0:00:10.947,0:00:12.812 Well, like so many Americans, 0:00:12.812,0:00:17.050 my family and my friends have faced[br]mental health challenges. 0:00:17.350,0:00:19.986 And so, you know,[br]I think that there's very few families 0:00:19.986,0:00:23.326 and very few workplaces or communities[br]that can't say that. 0:00:23.723,0:00:27.060 And I think one of the things[br]that I've seen is even as we've made 0:00:27.460,0:00:30.393 advances in the ability[br]to treat mental health, 0:00:30.927,0:00:33.400 the actual delivery of that treatment, 0:00:33.600,0:00:37.871 the affordability and the accessibility[br]has often lagged behind. 0:00:37.904,0:00:42.075 And so one of the things I've been[br]really focused on is trying to make sure 0:00:42.242,0:00:47.367 that insurers, that providers are actually[br]delivering on mental health care. 0:00:47.367,0:00:49.783 When I moved to Orange County[br]ten years ago, 0:00:50.316,0:00:55.422 there were no pediatric[br]mental health beds in the entire county. 0:00:55.719,0:00:58.541 And as I said, you might think, well, it's[br]just a county. 0:00:58.658,0:01:02.162 Orange[br]County is bigger than like 20 some states. 0:01:02.495,0:01:05.265 And yet[br]we had no pediatric mental health beds. 0:01:05.335,0:01:08.568 And so although that's changed[br]with the leadership of our children's 0:01:08.568,0:01:12.872 hospital over time, it really goes[br]to show you how difficult it is 0:01:13.506,0:01:17.077 to be able to find mental[br]health care as well as afford it. 0:01:17.310,0:01:19.813 And so when I talk about people[br]being healthy, 0:01:20.013,0:01:22.682 I mean healthy[br]in every aspect of their lives. 0:01:22.949,0:01:25.318 Both physical and mental health. 0:01:31.662,0:01:35.228 Well, talking to different people[br]about their experiences, one of the great 0:01:35.228,0:01:39.132 things about being a congressperson is[br]people share their life stories with you. 0:01:39.165,0:01:41.034 They share their frustrations with you. 0:01:41.034,0:01:45.105 And I think one of the amazing things[br]that we've seen the disability community 0:01:45.105,0:01:49.609 do over my lifetime,[br]as I was born in the era of the ADA. 0:01:49.742,0:01:50.977 I grew up in Iowa. 0:01:50.977,0:01:52.545 Tom Harkin was my senator 0:01:52.545,0:01:56.416 and I can remember what it was a big deal[br]it was to have the ADA pass. 0:01:56.416,0:02:00.320 As we've seen the stigma reduced and more[br]and more people feel like 0:02:00.320,0:02:03.356 they can talk about their frustrations[br]and their challenges, 0:02:03.990,0:02:06.392 what they could accomplish,[br]what they couldn't 0:02:06.392,0:02:10.130 get in terms of wellness[br]and what they often are falling short on. 0:02:10.130,0:02:12.565 And so I started talking[br]to different people. 0:02:12.565,0:02:14.447 I started looking at things. 0:02:14.447,0:02:17.871 You know talking to psychiatrists[br]in our community, psychologists, social 0:02:17.871,0:02:21.875 workers, schools, teachers,[br]and hearing about their challenges. 0:02:21.875,0:02:25.805 And so I think that's really part of being[br]a representative, is that learning part. 0:02:25.812,0:02:28.081 Learning[br]what the problems are in your community 0:02:28.248,0:02:32.452 and then teaching other people about them[br]to create that momentum to fix them. 0:02:38.925,0:02:43.129 There are real lessons to be drawn[br]from the successes of the ADA, 0:02:43.163,0:02:47.340 from the successes of the advocacy[br]of the disability community 0:02:47.340,0:02:50.670 and those who support the disability[br]community have done, which is that 0:02:50.670,0:02:55.942 allowing every American,[br]regardless of their different abilities 0:02:55.942,0:03:00.513 to achieve their potential,[br]is a great thing for our economy. 0:03:00.547,0:03:05.852 In fact, when we design inclusive things,[br]not only do we create opportunity 0:03:05.852,0:03:09.189 for people with disabilities[br]to contribute to our economy, 0:03:09.189,0:03:13.159 to contribute their talents[br]and their passions to our society. 0:03:13.159,0:03:17.163 But often designing things[br]from an inclusive perspective 0:03:17.397,0:03:20.333 creates a better outcome for everybody. 0:03:20.433,0:03:22.902 And so I heard a lot[br]about this exact thing 0:03:23.336,0:03:25.505 when I chaired my hearing this fall 0:03:25.939,0:03:30.076 on the Oversight and Investigations[br]Subcommittee on Natural Resources. 