To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide veterans with counseling and treatment for sexual trauma that occurred during inactive duty training.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 628, I offer a motion.

Mr. Speaker, this motion is to authorize a conference to combine our two bills into something that is focused on the access and accountability crisis that exists at VA.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the motion.

The previous question was ordered.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to instruct.

As our committee works in a bipartisan fashion in an ongoing investigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, we have continued to work and will continue to work in that bipartisan manner through legislation and aggressive oversight.

Veterans are not a partisan issue and must remain as such. That is why I am a little bit confused about the motion to instruct that has been offered by my colleagues across the aisle today.

With the vote that was just held to authorize us to go to conference, it would really not be prudent to prematurely direct our conferees to already recede to the Senate position before we even sit down and discuss whatever the matter that we may have with the Senate is.

The House amendment contains the text of H.R. 4810 and H.R. 4031, which have both passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan majorities and could be taken up right now by the Senate and sent to the President today.

Since it is clear that the Senate doesn't intend to do that, our only option is to go to conference so that both Chambers--the House and the Senate--can work together to smooth out the differences.

I want to caution my colleagues that what we are dealing with right now is a very technical provision, a provision that will have a long- lasting effect on VA and the manner in which veterans throughout the country receive the needed care that they have earned.

The gravity of the issues before us and the differences in how we solve them does require that the House Members be given an opportunity to sit down face to face with our Senate colleagues, so that we might make sure that we get this right for our veterans and their families.

I agree with a lot of the intent of many of the provisions in the legislation, but I do have some concerns. First, as the Senate bill is currently written, it provides an expedited appeal right for Senior Executive Service employees at VA who are fired by the new removal authority that is authorized by this bill.

The House has already passed similar provisions in H.R. 4031, with appeal rights that follow exactly what we, as Members of Congress, have in regards to our congressional staff. While I am open to discussing appeal rights, I am concerned that the Senate bill really doesn't change the status quo and could, in fact, limit the Secretary's authority to remove poor-performing employees. In short, without accountability, reform will not be possible.

Secondly, another major provision of the Senate bill would be to provide the authority for VA to hire additional doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to provide and improve access.

The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs has heard multiple times, during the course of our investigation, that one issue with VA's current policy on capacity and scheduling is that VA doctors do not see nearly enough patients in one day compared to doctors in the private sector.

We need to ensure that VA health care staff and technology are used efficiently first, then address new hiring. Therefore, before Congress authorizes new funding for a whole new slew of medical personnel, I believe that VA managers must reexamine their current policies and see if they can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel that are already in place.

Finally, the Senate bill essentially gives the VA a blank check to fund the requirements of this bill. Again, in hearing after hearing, the committee heard from VA about their wasteful spending on IT programs, poorly managed contracts, large bonuses, extravagant conferences, and bloated bureaucracy.

In short, this is not an agency for which Congress should be cutting a no-strings-attached blank check. It is imperative that Congress follow a more methodical, yet quick approach to funding new requirements which preserves Congress' oversight responsibility to protect taxpayer resources provided on behalf of America's veterans. This is the House position, and we ought to fight for it.

Now, look, I don't doubt my colleague's sincerity to quickly and efficiently pass legislation to help address the countless issues that are facing the Department of Veterans Affairs today. However, the best way to do this and to ensure that all of the issues are on the table to work out our differences with the Senate is with a conference committee.

I urge my colleagues to oppose the motion to instruct, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the question that needs to be asked is why in the world, with an almost $160 billion budget, would there be two nonfunctioning machines inside a VA medical center? It just goes to show the incapability for the current bureaucracy that exists out there to do what they need to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think what is very curious is that if people would look at the bill that they are referring to today, that 80 percent of the text in that bill is already House-passed language. The Senate could pass that--could have passed that some time ago--and they have refused to do so. And now, all of a sudden, because it is wrapped up with a tiny little bow, it is the perfect piece of legislation.

