To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend certain expiring provisions of law and to expand eligibility for the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program.

Mr. President, I have sought recognition in these waning hours of the 109th Congress to provide a summary of the good work accomplished over the last 2 years on behalf of America's veterans, and to comment on comprehensive legislation that is now pending in the Senate. I provide this summary in my capacity as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, a title I will soon pass on to my friend, Senator Danny Akaka of Hawaii.

Before the 109th Congress convened, I made a decision to serve as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

for two fundamental reasons. The first and most important was that our country was at war and continues to be at war, and a nation at war, with hundreds of thousands of young men and women having spent extensive tours overseas in hostile lands, fighting for our country, deserves the full attention of the Senate. Many have died during the course of combat operations. Others have been seriously wounded. Thousands more will transition out of the military service in the coming years and will attempt to reenter the workforce or go to school under the Montgomery GI bill. There simply was no greater calling than for me to assume the leadership role to ensure our Government was effectively assisting the current generation of America's veterans and their families.

Second, I have always been nonplused, I guess, at the characterization that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs was a ``B'' committee. This characterization exists despite these facts. Mr. President, 24 million Americans have served in the military and are potentially eligible for VA-administered benefits. In addition, VA will soon have a budget over $80 billion, which is one of the largest and fastest growing budgets within Government. And finally, VA has the second largest Federal workforce of any Government agency.

Therefore, it was my goal to elevate the committee's profile and the importance of the veterans' benefits and services by embarking on a course of vigorous oversight and legislative effort and, I believe, accomplishment.

It is my humble opinion that I share the credit with 13 other members of the committee. One of them is here on the floor with me, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who also served not only on the authorizing committee with me but chairs VA MilCon and has played a critical role in veterans issues. We have been diligent and active participants of the committee, and the business of this committee, in my opinion, has been extremely productive in the last 2 years.

The committee held 52 hearings during the 109th Congress. From the start, our focus was on the combat wounded, the combat deceased, and their families. We held a hearing on the difficulty that surviving spouses have in getting timely and effective, consistent information regarding their benefits following the active-duty death of their loved one.

We held several hearings on whether returned combat veterans are provided with a seamless transition--many of us have heard those words used--from active duty to civilian life. We are still working with DOD on that, to make sure it is truly seamless.

We focused on medical and vocational needs of our severely wounded. We examined the research being done within the VA to advance our understanding of various diseases and disabilities confronting veterans in the hope that advances in medical science and technology could one day improve their lives. And there is clear evidence today that that very thing is happening.

The committee was particularly active in examining VA's budget needs, and no one can argue about the high priority this Congress placed on funding the VA system.

The total VA budget will have increased from approximately $63 billion at the end of fiscal year 2004 to over $80 billion upon enactment of a fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill, an increase of 27 percent.

In addition to resources provided, this Congress has put in place a system of accountability to ensure that the appropriations provided to VA are being used to meet the needs of those who rely on the vital health care provided by VA facilities around the Nation.

By law, VA now submits quarterly reports to the Congress on its budget that contain a comparison between VA's planned expenditures and actual expenditures.

More importantly, VA is required to include quality indicators in this report, such as the percentage of primary care appointments scheduled within 30 days of a patient's desired date.

I am confident that the Congress has the mechanisms in place to know, on short order, if VA's budget needs are outpacing its resources, and is therefore equipped to take swift remedial action if necessary.

On the legislative front, the Senate has continued to do the work expected of it by the men and women we serve and represent. Let me give a quick accounting of the legislative provisions that were enacted into law during this Congress:

First S. 1234 and S. 2562. In both the first and second sessions of the Congress, cost-of-living-adjustment legislation was enacted to increase the rates of disability compensation and survivors' compensation. Benefit rates were increased by 4.1 percent for 2006 and will be increased by 3.3 percent for 2007.

Second, Traumatic Injury Protection under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, T-SGLI. In many instances the wives, parents, and other family members of servicemembers who are traumatically injured incur substantial financial obligations in order to spend time with their loved ones during recovery periods at military hospitals.

Under the provisions of Public Law 109-13, those traumatically wounded since the start of OIF and OEF as a result of combat wounds are eligible for financial payments which range from $25,000 to $100,000 for qualifying injuries, depending on severity. To date, more than 2.500 wounded servicemembers have received payments as a direct result of this legislation.

As of December 1, 2005, all servicemembers and Reservists insured under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance program are also covered under the T-SGLI benefit. The coverage extends to all qualifying injuries regardless of whether injuries are incurred as a result of combat.

Under the provisions of H.R. 3200, the maximum coverage for members of the Armed Forces and veterans of the Service Members Group Life Insurance and the Veterans Group Life Insurance benefit was increased from $250,000 to $400,000.

