Congresswoman Diana DeGette discusses public service, signature healthcare legislation, AI, and a whole lot more|| EP. 132

Laurie McGraw is speaking with the very inspiring Congresswoman Diana DeGette, now in her fourteenth Congressional term representing Colorado and the nation. Congresswoman DeGette reflects on her life of public service as well as some of her signature legislation over her near 25 years in Congress. When she started in Congress, a mere 12% of the US Representatives were women.  Today, that number has more than doubled but remains under 30%.  She is quick to point out the many leadership positions women hold in the House and how diverse perspectives impact legislation. Congresswoman DeGette was hard pressed to pick a favorite of her many legislative wins but given that she is a leading voice on healthcare issues, we focused there.  She offered thoughts on drug pricing (as well as making insulin, in particular, affordable for all), the disastrous Dobbs decision and the path needed to turn back the clock on fundamental rights (it will require a national law), mental health issues affecting young people (we are not going to legislate our way out of this), and the opportunity with AI (the potential exists to get to cures fast, with great attention needed to patient privacy and ethics). And if public service does not sound like the opportunity for you, Congresswoman DeGette provides some advice that may in fact change your mind! …………………………….. About  Congresswoman Diana DeGette Rep. Diana DeGette is a fourth-generation Coloradoan who has dedicated her life to serving the people of Colorado’s First Congressional District. Now in her fourteenth term, DeGette is recognized as a leading voice in the nation’s health care debate. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, DeGette has played a leading role in overseeing the nation’s health care agencies and the nation’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s also led numerous efforts to ensure the nation’s environmental laws are being properly enforced, lower the cost of insulin for millions of Americans and take on the climate crisis. As the top Democrat on the committee’s Energy, Climate and Grid Security Subcommittee, DeGette is responsible for helping shape the nation’s energy policies. She has led numerous efforts to hold the nation’s oil and gas producers accountable, reduce America’s overall emissions and expedite our transition to cleaner forms of renewable energy. In fact, one of the first bills President Biden signed into law after taking office was legislation DeGette authored to drastically reduce methane emissions from drilling sites across – a move climate scientists praised as critical to combatting the climate crisis.