{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-sewell-rural-ambulance-bill-passes-committee", "Rep. Sewell Rural Ambulance Bill Passes Committee", "2017-09-13", "2017", "2017-09", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On Wednesday, the Ways and Means Committee passed legislation by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) extending support for rural ambulance providers and increasing the accuracy of ambulance reimbursements. H.R. 3729, the Comprehensive Operations, Sustainability, and Transport (COST) Act, passed the committee by voice vote.\nWatch Rep. Terri Sewell\u2019s remarks in the Ways and Means Committee.\n\u201cRural America is facing a health crisis, and in Congress, I am working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to improve health care access and outcomes,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cIn Alabama\u2019s rural Black Belt, hospitals and sufficient health care providers often do not exist, and ambulance services can be the only provider of emergency medical services. For my constituents, reliable ambulance services are a matter of life and death. All ambulance providers in Alabama rely on the add-on payments which our bill extends for five years.\u00a0 By extending this support for ambulance providers, today\u2019s bill helps to make sure that no American loses access to emergency care.\u201d\nIn August, John Paul Jones Hospital in Camden announced it will be closing as an acute care hospital if additional resources are not obtained. John Paul Jones is one of at least three rural hospitals in Alabama\u2019s 7th Congressional District in danger of closing operations in the near future.\n###\nRep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama\u2019s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-sewell-rural-ambulance-bill-passes-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9733107872307301, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}