The bill, as enacted, also requires that spouses be notified when members insured under T-SGLI elect less than maximum coverage or designate a beneficiary other than the spouse or the children or the child.

In fiscal year 2006, the National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1815, under provisions of H.R. 1815 and as a result of veterans committees oversights, the Department of Defense was directed to provide customized integrated information to survivors of those killed on active duty about their future Federal benefits through an Internet Web site.

I was amazed when we started these hearings that we were still dealing with a hodgepodge of approaches of how we dealt with the surviving spouse of a lost one.

DOD was also directed to develop a uniform policy on providing casualty assistance to survivors. I would like to especially thank Senators Warner and Levin for their cooperation on that bill.

Also under H.R. 1815, a provision was adopted to prohibit military funeral honors and burial in VA national cemeteries and in Arlington National Cemetery to any person who is convicted of a Federal or State capital murder for which a sentence of death or life in prison may be imposed

We had an example of a fellow from Maryland who had killed two elderly people and was sentenced to death, died in prison, and was buried at Arlington. This provision was adopted following our committee's oversight and hearing of that double murder that I just expressed. I will speak more to my colleagues about the status of the double murder incident in a moment.

In June of 2006 President Bush signed into law S. 1235, a bill to help severely injured servicemembers in their transition from the military to their civilian lives. It authorizes VA to make grants available--ranging from $2,000 to $14,000--to assist with housing adaptations on a family member's home in which a severely disabled veteran is living.

It allows servicemembers, who have been legally determined 100 percent disabled when they separated from the military, up to 2 years from that date to apply for premium-free Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance coverage. Finally, it enables them to convert their coverage to Veterans' Group Life Insurance, or an individual plan or policy, during the same 2-year period.

As to H.R. 5037, undoubtedly most of my colleagues are aware of the fringe

group which has used its protected free speech rights to deliberately disrupt funerals of our military heroes. That is why the Senate voted unanimously to put reasonable restrictions on demonstrations at VA cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery.

An amendment was put forward on the floor of the Senate balancing the rights of grieving families to a dignified funeral ceremony; the rights of private property owners who live near cemeteries to be free from overly intrusive Federal laws; and the rights of demonstrators to have their message heard. The amendment was accepted, the bill was passed, and it is now Federal law.

In addition to the bills already enacted into law, the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs have agreed on a comprehensive substitute amendment to S. 3421, which has cleared the House and awaits Senate action. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

S. 3421, the ``Veterans Benefits. Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006,'' contains provisions that would: enhance veterans' health, education, memorial affairs, and other benefit programs; improve VA's information technology infrastructure; authorize the construction of needed VA medical facilities; improve services for homeless veterans; remove the remains of a convicted double murderer from Arlington National Cemetery; and, I am proud to say, repeal an outdated and paternalistic law that limits the ability of veterans to hire an attorney to represent them during the VA claims process.

While a fuller accounting of the provisions of S. 3421 can be found in the Joint Explanatory Statement language accompanying the amendment text in the Congressional Record--and I ask unanimous consent that the Joint Explanatory Statement be printed in the Record along with the text of the substitute amendment to S. 3421,--I will make a few remarks about three provisions of note that I have championed.

Mr. President, currently, veterans and other claimants seeking veterans' benefits may not hire an attorney until the VA administrative proceedings have been completed--a process that often takes several years.

That law flows from a Civil War era policy intended to protect veterans from unscrupulous attorneys. That policy arose at a time-- unlike today--when attending law school was not required to become a lawyer and there was no effective professional oversight of lawyers.

In recent months, it has become abundantly clear that many veterans and their survivors want the option of hiring an attorney to help them navigate the increasingly complex VA system. In fact, the prohibition against veterans hiring attorneys is considered to be unfair and outdated by a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations, including veterans' organizations, veterans' advocates, judges, law professors, and bar associations.

For these reasons, I am very pleased that a compromise version of legislation I authored was accepted that would allow veterans to hire attorneys after a veteran files a Notice of Disagreement with VA's initial decision on their claim.

A provision of S. 3421 will enable the spouses of seriously wounded veterans to obtain educational assistance benefits sooner than they have ever been able to before.

The need for the educational assistance provision was brought to my attention by U.S. Army SFC Jeff Mittman, a young man who was blinded after an attack in Iraq and is being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Sergeant First Class Mittman's wife would like to begin receiving educational assistance benefits from the VA while her husband undergoes treatment in order to improve her job opportunities once he is officially discharged from service, but is now prevented from doing so by law. If enacted, S. 3421 would remove that barrier.

Finally, S. 3421 would remove the cremated remains of a convicted double murderer from Arlington National Cemetery.