I don't believe that my colleagues are trying to imply that the bickering that takes place is not supporting the veterans. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs has held 90 hearings in the 113th Congress. Over 50 of those are oversight hearings. The Senate has only held six oversight hearings. The House has been doing their job and has been doing it in a bipartisan fashion.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to remind the Members here on the floor that H.R. 357, the in-State tuition and bonus elimination bill, passed the House by 390-0; H.R. 4031, the VA accountability bill, passed this House in a wide, bipartisan fashion, 390-33; H.R. 4810, the access to care bill, passed this House unanimously, 400--we are hearing about 93-3? How about 426-0? Why don't we fight for what the House believes in once in a while around here instead of giving up to the Senate? H.R. 3521, the VA clinics--27 clinics are authorized in our bill. That was a 347-1 vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, I remind my fellow colleagues in the Chamber today that there are 12 pieces of legislation that have passed our committee and this full House that await action in the United States Senate, and they continue to languish.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I remind my friends here that the whims of the Congress to not pass appropriation bills blows very strong over on the Senate side because the House passes its Military Construction-VA bill year in and year out. It was the Senate that chose not to pass any appropriation bills last year.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank all Members who have come to speak on this very important matter. This should be a bipartisan matter, and it has been in our committee and certainly in this entire House.

I am still wondering why in the world we would just now vote to go to conference with the Senate on 80 percent of the bills that have already passed the House, and then we would turn around, and we would have a motion to instruct the conferees to just forget what the House said, take up the Senate bill.

It doesn't make sense that we would do that. In a normal course of legislative business, this is the way the process works: the House, the Senate get together, and we work out the issues that concern all of us.

I would ask the minority--or I would request the minority to not use this motion to instruct in one single political ad. I hope that I don't see this vote used in any political ads because our committee does things in a bipartisan fashion. Congressman Michaud and I have worked together diligently to keep the votes from becoming partisan.

I cannot see any other reason to have the vote today on the motion to instruct conferees to accept the Senate-

passed legislation after we have done the same thing in the House, passed the same bills in the House that they could take up on our side, yet we are going to cede to the Senate position.

With that, I urge defeat of the motion to instruct.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for the military sexual trauma provisions that were included in the Senate- passed H.R. 3230 and to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees to accept these provisions.

As you know, the statistics on military sexual assault are staggering. In 2012, a Pentagon survey estimated that 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted. However, the Pentagon only received 3,374 formal allegations. Clearly, there remains a deep-seated cultural problem in the military that discourages our servicemen and -women from coming forward to report cases of sexual assault.

Nonetheless, if one counts those cases reported, more and more men and women are currently leaving the military with PTSD from sexual assault. This cannot continue. Military sexual assault is the ultimate violation of the basic principles of trust, respect, honor, and dignity that is the bedrock of the principles our military men and women expect and deserve, and they are principles our country rightly demands.

Changing culture, as anyone from the public or private sectors know, and those of us dealing with issues at the Veterans Administration know all too well, changing culture is very difficult. But the culture of our military must change, and we, my colleagues, need to accelerate that change, from the military chain of command to reforms of our military justice system.

Clearly, preventing military sexual assault in the first place is critical, but it is equally critical that we provide servicemembers leaving the military who have suffered from sexual assault, to make access to care at the VA easier and safer, to make sure survivors get the benefits and services they need, and to ensure that the VA provides the very best treatment possible.

Compassion and care are a critical part of healing for those who have been sexually assaulted. We need an environment where it is safe to speak up and where we would never find anyone's story unjustly dismissed or treated with indifference, which would only make the trauma and the wound even deeper.

We have a bill before us that provides relief not only for those who have endured sexual assault, but for so many of the issues facing our veterans at this very moment.

I deeply appreciate the leadership from our chairman on the committee, who has done a tremendous amount to help our veterans, and he continues to do so. But the time to act is now. The crisis is clear. We have a path to address it. We have veterans who deserve it, and we have a Congress willing to provide the resources needed.

We have said time and time again in our hearings we need big change and big ideas. We need real transformation, and, most importantly, we need a VA whose sole purpose and mission is to serve our veterans with the same vigor and sacrifice that our veterans have served our country.

