ms. Eshoo, for helping
get this bill to the floor and getting it passed yesterday evening.
Again, the HERO Act demonstrates what we can do when we come together
as Democrats and Republicans, when we listen to our constituents, and
we work with those folks that are out there.
I, again, want to applaud the frontline healthcare workers, the
firefighters, the law enforcement individuals, and emergency responders
that are out there keeping us safe every day. You have got our back, we
have got your back. So thank you to all of them.
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