In the summer of 2005, we learned that the remains of a brutal murderer--Russell Wayne Wagner--were placed in the Nation's preeminent military cemetery, Arlington National Cemetery.

I was appalled to discover that the law enacted in 1997 to deny capital offenders from burial in national cemeteries did not apply to Wagner.

This was also quickly brought to my attention by the Senator from Maryland, Barbara Mikulski. We joined together in that effort. The answer was it couldn't happen, it couldn't be removed because of the law.

While we moved swiftly to close the loophole that permitted Wagner's burial in the first place, the question remained: Should his remains continue to be included among the scores of honored dead in Arlington? For me and Senator Mikulski, who joined me in this effort, the answer was ``no.''

That is why I am so pleased that S. 3421 would direct the Secretary of the Army to remove Wagner's remains from Arlington.

As I stated last summer, we must not dishonor the sacrifices made by those memorialized at our Nation's military cemeteries by including among them individuals who, through their own heinous acts, have grievously dishonored themselves because at another time in their life they were veterans.

S. 3421 is an impressive assortment of legislation. It contains the collective work of more than 44 Senators. I want to take some time to single out a few of them.

Senators Burr and Obama for their work on the homeless assistance provisions of the bill; Senators Hutchison, Feinstein, Graham, Landrieu, and Murray for their work on the construction provisions; Senators Thune, Salazar, and Burr for their work on the rural health components of the bill.

And lastly, the committee's ranking member, and a true friend of veterans, Senator Akaka.

I ask my colleagues for their vote. And I thank every Senator on the committee and in the Senate for their support in seeing this, and all of the other veterans' bills, through the Senate.

I also want to thank my House colleagues, in particular Chairman Buyer, Ranking Member Evans, and Acting Ranking Member Filner. We were able to come together in the spirit of compromise in the final hour on some key provisions, and it is a fitting way to end this Congress.

As we head into a new Congress, I want to extend my best wishes to my friend, and soon-to-be chairman, Senator Akaka. It has been a pleasure working with a Senator of his quality, and I pledge that as ranking member I will strive to emulate the kindness, cooperation, and ``aloha'' that he showed me during my time as chairman of this great committee.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I am also pleased to rise in support of H.R. 6342, which would, as we have heard from Chairman Brown, extend expired and expiring authorizations for Department of Veterans Affairs programs, expand eligibility for survivor and dependent educational assistance, and authorize leases for VA medical facilities. This bill will permanently establish Parkinson's Disease research, education, and clinical care centers, as well as multiple sclerosis centers of excellence.

Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record letters of support for this bill from the Parkinson's Action Network, American Academy of Neurology, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

December 5, 2006.

Hon. Steve Buyer,

Chairman, Veterans' Affairs Committee, Washington, DC.

Hon. Lane Evans,

Ranking Member, Veterans' Affairs Committee, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Buyer and Ranking Member Evans: On behalf of

American veterans and all those who struggle with the effects

of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease (PD), we

appreciate your strong leadership in protecting the Veterans

Affairs Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excel1ence (MSCoE) and

Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers

(PADRECCs). We commend you for working to enact legislation

that will formally establish the MSCoEs and PADRECCs for the

first time in statute. We believe that this bill must be

enacted to ensure that the PADRECCs and MSCoEs will continue

providing valuable services to veteran patients, family

members, and the entire Parkinson's disease and MS

communities.

Significant contributions have been made by the Centers in

research, education, and clinical care that benefit all

Americans impacted by PD and MS. The MSCoEs and PADRECCs

support a range of programs including state-of-the-art

clinical care, basic research into the causes of disease,

clinical research into better treatments, behavioral research

about effective education strategies for MS and Parkinson's

patients and providers, and population level research into

the needs of patients and the effectiveness of the care

delivery system.

Our organizations have recognized the record of leadership

that has been provided by the PADRECCs and MSCoE in the fight

against Parkinson's and MS. Approximately 25,000 veterans

have MS and require specialized care that is best provided by

having leaders in the field directing that care at a national

level. In addition, through the six PADRECCs and the National

VA Parkinson's Disease Consortium, the VA is able to treat

more than 79,000 veterans with Parkinson's disease. The

efforts of these Centers are the model of innovation in the

delivery of health care and research for progressive disease

in the veteran population.

We appreciate your efforts to ensure that the Veterans

Programs Extension Act of 2006 (H.R. 6342) will be voted on

by both the House of Representatives and Senate before

Congress adjourns in December. We look forward to enactment

of this bill that is so important to all those who struggle

with the devastating effects of MS and Parkinson's disease,

many of whom are American veterans.

Thank you for recognizing the benefits provided to veterans

fighting Parkinson's disease and MS through the VA PADRECCs

and MSCoEs. We appreciate your efforts to ensure the highest

level of care and hopeful research for our returning

veterans.