Mr. Speaker, our veterans must come first in everything we do. There is a lot of work ahead of us that the VA needs to do, and our committee must continue to do so. Persistent and consistent oversight every step of the way on our part will leverage the leadership and the strategic plan from within the VA to ensure that we deliver timely and quality health care with a compassion that our veterans and their families have earned and deserve.

I have no doubt that the leadership of the chairman has been instrumental to our committee's being able to work together in a bipartisan fashion to get us to this point, and it is imperative that we continue to work in a bipartisan fashion. Our veterans are counting on us, and our country is counting on us.

As ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health and someone who has respected all of the work of the committee on these issues, it is my belief that our veterans simply cannot and should not wait another day.

We have a bill that the Senate has passed and that we know the House would pass. We are currently scheduled by the Speaker to recess next Thursday. If the Speaker keeps to that timeline, we need to accept what is on the table: a bill that we know can pass both Houses and that we know the President will sign so that our veterans receive the care they deserve. We must include the provisions to improve VA treatment for survivors of military sexual trauma.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to recognize my colleague, the gentleman from Colorado. He has worked hard on this committee. I want to make clear that what we are talking about today is the bill that passed the Senate 93-3. So we are not talking about an airdrop or moving the goalpost; we are talking about the bill that passed out of the Senate 93-3.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus) who has been a leader on this issue and introduced the Military Sexual Trauma Claims Administration Reform and Eligibility Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), a valued and insightful member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Tsongas) who has been an extraordinary leader and champion, and also

the cochair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier) who has been instrumental in reforming the Uniform Code of Military Justice in her role on the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), who has also been a leader and advocate for justice for our survivors in the Judiciary Committee.

I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, might I inquire if the gentleman from Colorado will have any additional speakers?

Then I am prepared to close.

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

In closing, I would like to add that as ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, I led a hearing last July to address VA care and treatment for military sexual trauma survivors.

The subcommittee looked at the coordination of care and services offered by the Department of Defense and the VA. I was truly saddened to listen to the testimonies of those who spoke. Their pain and suffering was evident in every word they spoke. I know it was hard for all of them to share their stories, and I know all of us understand the immense bravery it took for them to do so.

I know that all of us, including those who have come to speak today, are dedicated to addressing military sexual assault. The Senate bill takes an important step forward toward that end. It is but one very important reason why I call on my colleagues to support this motion to instruct.

Let's insist that the Department of Defense and the VA address the epidemic of military sexual assault, which must include appropriate care and treatment of trauma survivors, and let's adopt the language in the Senate bill that addresses military sexual trauma.

We have a bill before us that was crafted by Members of Congress whose dedication to our veterans is beyond question, but we are running out of time. We have a bill that we know will pass both Houses, that we know the President will sign, that we know will provide significant relief to our veterans immediately.

We simply cannot negotiate any longer. Time is of the essence. We should move forward. We should adopt the Senate bill.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the motion to instruct conferees, and, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time for our Nation to raise awareness about the persistent scourge of suicide.

Tens of thousands of Americans die each year purposefully by their own actions. They are our neighbors and our friends, they are our sons and our daughters, and too often they are the men and women who have served our country honorably in the United States military. An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide every day in our country. That is one life lost every 65 minutes.

We have assembled today's Special Order to accomplish three things:

First, we seek to demonstrate our continuing support for the individuals, organizations, and agencies whose efforts in addressing this preventable epidemic continue in the face of difficulty.

Second, we are here to challenge the VA, the Department of Defense, and our fellow lawmakers to do more. The number of veteran deaths by suicide is increasing, despite current efforts. Clearly, what we are doing now isn't working. We are failing in our obligation to do right by those who have served so honorably.

And finally, we send a message to military families who have experienced this tragedy. To grieving families across America, know that your family's loss isn't forgotten. We are working to stop this epidemic and prevent future suicides. We work for the memory of your loved ones and for the prevention of future losses.