0:03:30.310,0:03:34.380 I was really interested in the topic[br]of the accessibility of public lands, 0:03:34.847,0:03:35.715 and I mean the 0:03:35.715,0:03:39.452 accessibility to a lot of different ways,[br]including the cost of getting there, 0:03:39.619,0:03:43.890 the transportation issues where we locate[br]these public lands in terms of 0:03:44.891,0:03:46.025 environmental justice. 0:03:46.025,0:03:47.894 But I also meant very particularly 0:03:47.894,0:03:50.156 the accessibility[br]for the disability community. 0:03:50.330,0:03:51.931 And here's what I learned. 0:03:51.931,0:03:55.235 Good trail design that helps people 0:03:55.235,0:03:59.038 with physical disabilities[br]is also the right 0:03:59.038,0:04:03.443 kind of trail design to prevent erosion[br]and ensure conservation. 0:04:03.843,0:04:07.213 And so in addition[br]to making these trails more accessible 0:04:07.213,0:04:10.783 for people who, for example, may[br]use wheelchairs, may use different kinds 0:04:10.783,0:04:13.019 of walking assistance[br]or mobility assistance, 0:04:13.219,0:04:17.090 you also make those trails easier[br]for people who use strollers and have kids 0:04:17.290,0:04:20.193 or people who are seniors[br]who may have balance challenges. 0:04:20.627,0:04:24.030 And so the result is more people[br]in our national parks, 0:04:24.030,0:04:25.832 more people on our public lands. 0:04:25.832,0:04:28.935 And that is good[br]both for our souls, for our spirits, 0:04:29.102,0:04:32.739 but also for our economy and those rural[br]communities around the public lands. 0:04:32.739,0:04:36.609 So I think it's just a false idea[br]that sometimes gets pushed out 0:04:37.143,0:04:41.748 by corporations or by the business[br]community that accomodating 0:04:41.748,0:04:46.753 every American to the extent possible,[br]is somehow a burden or an expense. 0:04:46.753,0:04:50.823 To the contrary,[br]it is a benefit and it is a privilege 0:04:50.823,0:04:54.627 that we are able in our country to welcome[br]everybody into these institutions and 0:04:54.627,0:04:56.095 organizations. As a mom, 0:04:57.764,0:04:59.866 single mom of three kids who 0:04:59.866,0:05:03.403 is by myself when I have little kids[br]and trying to navigate, 0:05:04.037,0:05:07.140 you know,[br]a lot of the things that our people may 0:05:07.640,0:05:10.843 think of in a strict legal sense[br]as sort of accommodations 0:05:11.077,0:05:14.047 for the disability community[br]also maybe those trails 0:05:14.047,0:05:15.922 and those experiences possible for me. 0:05:15.922,0:05:20.219 So a great example here is designing[br]picnic tables 0:05:20.553,0:05:22.522 that accommodate wheelchairs. 0:05:22.522,0:05:25.692 Those same picnic tables[br]also accommodate high chairs 0:05:26.002,0:05:28.728 and accommodate people[br]who need different kinds of seating 0:05:28.728,0:05:30.850 and different kinds of support[br]when they sit. 0:05:30.850,0:05:34.701 So I think there's a lot of inclusive[br]design principle 0:05:34.934,0:05:37.470 that we ought to be bringing to everything 0:05:38.237,0:05:41.374 and recognizing too,[br]that the disability community 0:05:41.774,0:05:44.911 and people with disabilities, it's[br]not just one kind of disability 0:05:45.478,0:05:48.448 and the kinds of technological systems[br]and what's possible 0:05:48.501,0:05:50.416 for people is going to change over time. 0:05:50.416,0:05:54.554 So the more inclusive[br]we can be in those design principles 0:05:54.554,0:05:56.522 we're offering going to better be better 0:05:56.522,0:05:59.826 at achieving our goals[br]and set ourselves up for the future, 0:05:59.826,0:06:03.326 which I hope will continue[br]to see more options and more possibilities 0:06:03.429,0:06:05.765 for people[br]with disabilities to fully participate. 0:06:12.405,0:06:16.605 One of the things we've seen is, for [br]example, with housing for our military, 0:06:16.609,0:06:20.747 my teacher, Senator Warren, was pushing[br]to make sure that we're building more 0:06:20.747,0:06:24.384 military housing, that it can accommodate[br]people with disabilities. 0:06:24.684,0:06:28.821 But if we were designing these houses[br]with a visitability 0:06:28.821,0:06:31.791 lens, like you said,[br]we would build them all that way. 0:06:31.824,0:06:35.928 And that means as the population of people[br]with disabilities goes up and down, 0:06:35.928,0:06:37.597 we don't run into these shortages 0:06:37.597,0:06:39.722 and these blockages[br]because we've designed it 0:06:39.722,0:06:42.551 so that it's appropriate for everybody[br]right from the start. 