Expressing the appreciation of Congress for the service and sacrifice of the 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne), United States Army, which was the first and only all-African American Ranger Company in the Army.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a critical piece of legislation which expands and improves health care services available for women veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The bill will be explained in greater detail by the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, as the person who introduced the bill and we thank her for her steadfast commitment to helping women veterans.

Mr. Speaker, we had a roundtable at our full committee, where we had representatives and women veterans from all around the country. It was searing testimony which revealed serious weaknesses in the culture of the VA.

The VA health care system, after all, was built to accommodate the war-related illnesses and injuries of male veterans. The increased percentage of female veterans that has been occurring, especially with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, has led many women veterans to say that we need some changes in the culture of the VA. Women walk through the lobbies of VA hospitals and are given catcalls. There are not sufficient women doctors available for the women who want them. The male doctors don't yet seem to have the respect for the sacrifice of women veterans.

There was one woman who testified who had an amputation of one arm from combat. When she showed up at the doctor's office, he just assumed that it was lost from something else like cancer. He didn't even think that this could be a combat-related injury. And we can go on and on, but we need to change the culture and change the resources and change behavior, and that's what this bill by Ms. Herseth Sandlin starts to do.

There are about 1.8 million women veterans today, or 7 percent of the nearly 24 million veterans that we serve. Assuming that the current enrollments remain the same, the number of female veterans who use the VA system will double in the next 5 years, making female veterans one of the fastest growing subgroups of veterans. In this environment of organizational transformation and changing demographics, H.R. 1211 has the potential to lay the foundation for improved health care services for our women veterans.

I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I am proud to recognize the gentlelady from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth Sandlin) for as much time as she may consume. She is the author of this very, very important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Halvorson).

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1211, as amended.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I was listening to Ms. Herseth Sandlin talk about the need for pilot programs for child care. We've had testimony that if a woman veteran showed up with her child or children, they would be denied their appointment and sent home. I mean this is a way that the culture just must change, which this bill is the first step toward that change.

So I would urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1211, as amended.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1211. This piece of legislation will assist our women veterans in obtaining better health care.

First, I'd like to commend the chief sponsor of this resolution, Ms. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. I would also like to recognize my other colleagues for their strong support and co-sponsorship of this piece of legislation.

Currently, there are an approximated 200,000 female troops in our Armed Forces serving to help protect our Nation. It is not only an important issue but a matter of responsibility that we ensure the fair and first-rate treatment of our brave female troops when they return and/or retire from the Armed Forces.

This resolution will benefit our women veterans by providing graduate education for them. I believe education is a keystone for every U.S. citizen and our government should provide the right to an education for our valiant troops returning home. This gives the opportunity for women veterans who enlisted right after high school to continue on with their education at higher levels.

This legislation will also train and certify mental health professionals so we can aid any of our veterans who are in need of help. It is imperative that we service our veterans in the best way we can. On a day-to-day basis, thousands of veterans suffer from conditions such as sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. The number of female veterans that tested positive for military sexual trauma was 8,705 and this was a climb in number. It is crucial that we take care of our female troops especially because around 20 percent of female veterans test positive for sexual trauma while only 1.8 percent of male veterans test positive.

The resolution is also beneficial to our veterans due to the fact that this piece of legislation provides for the study and analysis of any current problems that our women veterans face in the current state of our system. It will help us make amends and additions to the structure of health care for our female veterans.

Another important piece of this legislation that will help Veterans Affairs greatly is including recently discharged women veterans in the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans. This will only add more experience to the current committee because having recently discharged troops is important in knowing what health care issues recently discharged female military personal need.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we take care of our veterans. These veterans put their life on the line to help protect all of us that live in this great Nation. It is of the essence to provide easy access to health care and to a better current health care system for our women veterans.

Again, I would like to thank my colleague Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin for being the chief sponsor of this key resolution in aiding our women veterans. I strongly urge my other colleagues to support this resolution as well.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1211, the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, as amended, which the Veterans' Affairs Health Subcommittee passed on June 4 and the full committee approved on June 10.