My colleagues here today believe, as I believe, that no one who comes home after serving our country should ever feel they have nowhere to turn. Sadly, many of our young vets feel just that.

Earlier this year, a young veteran in my district committed suicide. Daniel Somers was an Army veteran of two tours in Iraq. He served on Task Force Lightning, an intelligence unit. He ran over 400 combat missions as a machine gunner in the turret of a Humvee. Part of his role required him to interrogate dozens of terror suspects, and his work was deemed classified.

Like many veterans, Daniel was haunted by the war when he returned. He suffered from flashbacks, nightmares, depression, and additional symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, made worse by a traumatic brain injury. Daniel needed help. He and his family asked for help the best way they knew how.

Unfortunately, the VA enrolled Daniel in group therapy sessions instead of connecting him with a private counselor or therapist where he would be able to talk confidentially about his experiences. He attended the VA group sessions even though he knew--due to the classified nature of his work--that he could not fully share what gave him nightmares.

Like many, Daniel's isolation got worse when he transitioned home to civilian life. He tried to provide for his family, but he was unable to work due to his disability.

Daniel struggled with the VA bureaucracy. His disability appeal had been pending for over 2 years in the system without any resolution. Daniel didn't get the help he needed in time. On June 10 of 2013, Daniel wrote a letter to his family.

It begins:

I am sorry that it has come to this. The fact is, for as

long as I can remember, my motivation for getting up every

day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things

have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this

alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is, I

am not getting better; I am not going to get better; and I

will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From

a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things

quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the

short term rather than to drag things out into the long term.

He goes on to say:

I am left with basically nothing. Too trapped in a war to

be at peace, too damaged to be at war, abandoned by those who

would take the easy route and a liability to those who stick

it out--and, thus, deserve better. So, you see, not only am I

better off dead, but the world is better without me in it.

This is what brought me to my actual final mission.

Daniel's parents, Howard and Jean, were devastated; but in the midst of their pain, they bravely shared Daniel's story and created a mission of their own. Their mission is to ensure that Daniel's story brings to light America's deadliest war--the 22 veterans that we lose every day to suicide.

I am grateful to Howard and Jean for their courage and their strength, but we cannot leave this great task to Howard and Jean alone. The rest of the country must stand and join Howard and Jean in their work to prevent suicide. Each of us can do something to raise awareness, to be that light for a struggling veteran in our communities. Businesses can display signs like this one to let veterans know that help is always available, and mental health professionals can volunteer with organizations like Give an Hour to provide free counseling to veterans and their families. We can all learn to recognize the signs of crisis by visiting veteranscrisisline.net and then reaching out to the vets in our lives.

Here in Congress, we, too, can do more. We need a VA that provides real and meaningful help to veterans in need. We who enjoy freedom every day, thanks to the sacrifices of our military servicemembers, must all step up to end the epidemic of veterans' suicide.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan, Congressman Dan Benishek.

Thank you, Congressman Benishek. I appreciate your words very much.

Our next speaker who will join us this afternoon is my colleague from Florida, Congressman Patrick Murphy. I yield to him.

Thank you, Mr. Murphy.

I yield to another colleague from the great State of Florida, Mr. Ted Yoho.

Thank you, Mr. Yoho.

Next, I yield to the distinguished Congresswoman from Illinois, a proud veteran herself, Representative Tammy Duckworth.

Thank you, Representative Duckworth.

I yield to another fine colleague from the great State of Illinois, Representative Rodney Davis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the great State of California, Susan Davis.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Davis.

I yield to my colleague from Washington State, Congressman Jim McDermott.

Thank you, Congressman.

I yield to my distinguished colleague from California, Congressman Tony Cardenas.

Thank you, Representative Cardenas.

I now yield to my friend and colleague from southern Arizona, Congressman Ron Barber.

Thank you so much, Congressman Barber.

I now yield to my colleague from Nevada, Congresswoman Dina Titus.

Thank you so much, Congresswoman Titus.