Amy C. Comstock,

Chief Executive Officer, Parkinson's Action Network.

Joyce Nelson,

President and CEO, National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Thomas R. Swift, MD, FAAN,

President, American Academy of Neurology.

Carl Blake,

Acting National Legislative Director, Paralyzed Veterans of

America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer), the chairman of our committee, and our colleagues in the Senate, Chairman Craig and Ranking Member Akaka, for coming together to craft this bill that will pass both Chambers before we recess.

As this may be our last bill of this term in Congress in the Veterans Committee, I want to say a special thank-you to Ranking Member Lane Evans for his work on behalf of veterans. As we all know, he is retiring at the end of this session, but for more than two decades here in Congress he has been a tenacious and indispensable voice for our Nation's veterans. He has championed the needs of veterans exposed to Agent Orange, homeless veterans, veterans who return from war with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he has helped untold number of veterans. He will be missed by all of us as we move into the next session of Congress.

As we have heard, this bill before us today permanently establishes VA's Parkinson's Disease Centers and VA's Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence. The work of these centers has benefited more than 80,000 veterans across our Nation. I am proud that the VA medical facility in San Diego, which I represent, is affiliated with the VA's Southwestern Parkinson's Research Center in Los Angeles. Not only do these centers conduct groundbreaking research, they also advance the State's clinical and rehabilitative care. The innovations and rehabilitation designed for veterans who are battling chronic disorders may also yield gains and care for veterans with traumatic brain injury. The good work of these centers must continue. Through this legislation we are sending a clear signal that the VA must continue to fund and support the clinical and the research work done at all the existing centers.

In addition, this bill authorizes VA programs for homeless veterans and veterans who need mental health care. I am proud and I am also grateful that this legislation will help the families of these very severely wounded servicemembers by providing education benefits to eligible spouses and dependent children before these servicemembers are actually released from military service. The bill also gives urgently needed authorization for VA outpatient clinics across the Nation.

The number of women veterans will increase in the coming years. Thirteen percent of the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have turned to VA for health care are women, and 11 percent of the troops deployed there are women. This bill makes sure that Congress receives the report and recommendations of the VA Advisory Committee on Women's Veterans which can help guide our actions and oversight of VA's capacity to address the unique needs of these veterans.

I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge that we are ending this Congress, apparently, without passing a funding bill for the VA, as for much of the government. Yes, we will pass a continuing resolution to keep all the hospitals, regional offices, and other services operating, but we are shortchanging veterans, Mr. Speaker, by not passing the appropriations bill for the Veterans Administration. The delay in an increase in VA's funding for fiscal year 2007 means that the VA medical directors are forced to put on hold a whole variety of necessary expenditures, from the hiring of needed staff to care for our veterans, to the maintenance and repair of their buildings. As a result, veterans access to needed services suffers, and VA staff is stretched even more thin in providing quality care.

This failure to pass a budget is a clear illustration of the need for mandatory or assured funding of VA health care, and for the past 14 years I have been a firm supporter of this method of funding the VA. I agree with those veteran service organizations who have proposed that funding for veterans health care be mandatory. If we are unable to pass adequate and timely funding, timely funding, Mr. Speaker, to meet the health care of veterans, then we need to look seriously at alternate ways to ensure adequate funding for the health care of our veterans.

Unfortunately, we have also not completed our work in authorizing needed veterans programs. We must honor our veterans and make sure that our recent veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan receive the benefits and services that they need to transition back to civilian life.

For example, I think we owe it to our newest veterans to modernize the GI bill, especially including meaningful benefits for the Guard and Reserve units who have taken such a heavy load of the fighting in Iraq. We must increase VA's capacity to meet the rehabilitation and lifelong care needs of veterans with traumatic brain injury.

While VA has a strong mental health care program, many of our returning veterans are falling through the

cracks, and we have gaps in those services. We must strengthen VA's capacity to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health concerns. The recent GAO report, which found that the VA did not spend funds on promised mental health initiatives, raises serious questions about VA's lack of accountability, a lack of accountability that was not really looked into by the previous Congress. We must ensure that VA does not ignore gaps in its capacity to help veterans recover from psychological wounds.

As we work to address the emerging issues for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we must also continue to press VA to meet the health care needs of veterans exposed to Agent Orange, atomic testing and veterans still struggling with a range of Gulf War illnesses.

In addition, we must maintain keen oversight to ensure that the laws we have passed are yielding the outcomes Congress intended. We also must be vigilant to ensure that the vulnerabilities in VA information technology are addressed, and we will certainly continue this oversight in the next Congress.