I would like to thank Chairman Filner, Ranking Member Buyer, Subcommittee Chairman Mike Michaud and Subcommittee Ranking Member Brown for their leadership and support of this bill, as well as my colleague on the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, the distinguished ranking member, Mr. Boozman of Arkansas, for cosponsoring this important legislation.

I would also like to take a moment to give special recognition to Chairman Filner for his leadership on this very important issue. He had mentioned the roundtable that the full committee hosted, his brainchild to bring all of the women who represent different veterans service organizations and women veterans themselves to speak to their experiences and to better inform and educate committee members about the extraordinary circumstances that they have faced time and time again as they have sought care in VA medical centers.

So I was extremely pleased to introduce this important legislation on February 26, 2009, proud of the bipartisan support the legislation has garnered. And the roundtable discussion hosted by Chairman Filner illustrated even further how imperative the passage of this bill is for our women veterans.

Before I discuss the bill in greater detail and the needs of women veterans, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Disabled American Veterans for their continued leadership and the effort to address the needs of female veterans and their support for this important legislation.

I also want to thank Cathy Wiblemo and the rest of her team for the great work that they have done on the health subcommittee. Cathy and her staff did excellent work in assisting with this legislation and shepherding it through the legislative process.

Today women make up approximately 8 percent of veterans in the United States, and that percentage will continue to rise as more and more women answer the call to duty to serve their country. With an increasing number of women seeking access to care for a diverse range of medical conditions, the challenge of providing adequate health care services for women veterans is one that the VA must meet.

Unfortunately, services at VA facilities often fall short of properly providing for the health care needs of women. There is too much fragmentation of care and not enough clinicians with the correct training and experience.

Child care considerations aren't being met adequately for male or female veterans, and currently the VA does not cover care for the newborn child of an eligible veteran.

To answer these challenges and others, H.R. 1211 takes a number of important steps to help the VA provide the services and care that our women veterans need and sets the VA on a path toward providing even better care in the future.

H.R. 1211 authorizes the VA to conduct two important studies. First the VA will examine barriers to health care that women veterans experience within the VA system. The study will examine the full range of barriers, including the lack of comprehensive primary care, the sensitivity of VA providers regarding gender-specific issues, the stigma of seeking mental health care services, and the availability of child care.

The second study is a comprehensive assessment of the VA's women's health program, with the task of developing a strategy to improve services at every VA medical center. The bill also works to enhance the VA's sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder programs for women by requiring the secretary of the VA to ensure that all mental health professionals have been properly and consistently trained to help women veterans.

Female veterans who have suffered such attacks have already suffered enough. They need to know before they begin treatment that every VA mental health professional is prepared to help them, understands the best methods and practices, and can make them feel secure in seeking treatment.

Child care concerns also have emerged as a crucial issue for women veterans seeking care. Sometimes veterans without access to appropriate child care are forced to forego important health care appointments.

H.R. 1211 begins to address this issue by authorizing a child care pilot program for patients and requires the VA to carry out this study in at least three veterans service networks. Possible forms of child care assistance include stipends for child care centers, the development of partnerships with private agencies and collaboration with other Federal agencies that have similar programs.

H.R. 1211 also requires the VA to provide 7 days of medical care for the newborn children of women veterans. Currently the VA has no provision to provide care for these infants. However, 86 percent of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom women veterans are under the age of 40, and this benefit represents an important update of VA policy.

Finally, the bill requires the VA to add recently separated women and minority veterans to serve on key advisory committees, such as the advisory committee on women veterans. The VA must ensure adequate attention is given to women veterans programs so quality health care and specialized services are available for both women and men.

I believe my bill will help the VA better meet these specialized needs and develop new systems to better provide for the health care of women veterans, especially those who are sexually assaulted, suffer from PTSD or who need child care services. Congress must honor our Nation's commitment to all of our veterans, and this legislation furthers that aim.