0:06:42.551,0:06:46.259 Orange County, California,[br]really boomed in sort of the seventies 0:06:46.259,0:06:49.742 and the eighties and the nineties,[br]and a lot of those folks now are aging. 0:06:49.742,0:06:51.644 So in the district that I represent, 0:06:51.644,0:06:54.914 California's 45th District,[br]we have an aging population. 0:06:55.081,0:06:59.819 We're also home to the second largest[br]retirement community in the United States. 0:06:59.819,0:07:00.987 Laguna Woods. 0:07:00.987,0:07:04.657 Many of us now at different points[br]in our life, will benefit from 0:07:04.657,0:07:07.059 from different kinds of accommodations. 0:07:07.059,0:07:09.262 And so that's why I think about 0:07:09.662,0:07:12.732 accommodating disabilities,[br]not as something that we do 0:07:13.373,0:07:16.869 just for people with disabilities,[br]but it's something we do for all of us. 0:07:16.869,0:07:19.872 We all benefit from having people[br]with disabilities in 0:07:19.972,0:07:24.076 and among places, and we also all benefit[br]from those universal design principles, 0:07:24.277,0:07:26.846 often at different points in our lives. 0:07:33.586,0:07:37.523 People with disabilities often face[br]special health care needs, 0:07:37.523,0:07:43.262 but what they get on the health care[br]system is distinctly unfair treatment. 0:07:43.262,0:07:45.932 And we see this in a lot of different[br]ways, everything 0:07:45.932,0:07:49.235 from denial of organ transplants 0:07:49.936,0:07:53.706 to very, very difficult,[br]arduous arguments about 0:07:53.973,0:07:57.880 what is and is not medically necessary[br]for people with disabilities. 0:07:57.880,0:08:01.113 So I've been working across the aisle[br]to address some of these issues 0:08:01.113,0:08:02.415 and I'm really grateful 0:08:02.415,0:08:05.918 for the disability community[br]in helping me understand these challenges 0:08:05.918,0:08:06.919 and raise them. 0:08:06.919,0:08:10.490 So for example, with my colleague[br]Jamie Herrera Butler, a representative 0:08:10.990,0:08:14.594 Republican from Washington,[br]we have introduced the Charlotte Woodward 0:08:14.594,0:08:18.531 Organ Transplant Discrimination[br]Prevention Act, 0:08:18.531,0:08:22.535 and it would end blatant discrimination[br]in organ donation 0:08:22.535,0:08:26.672 against people with disabilities,[br]which is often based on perceived years 0:08:26.672,0:08:30.710 of life, years of quality life in ways[br]that are really unfair 0:08:31.210,0:08:33.246 to people with disabilities. 0:08:33.246,0:08:36.616 We've also been working on making sure[br]that we preserve 0:08:36.816,0:08:40.253 the tax deduction[br]for extraordinary medical expenses. 0:08:40.853,0:08:42.215 That is a big issue. 0:08:42.215,0:08:45.825 People with disabilities, particularly[br]if they're facing any kind of surgery 0:08:45.825,0:08:49.795 or procedure[br]to continue to treat their disability 0:08:49.795,0:08:53.900 throughout their lifetime, making sure[br]that we preserve that tax deduction. 0:08:54.667,0:08:57.670 And then also looking at[br]what insurers are doing. 0:08:57.670,0:09:01.140 And for me, this started with[br]a real interest in mental health parity, 0:09:01.574,0:09:02.808 the promise that insurers 0:09:02.808,0:09:05.611 that treat mental health[br]and physical health the same. 0:09:05.878,0:09:06.746 They do not. 0:09:06.746,0:09:09.181 They break that promise year after year. 0:09:09.482,0:09:12.718 So I passed a bill[br]to help crack down on insurers, 0:09:12.718,0:09:18.090 and that got me interested in how insurers[br]define medical necessity 0:09:18.658,0:09:21.427 and the way that they do this[br]with regard to things like 0:09:22.929,0:09:24.297 wheelchairs, assistive 0:09:24.297,0:09:27.900 devices,[br]prostheses is really, really problematic. 0:09:27.900,0:09:31.691 And so it's often very, very biased[br]against the disability community 0:09:31.691,0:09:34.400 and prevents them from being as healthy[br]as they could be. 0:09:34.400,0:09:39.345 I've written to the Biden administration[br]and asked them to issue better guidance 0:09:39.679,0:09:44.951 to insurance companies on what they mean[br]by medical necessity to police insurers. 0:09:44.951,0:09:49.922 What we should not be putting it[br]on patients and consumers 0:09:51.090,0:09:55.361 to be able to go to battle with these huge[br]insurance companies with big insurance 0:09:55.561,0:10:00.333 that is the job of the government to[br]fairly enforce the law and to look behind 0:10:00.866,0:10:05.371 what may seem like a vacuous definitions[br]of medical necessity and see how in 0:10:05.371,0:10:09.508 real life they are discriminating[br]against people with disabilities. 