Today's bill keeps VA's homeless grant and per diem program authorized through the end of next year. This is a good program, but it only helps a fraction of the homeless veterans on the streets. We have already seen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have become homeless, almost 600 of them. We must act to prevent and end homelessness for all veterans.

In addition, many veterans are from small towns and rural areas. We must work to improve their access to VA care. In my district, most of the entire Imperial County can be classified as rural. There are no real services provided to them as they seek care. So we need to acknowledge some of these gaps, we need to acknowledge these problems, and try to address them in the next Congress.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the staff of the VA Committee on both the Democratic and Republican sides for their diligence and dedication in serving our Nation's veterans. We appreciate their work. While we have a lot of work to do in the coming years, this is a good bill. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6342.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to Ms. Berkley, the fighting congresswoman for Nevada's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, before we adjourn, I hope we do authorize construction of that hospital in Las Vegas. If for some reason it doesn't happen, we will try to do it very quickly next year.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud).

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Michaud, if I may, for his emphasis on homeless veterans. Almost a quarter million homeless on the streets tonight are veterans. That is a national disgrace. I look forward to working with all of you to solve that.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6314) to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend certain expiring provisions of law and to expand eligibility for the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, today I rise and urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 6314, a bill that would extend several existing Department of Veterans Affairs benefits provisions.

This bill will extend these provisions of health care services to veterans exposed by chemical and biological testing under Projects 112 and SHAD, and treatment and rehabilitation programs for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans until December 31, 2007. The bill would also extend VA's homeless grant and per diem programs until September 30, 2007, and extend additional services for mentally ill and homeless veterans until December 31, 2007. It would extend VA's Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, as well as the program which is providing government markers in private cemeteries until that date.

The work/study provisions of the legislation allowing veterans to assist VA and other government agencies would be extended until June 30, 2007. The work/study program is an increasingly popular benefit that provides veterans with an alternative use of their GI Bill if they choose not to go to college.

The bill also provides education benefits for the family members of severally injured veterans who are undergoing long-term convalescence while on active duty. Spouses and children of servicemembers who are determined by the VA to be permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected cause or causes would be eligible to receive Chapter 35 education benefits while the servicemember is still on active duty while undergoing treatment. This Chapter 35 provision would enable spouses and dependent children of severely wounded servicemembers to access their Dependents' Educational Assistance benefits while the servicemember is going through extended convalescence prior to discharge.

Under the current law, these beneficiaries must wait until the member is discharged, and since the spouses of these members most often become the primary breadwinner, I believe it is important to give them as much of a headstart as possible on becoming more competitive in the job market. The amount of the benefit remains the same.

I thank the Blinded Veterans Association for bringing this important issue to the attention of myself and members of the committee. We met with Army Sergeant 1st Class Jeffrey Mittman and his wife Christine. Sergeant 1st Class Mittman was blinded by an IED and is undergoing extensive rehabilitation and facial reconstruction.

Madam Speaker, this young soldier is articulate, has a very positive outlook on his life and is truly an inspiration. One look at his wife and you can immediately pick up the burdens she is bearing in caring not only for her husband, but also for her children. His wife Christy is a model of the love and support that she is providing to her husband as they face these challenges together. In fact, I think of this as the Christine Mittman provision, a provision not only that would help Christy, but also other spouses lessen the financial stress.

So, in essence, while Christy is providing leadership and mentoring for her children, caring for her husband instead of waiting until he completes all of the facial reconstruction and rehabilitation necessary, she can start her educational opportunities now.

I think this is the right thing to do. We all know he is going to be 100 percent disabled. She wants to become a nurse, so let's give her and others who are likewise situated to have these opportunities.

Madam Speaker, the committee is currently also undergoing bipartisan negotiations on a number of bills, not only with my House counterparts, but also with the Senate counterparts.

Among these bills are H.R. 3082, the Veterans Small Business and Memorial Affairs Act of 2006. It passed the House on July 24, 2006. We have informally been discussing provisions since July 28. The bill improves the status of veterans and disabled veterans small businesses when competing for contracts with the Department of Veterans Affairs. It allows Tribal government to participate in the VA's State Cemetery Grants Programs, authorizes the VA Secretary to provide the family of a veteran interred in a private cemetery with government markers, which we are doing now. It also requires the Veterans Employment Training Service, otherwise known as VETS, to establish nonmandatory guidelines for disabled veterans outreach programs. There are a lot of things in this bill, and I am hopeful we are going to get this done and negotiated.

There is another bill, H.R. 4061, the Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act. It would centralize VA's IT organizational structure so that it reports directly to the Department's chief information officer.

Ultimately, the bill would empower the CIO with the authority over the IT budgets, equipment and personnel. While the House passed this bill with widespread bipartisan support, and I appreciate the leadership of Mr. Filner and others on this legislation, the Senate is even yet to take action on that bill.

