Helping Homeless Veterans Act of 2013

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 1412) to improve and increase the availability of on-job training and apprenticeship programs carried out by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on Senate amendments to H.R. 1412.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Senate amendments we are discussing today to H.R. 1412 would extend a number of expiring authorities affecting the daily lives and long-term well-being of our servicemembers, veterans, and their families.

The important initiatives that would be extended through this legislation include those that provide adaptive sports programs and specially adapted housing grants for disabled veterans and supported services--such as housing and employment assistance--for homeless veterans.

The bill would also extend for 1 year the Department's authority to provide childcare assistance to certain veterans receiving intensive health care services.

Further, it would extend VA's authority to collect copayments for hospital and nursing home care and to recover from third parties the cost of care and services that are furnished to veterans with health plan contracts for nonservice-connected conditions through September 30, 2014.

Needless to say, each of these programs is critical to ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of high-quality health care and benefits to veterans in communities across our country.

The committee will continue to be vigorous in our oversight of each of these programs to ensure the prompt delivery of needed benefits and services to veterans and the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

This legislation represents a bipartisan, bicameral effort. I want to express my gratitude to the ranking member, Mr. Michaud, and to Ms. Brown, who is here with us on the floor, the chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee--Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Richard Burr of North Carolina--for their hard work and their leadership in this effort.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in the Senate amendments to H.R. 1412 and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), a gentleman who has worn the uniform of this country and served this country well.

Mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers at this time, so we are prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, thank my colleague Ms. Brown from Jacksonville for her hard work on behalf of veterans and her ability to work with us in the committee in a bipartisan fashion.

I once again encourage all Members to support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for working with the members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees to pass this important legislation.

Specifically, I am happy to see the extension of the Veterans Paralympic program, which reflects my legislation, H.R. 1402, the Veterans Paralympic Act, which passed unanimously out of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee before being combined in an omnibus bill in the full committee. This program ensures that disabled veterans in local communities throughout the country continue to have opportunities for rehabilitation, stress relief, and higher achievement through adaptive sports.

U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympics Chief Charlie Huebner testified at a hearing that ``participation in sports and other athletic activities can help speed the rehabilitation process for disabled veterans.'' As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I couldn't agree more with Mr. Huebner, and I personally understand the importance of rehabilitation opportunities for returning veterans.

Finally, although I fully support the passage of the extenders package, I am disappointed that the substance of H.R. 1412 was not included in this bill. H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act, seeks to build on an existing, yet little known and underutilized on-the-job training program that assists veterans by allowing them to use their educational benefits to learn a trade or skill by participation in an approved apprenticeship or on-the-job training program.

Employers in my district have expressed their desire to work with this program and hire more veterans because they know how valuable a veteran can be to their organization. Additionally, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has endorsed the legislation by saying, ``IAVA stands ready to support and promote innovative ideas like this to end the veterans' unemployment crisis.''

It is my understanding that the original provisions of H.R. 1412 were dropped without prejudice and that they will be part of an upcoming negotiation between the House and the Senate. I look forward to seeing the substance of that legislation advance, and I will be working with Chairman Miller to ensure that happens.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1412, as amended, the Department of Veterans Affairs Expired Authorities Act of 2013.

VA would lose the authority to continue a number of critical programs

that, without action, would expire next week. These programs assist our most vulnerable veterans reintegrating back into society and into their communities.

With this legislation, wrap-around services for homeless veterans and their families would be authorized to continue. Services such as counseling, job training, job referrals, financial assistance, case management, housing, and the special needs for the frail, elderly, and seriously mentally ill veterans will continue.

We listened to veterans when they told us that they were busy with jobs, school, and families and, as a result, found it difficult to get the health care they needed without childcare assistance. This measure extended for 1 year VA's authority to provide childcare assistance for certain veterans receiving intensive health care services.

This bill would extend the authority to provide a monthly assistance allowance to veterans with disabilities who are invited by the U.S. Olympic Committee to participate on the U.S. Paralympics team. More than 14,000 veterans with disabilities have benefited from these activities. The results for these veteran athletes have been astonishing both in terms of athletic accomplishment and personal accomplishment.

This bill extends eligibility for specially adapted housing for our most disabled veterans. It would allow them to live more independently in their daily lives.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we have a moral obligation to ensure that we do what needs to be done to help those who have worn the uniform receive the benefits and services they have earned. These extensions of critical programs we are considering today will help us do all we can.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1412, as amended. I want to thank Chairman Miller for working in a very bipartisan way for veterans.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to express my support for the Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2013. This legislation includes the reauthorization of several fundamental programs that serve some of our most vulnerable veterans who are overrepresented in our nation's homeless population. These programs are the Homeless Veterans Reintegration program, the Grant and Per Diem Program for Homeless Veterans with Special Needs program, the Supportive Services for Veterans Families programs, and the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program.

I believe that Congress and the VA must do what it necessary to end the homeless veterans problem, which is why I introduced H.R. 2485, the Helping Homeless Veterans Act. In addition to the programs that will be reauthorized in H.R. 1412, H.R. 2485 would reauthorize several other homeless veterans programs, such as the Therapeutic Transitional Housing component to the Compensated Work Therapy Program and the Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Veterans Program. This important legislation has been endorsed by numerous Veteran Service Organizations, including the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and the Center for American Homeless Veterans. Without Congressional action, we will neglect our nation's heroes by letting these programs expire at the end of this calendar year.

These veterans fought for our country and now it is our time to fight for them. I commend Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for their leadership on this legislation to reauthorize these programs, and I appreciate their effort to end homelessness among veterans.

With so many men and women returning home and transitioning to civilian life, now is not the time to waiver on our resolve.

I encourage my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 1412, and also join me in supporting H.R. 2485, the Helping Homeless Veterans Act.