0:10:16.248,0:10:21.053 Yeah, look, healthy air, clean water,[br]being able to be healthy in 0:10:21.053,0:10:24.156 your environment is something[br]that's important for all Americans. 0:10:24.690,0:10:28.027 But it is particularly important[br]for people who may be struggling with 0:10:28.027,0:10:31.931 lung disease, maybe have more difficult[br]to treat conditions. 0:10:31.931,0:10:34.700 And so I think this is an issue[br]about equity. 0:10:34.700,0:10:36.902 It's an issue of justice. 0:10:36.902,0:10:39.639 And we know that certain communities[br]as well, lower income 0:10:39.639,0:10:44.176 communities, communities of color of long[br]than the repository of pollution. 0:10:45.111,0:10:48.948 And so I think it's important that[br]we begin that transition to green energy, 0:10:49.148,0:10:52.284 that we see it as something[br]that we're doing both for our health, 0:10:52.885,0:10:57.023 for our planet,[br]but also for our economic competitiveness. 0:10:57.590,0:11:00.226 So many of our competitor countries,[br]including China, 0:11:00.226,0:11:02.995 are investing much more in green energy[br]than we are. 0:11:03.229,0:11:06.999 And part of the reason they're doing that[br]is they understand that the economy 0:11:07.199,0:11:10.836 that has the manufacturing jobs[br]for the next century 0:11:11.037,0:11:14.607 will be the country that figures out[br]how to manufacture in a clean way. 0:11:14.887,0:11:18.124 And it's the same thing in terms[br]of thinking about housing shortage, 0:11:18.644,0:11:20.813 which is a big issue here in California. 0:11:20.813,0:11:22.515 How can we build more housing? 0:11:22.515,0:11:26.185 Part of that is thinking about how can we[br]build housing in a very green way 0:11:26.419,0:11:30.056 that minimizes[br]the harms on the environment, that lets us 0:11:30.056,0:11:33.192 put more dense housing[br]without harming our environment. 0:11:33.659,0:11:38.097 I think one of the things that's really,[br]really important as an elected official 0:11:38.330,0:11:41.200 is to be honest with the American people. 0:11:41.767,0:11:45.304 And that means really pushing[br]some of these fossil fuel companies- 0:11:46.105,0:11:50.509 to push against what we call greenwashing,[br]which is, you know, when they 0:11:50.509,0:11:53.646 when they say that they're all[br]about clean energy transition 0:11:53.879,0:11:57.283 and yet they continue behind the scenes[br]to spend 0:11:58.050,0:12:02.221 millions and millions of dollars[br]lobbying against clean energy initiatives. 0:12:02.521,0:12:05.224 So I think that's really important,[br]not just to ask, 0:12:05.624,0:12:07.426 do you support clean energy? 0:12:07.426,0:12:09.428 You know, do you like polar bears? 0:12:09.428,0:12:11.330 Everybody's going to say yes. 0:12:11.330,0:12:16.435 But really to say, what action[br]will you take to put behind your words? 0:12:16.469,0:12:19.939 So you know if I had asked[br]when you think back to the conversation 0:12:19.939,0:12:23.342 I had with the CDC director[br]about free COVID testing, 0:12:23.843,0:12:27.079 if I had asked him,[br]do you think that, you know, 0:12:27.113,0:12:31.350 anyone should not get a COVID test[br]because they're worried about the expense? 0:12:31.717,0:12:33.552 He would have said, Oh, of course not. 0:12:33.552,0:12:36.555 I think everybody should get a COVID test[br]who needs one. 0:12:37.123,0:12:40.826 But that doesn't mean[br]that everyone will be able to get one. 0:12:41.026,0:12:44.023 And so you really have to push toward[br]what is the action 0:12:44.023,0:12:46.265 that you're going to be able[br]to connect this to. 0:12:46.265,0:12:50.703 So if you're testifying before me[br]and you're saying that you believe 0:12:50.703,0:12:53.873 climate change is real[br]and you think it's an existential threat, 0:12:54.306,0:12:57.176 I need to hear,[br]the American people need to hear, 0:12:57.176,0:13:00.579 the people of this world need to hear,[br]what are you doing? 0:13:00.846,0:13:02.782 What are you doing to reduce emissions? 0:13:02.782,0:13:05.090 What are you doing to change your business[br]model? 0:13:05.090,0:13:07.052 What are you doing to make a difference? 0:13:07.052,0:13:08.921 And it needs to be meaningful and real. 0:13:08.921,0:13:10.689 It can't be empty words.