Again, I want to thank Chairman Filner for his outstanding leadership on this issue, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1211.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1211, as amended, a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs and for other purposes.

I appreciate the hard work of the gentlelady from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth Sandlin) on this bill and in bringing it forward. Throughout history, women have played a vital role in supporting our national defense. Currently women make up 8 percent, about 8 percent of the total veteran population, and VA estimates that by 2020, women veterans will comprise about 10 percent of the veteran population.

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population, and it's essential to make sure that VA is providing specialized programs and services to meet their unique physical and mental health needs.

I want to thank again my good friend and colleague, the gentlelady from South Dakota, for introducing this legislation, and I am pleased to have joined with her as an original cosponsor for H.R. 1211.

This legislation would expand and improve benefits and services for our female veterans, especially our newest generation of women veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA would be required to conduct independent studies to look at the barriers women veterans face in obtaining VA health care, assist the services currently being provided, and develop a plan to better meet their needs.

In the past 5 years, there has been a 30 percent increase in the number of women veterans of child-bearing age enrolling in the VA health care system. H.R. 1211, as amended, would aid this population by authorizing VA to provide care to newborns of women veterans receiving maternity care through VA. Additionally, the bill would establish a pilot program to provide child care assistance for certain qualified veterans while they are receiving care at the VA.

Recognizing that the largest number of women veterans are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the bill would also ensure that recently separated women veterans have a voice on the advisory committee on women veterans and minority veterans.

I urge my colleagues to support 1211, as amended.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Health Subcommittee, Chairman Mike Michaud and Ranking Member Henry Brown of South Carolina, for their hard work on this bill. I would also like to thank Chairman Bob Filner, Ranking Member Steve Buyer, for working together to move this bill quickly and get it on this floor.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Ms. Herseth Sandlin for her leadership and recognizing the problem and then moving forward with legislation that hopefully will be of great help to women veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1211, as amended.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1211, the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act.

I want to thank Ms. Herseth Sandlin for her dedication on this issue. As more women serve in the military, they are quickly becoming an important segment of VA users. Their numbers will double over the next 2 to 4 years, and many are under the age of 40.

This presents new challenges to the VA system, which historically was designed to serve male veterans. Significant changes to the VA need to occur to properly serve all veterans.

As we heard at the VA committee roundtable on women veteran issues, women veterans arrive at the VA with a variety of unique challenges. Many women veterans do not identify themselves as veterans and seek care outside of the system. Some feel stigmatized and are hesitant to speak out. Women who have sought care at VA facilities have complained that staff lacks understanding of the role of women in combat.

The most pressing of these challenges relate to mental health, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and behavioral issues. A 2008 VA study reported that 15 percent of women in Iraq and Afghanistan experience sexual assault or harassment, and 59 percent of these women were at a higher risk for mental health problems.

These are tragic numbers and we need to act immediately to address them. The difficulty women face in accessing the VA system and the lack of women-focused health care is unacceptable.

These women have sacrificed so much for our country. This bill takes the first step to meet these challenges and follows up on recommendations provided by Veterans Service Organizations by requiring the Secretary of the VA to study the barriers women face as they seek VA services.

Similarly, H.R. 1211 improves training and education for VA professionals to help treat women veterans. This education will help to address the concerns that many women veterans have that the VA doesn't understand their needs.

This is why I support H.R. 1211 and strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important bill.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act.

This legislation will improve and expand health care for women veterans.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin for all of her hard work. She is a champion of our nation's veterans. I am honored to be a cosponsor of this legislation.

Women now make up approximately fourteen percent of the active military, and in the past recruiting class, they made up twenty percent.

Data released by the VA shows that the amount of women who are expected to use the VA health care system is expected to double within the next four years.

As a country, we must ensure that women veterans have a voice and that their needs are addressed.

Passing this bill into law will help identify and break down barriers faced by women veterans in accessing VA health care.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this crucial bill.