There is another bill, H.R. 5815, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility Authorization Act of 2006, that would ensure that we will efficiently provide the right facilities with the right places for veterans' health care. Given the current veteran population and those which we can expect in the coming years, it would authorize $2.5 billion for major implementation projects and $51 million for facilities leases. This is an important bill, and we are getting close on these negotiations.

We have another bill, H.R. 5835, the Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act, as amended. This bill requires notification to Congress and individuals in the event of a data breach. All of us Members understand and remember the data breach.

And we had extensive oversight on the committee. Mr. Filner and I were able to lead over eight hearings in a 6-week time frame, and we are perfecting change in our cooperation with the administration. This is a good bill and I am hopeful that we can get this bill done.

This bill also included a scholarship and loan repayment program to provide the Secretary with a recruitment and retention tool to attract qualified people in the areas of information technology and management so they can work in these security areas. As I said, this bill received widespread bipartisan support here in the House and I am most hopeful that we can move to the Senate and achieve our work

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend Mr. Filner for his comments.

You are absolutely right. We have a lot of good work product that hopefully we can get done.

At this point I would like to yield 2 minutes to a friend of America's veterans, the Honorable Michael Bilirakis. Michael will be retiring and leaving us here at the end of this Congress, and his work and leadership will be missed.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. We will have one more opportunity, I am hopeful, to speak about Mr. Bilirakis' efforts.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the First District of South Carolina, the chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Henry Brown.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Ms. Berkley, I want to thank you for your leadership on this bill. Thank you for working with Nancy Johnson, Jeb Bradley. This symbol of honor and remembrance is very important. I want to thank you for that.

Also I want to embrace your words regarding the leases. In the construction bill we have a number of leases, and we need to complete our work. And so I embrace your words. I call on you for your help. The Senate has not been as helpful. You know that is a continuous body over there. We do not know how it is about to be reorganized. We have a lot of our work that needs to be done over the last 2 years, and we cannot let this construction bill die on the vine. We have to complete that work.

If we do not re-up these leases, it is going to cost the Federal Government more money because there are penalty clauses that will go into effect, and we cannot and should not let that happen.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Nevada.

Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).

I thank the gentlewoman for her contribution.

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the Honorable Tim Murphy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Filner for his cooperation on this bill and other bills. Mr. Filner, we have got the CIO bill, we have got the cyber security bill. The Senate sent us two health bills, a benefit bill and we have got the construction bill. So all of these are in negotiation with the Senate. It is hard work. It represents 2 years of effort.

Recalling the recent words of my esteemed colleague, Nancy Pelosi, with the creation of this new theme of a bipartisan way for all Americans, let's embrace it. Let's get our work done. We enjoy bipartisanship on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and I wish other committees could see how well we have worked together over the years. I call on leadership of everyone here in the House in dealing with these bills here on veterans affairs to complete our work on behalf of our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I also call upon the Senate leadership to finish our legislative negotiations. Let's complete our work. Let's not forget our veterans and their families. And, Mr. Speaker, I also call upon the leadership of the veterans service organizations and the military service associations to encourage the Senate leadership to finish our negotiations and again finish the work that we had started on behalf of this Nation's veterans and dependents.

These warriors fought for our freedom. The least we can do is complete our work and provide for them the best care and benefits possible. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no furthers requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I commend the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Senator Craig has done an outstanding job of making sure the laws that weren't working, where we were not doing what we should be doing to help our veterans, were changed.

He has worked a long time on the bill now coming to its final passage--finally. He has been working on it for 2 years, that I am aware. He has done a terrific job. There is a lot of authorization that is essential to go forward next year on appropriations.

I appreciate the work of the Senator. He is retiring as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and going to ranking member. I know his working relationship with the new chairman is such that we will continue to see progress in this area.

military construction appropriations

I will talk about the continuing resolution being passed by the House in a few hours that will be sent to the Senate. We will send that bill to the President to meet the midnight deadline so Government can continue to function.

I am talking tonight about this bill with very mixed feelings because I am chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans' Affairs and Related Agencies, and I wanted to pass the full bill, the appropriations for military construction, and I wanted to make sure we covered our veterans' needs. It is an important subcommittee, of which I have served as chairman these last 2 years. I have worked with my ranking member, Senator Feinstein, to assure we had the funding we needed. Senator Feinstein and I were ready to go on our bill. It passed in September. It is a bill that passed unanimously in the Senate. I know everyone agreed we had

covered the bases that need to be covered to do what is right for our military--active duty and the veterans--who have served our country in the past.

