last night we told you about leo finn, the father of three from cape cod.o get access to a last-chance treatment. >> this could be the miracle drug. you know? this could be the one that, you know, saved me, that i was going to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle. i'm just mad that the government can walk away from people and we don't matter. that's what it seems. >> tonight we have a silver lining. some good news about mr. finn, and it was all thanks to my next guest. joining me now is congressman bill keating, democrat from massachusetts, who made this life-saving treatment possible in the midst of a showdown. and shutdown. congressman, thank you for being here tonight and for your remarkable work on this. >> thank you, reverend. >> let me show you this headline today. national institutes of health website to open, enabling patients to again enter trials. this is directly thanks to what you did. what prompted you, first of all, to intervene? >> the remarkable man leo finn who is a generous man and ironically had been working for fund raising for can

people like leo finn, a father of three.s to a last-chance treatment for his cancer. because of the government shutdown. >> this could be the miracle drug. you know, this could be the one that, you know, saved me, that i was going to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle. i'm just mad that the government can walk away from people and we don't matter. it is what it seems. >> that's the gop agenda right now. people don't matter. this shutdown has even stopped therapy dogs at the n.i.h. from comforting children suffering from cancer. we're seeing this kind of pain all over the country. >> this is going to be very, very hard on us. >> families coming in were in shock. many have to work or go to school during the day. so to them head start was not a luxury, it was a necessity. >> even if we end up getting reimbursed for the time off, it's too late. we need money now. >> something like seven-month-old harper's $300 emergency room visit this weekend for an ear infection could be a financial disaster. >> without this food pantr

people like leo finn who had been scheduled to start a trial to battle his liver cancer but last week he was told he couldn't because of the shutdown. the national institute of health has furloughed 73% of its staff. leo, a father of three, says, everyone talks about national parks, but the shutdown of the n.i.h. is starting to effect people's lives and whether sun someone -- and whether someone will survive a disease. now leo's life is on hold. it is time for speaker boehner to stop this recklessness. it is wrong, it is shamele -- shameful. bring a clean bill up for a vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, the american people understand the importance of making tough decisions and balancing their budgets. according to the federal reserve, over the past three months americans have worked to pay down their credit card debts by more than $6 tril