Unfortunately, our full bill is not going to pass. It is not going to pass because, first, it was held up in the Senate for appointing conferees, held up by a few Senators who thwarted the majority. I was very disappointed we lost those weeks. Our Appropriations Committee chairman Thad Cochran tried, as I, to pry the bill out so we could go to conference and work with the House.

Finally, this week, through the leadership of Senator Frist and Senator Stevens from Alaska, the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, we were able to alleviate all of the concerns raised and get the bill to conference.

Then, unfortunately, the members of the House committee had determined we did not have enough time to conference the bill. I think we did have enough time. We had the time to do all of the construction that should be started right now. However, that is not going to happen.

I would not have allowed this bill to go forward, and I would be speaking against it right now if we did not have a provision in the House-passed continuing resolution that will give budget transfer authority to the Department of Veterans Affairs so that there will be no medical need, no service need, no payment to any veteran that will not be made before this continuing resolution runs out.

If that provision had not been added in the bill, we would not be passing this bill tonight because I would be talking all night to keep it from passing.

I called the Secretary of Veterans Affairs this afternoon, and I asked him if he could assure me that there would be enough money in the accounts from which they could transfer to assure that all of the medical needs, including surges in medical needs, would be able to be given. The Secretary assured me that is the case. The Secretary said they had enough surplus money, enough rainy day fund money, and enough money in the other accounts that they would not hurt the other accounts and they would be able to transfer. He did say that by the time we got to February 15, if we didn't have a full bill, they would be beginning to run into trouble. He gave me his word--and I know his word is good-- that if they see some shortfall that would start happening before February 15, and if there is no bill, he would call me immediately, and we would begin to work on a supplemental approach.

I am certainly going to trust his word. Secretary Nicholson has been a man of his word throughout these years I have worked with him. He is a veteran himself, a distinguished veteran. He knows the veterans issues. He cares about veterans. He will call, as he did last year when he saw a looming shortfall and he asked for help and we gave him the help to assure the veterans' needs would be met. We are going to cover it, and we are going to do it in a way that will assure that the medical care is given.

I have to say, I am disappointed we are going to adjourn without completing the full bill, without completing the military construction so it can start right away, without completing the appropriations and the priorities that we are putting in the next year for veterans. I know they will not suffer in any way because Secretary Nicholson assured me of that.

I will be watching. I will be staying on top of the VA's financial situation throughout this period that the continuing resolution is going to run, to the middle of February. If a problem arises, I will not stop advocating for the supplemental appropriation that will be necessary to assure we have the funding we need.

We will work together in this Congress to assure that the men and women who are protecting our freedom, as we speak today, get the quality of life they deserve. We will continue to work together to assure that the veterans who have served our country, who have answered the call of our country, are given everything to which they are entitled and which we owe them.

I am going to be the ranking member of this subcommittee next year, having served as chairman for 2 years with a wonderful ranking member, Senator Feinstein. It has been pure joy. She has a wonderful staff. We have never had a disagreement that couldn't be worked out. We have made sure the priorities, which are the same for both of us, have been met. I will be a loyal ranking member, and I hope the new chairman will have the same relationship and the same overall goal for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs that Senator Feinstein and I have had. I believe he will.

I am going to vote for the continuing resolution. However, I could not be more disappointed that we did not pass the full appropriations bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. I know the veterans will be taken care of, and I know the military construction will begin with the new starts a couple of months late. We will get those projects done with that small delay. I am going to make it my priority to assure that happens.

Senator Stevens has come to the Senate. I want to say, in addition to Senator Cochran, Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye have been the advocates for our military throughout the time I have been in the Senate. I am honored to be a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. I know those two leaders work together, as Senator Feinstein and I do, and that is with one goal: to make sure the military, who are in harm's way, who are fighting so we may speak freely in this Chamber, who are fighting for our children and grandchildren to have the freedom we enjoy and that has been given to us by generations past, will have the opportunities they deserve, and that is the quality of life that we can give them.

I thank the Senate for coming to the end with this continuing resolution. I will support it.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would just like to clarify, with the Senator from Alaska on this subject, that the Senate did act. The Senate did pass our bill, and we did appoint conferees, and it was a lack of willingness on the part of the House to have conferees meet with the Senate. His disappointment is the same as mine.

I am going to start working on January 4, when we are sworn in to the new Congress. And I hope we can take the bill that has been passed unanimously by the Senate and work through the appropriations process and pass this bill before the continuing resolution is ended on February 15. We do not have to wait until February 15. And once the committee is constituted, and we have a chairman and a ranking member, I will be the ranking member, and I will work with the chairman. And I hope we can pass this bill because it is in very good order and it was unanimously supported by the Senate. And I think we are pretty close to what the House passed. I think, with a strong will, we will be able to come in before February 15 and start those projects about which the Senator from Alaska just spoke.

So I will look forward to working with him in the new year, both for Defense appropriations and for this Military Construction bill and the Veterans Affairs bill and the military quality of life that is in the bill that we passed in the Senate earlier this year.

I thank the Senator.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am also pleased to rise in support of H.R. 6314, which would, as we have heard, extend expired and expiring authorization for the Department of Veterans' Affairs and expand eligibility for survivor and dependent educational assistance.

I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer), the chairman of our committee, and my other colleagues for working together on this very important legislation. I also would like to remind us all of the work of Ranking Member Lane Evans. His integrity, leadership, and advocacy for veterans will be missed as we move into the next session of Congress.

This bill extends important authorities for the Department of Veterans Affairs to take care of our veterans. From 1962 through 1973, the Department of Defense conducted biological and chemical warfare tests on active duty servicemembers. These tests were known as Project 112 and Project SHAD. The Department of Defense has acknowledged that it did not keep patient care records to archive health effects of the tests nor did they get, I am sure, informed consent on these tests.

Just recently, in 2003, in response to concerns from veterans that their illnesses may be a result of these exposures, Congress did act. We authorized the VA to provide priority care to veterans who participated in these tests and did not require them to provide medical evidence that any of the illnesses are attributable to the testing.

This legislation before us today does the right thing for these veterans. It would extend the VA's authority to provide priority care for them through the end of next year.

I am disappointed that we have not extended VA's authority to give priority care to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. Just like those veterans who were subject to Project 112 and Project SHAD tests, veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and probably got cancers and other maladies as a result deserve priority care, which may be a result of this exposure. They have provided service to the Nation. They were not given full information. They deserve our help and care today.

The administration has requested that we extend VA's authority with respect to veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and I will work certainly in the next Congress to pass that extension.

The bill today also helps the over 200,000 male and female veterans who each night are sleeping in a doorway, under a bridge, in an alley, a box, a barn, a car, or a homeless shelter. Through a network of local nonprofit or public agencies, VA's grant and per diem program for homeless veterans offers homeless veterans a safe haven that is free of drugs and alcohol.

Last year roughly 300 programs across the Nation were able to give 14,000 homeless vets the help they needed to recover, rehabilitate, and obtain the skills necessary to reintegrate back into society. This legislation means that the VA can continue to support these hundreds of community shelters. But let me remind us all, as I will continue to do next year, that this covers barely 5 percent of the homeless veterans. We owe as a Nation help and care to the almost 200,000 others that remain on the streets tonight.

This bill extends the authority to treat seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans. More than one out of three veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have turned to the VA for health care has received an initial diagnosis for a mental health disorder. Many more have such a disorder but did not come to the VA. Many did not check the boxes that would indicate this because they just want to get home to their families. We have a lot of work to do in this country to help those with mental health disorders.

This bill, though, will ensure that the VA has the authority it needs to provide our recent veterans, as well as veterans from previous conflicts, with this mental health care that they need.

As the chairman said, this legislation also extends certain work study opportunities for veterans who are students through June of 2007. Helping veterans who are attending college or vocational training to earn while they learn makes good sense. This bill will allow veterans who are students to receive work study allowances for working at VA hospitals and domiciliaries, at State veterans homes, and at national and State veterans cemeteries. While I am disappointed that we could not extend authority for this program beyond next June, I am glad that this legislation will allow veterans who are participating in this program to continue through the end of their academic year.

A small number of permanently and totally disabled servicemembers are kept on active duty status to help them recover and rehabilitate from their injuries. When these servicemembers are discharged, their spouses and dependent children are then eligible for VA's educational assistance program. This bill, though, accelerates eligibility in cases where a disability rating of permanent and total disability is delayed because the servicemember has not officially yet been discharged from

military service. I am proud and I am grateful that this legislation will help families of these very severely wounded veterans by providing early education benefits.

I appreciate the chairman's enumerating other bills that need to pass through the Senate. As he said, a lot of good things are waiting. And this is one of them. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6314

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Madam Speaker, I don't know if this is the last statement that Mr. Bilirakis will make on the floor, but I just want to say how much we all appreciate your work. We are looking forward to another Bilirakis joining us. But your advocacy on areas such as no offsets between pension and disability that we call concurrent receipt, you kept that issue alive and made sure that we would do justice. So we want to thank you for that. And we want to thank you for the civility that you have exhibited through your whole career and especially on this committee, which sometimes especially this gentleman needed.

So we hope that you have a good retirement, Mr. Bilirakis. We will be missing you, but we really appreciate your service to this committee and to this Nation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), who is a staunch advocate for the veterans throughout her State, and who is the ranking Democratic member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I thank the chairman for bringing us this legislation of must-pass authorizations and extensions, and I yield back the balance of my time.