I now yield to my colleague from Pennsylvania, Congressman Matthew Cartwright.

Thank you, Representative Cartwright.

I now yield to my colleague from New York (Mr. Owens).

Thank you so much, Congressman Owens.

I now yield to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Enyart).

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

Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.

Mr. Speaker, I offer this motion to instruct because veterans in Arizona and across the country need action from Congress and from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Our motion instructs House conferees to accept the bipartisan bill, drafted by Senator John McCain and Senator Bernie Sanders and overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, so that we can immediately send a bill to the President's desk that will provide relief for our Nation's veterans.

The revelations that veterans at the Phoenix VA and veterans at other VA facilities across the country were placed on secret lists and had to wait months before seeing a doctor are immoral, irresponsible, and un- American. That veterans who served our country honorably may have died while waiting for care is unconscionable.

Ongoing audits by the VA and the VA Office of Inspector General revealed systemic problems with wait times, with the scheduling process, and with the honesty and integrity of the system. Those responsible for this disaster must be held accountable.

Many dedicated VA employees, many of them veterans themselves, work tirelessly to provide the best care to our veterans, but they are limited by this broken system, which is failing millions of our veterans.

The first priority of the VA and Congress must be to provide our veterans the care they need. This challenge does not need a Democratic or a Republican response. It demands an American response, and I appreciate the bipartisan leadership and work of Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud. In fact, I cosponsored and voted for both of Chairman Miller's bills.

I supported bipartisan legislation to give the Secretary of the VA a greater ability to hold underperforming senior executives accountable and to fire managers, like those in Phoenix who manipulated wait times and put veterans at risk.

I also supported bipartisan legislation directing the VA to use non- VA community providers to cut those wait times and increase the capacity and capabilities of the VA health care system.

In Phoenix, we have established a working group of community providers, veterans service organizations, and the local VA to work together to improve access to services.

We joined with the American Legion to establish a veterans crisis center to provide service to our veterans, and I would say thank you to the American Legion for moving so quickly and working with our community.

We have also started to fully utilize programs, like the Patient- Centered Community Care contract, which cuts into wait times for specialty and mental health care at the Phoenix VA. A new contract for primary care should be in place by the end of this month, but more action is required.

This conference should move quickly to accept the Senate language, which passed 93-3.

In addition to the good provisions in the House bill to improve access and accountability, the Senate language directs the VA to hire more doctors and nurses. It invests in 26 new VA facilities.

It provides for instate tuition for veterans, regardless of their home concept, a concept that the House overwhelmingly supported earlier this year. It extends post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to surviving spouses of veterans who died in the line of duty. It improves access to health care for military sexual assault survivors. It was scored as costing less than the House bill.

Both Republicans and Democrats want to provide the best possible care for our veterans and their families, and we want to move quickly to provide this care. That is why I urge my colleagues to accept this motion to instruct, so we can move a bill to the President's desk quickly, and we can provide the care and services our veterans have earned and deserve.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Arizona (Mrs. Kirkpatrick).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Enyart), a veteran colleague.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus), my colleague on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Garcia).

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Miller, just know that folks on both sides of the aisle are very, very grateful for his leadership, in particular the research that was done to uncover the tragedy that occurred in the Phoenix VA in my district. So know that folks on both sides of the aisle here in the House are very, very grateful for the bipartisan nature in which the Veterans' Affairs Committee has conducted its affairs during his tenure, and we appreciate his leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), my colleague who serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), my colleague who serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the ranking member on the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown), who serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for their tremendous leadership and the work that they have done over the years to provide veterans with the best possible care, holding multiple hearings and passing a multitude of bipartisan bills. By working together, I know we can address this crisis and create a VA system that our veterans deserve.

I urge our colleagues to support this motion to instruct, so we get a bill to the President's desk quickly. This is not the end of our work, but it is an important step forward to meet the needs of our veterans.

I trust that Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Michaud, and the members of the conference committee will represent the interests of veterans very well in our conference committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this motion to instruct and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the motion to instruct would require the House to recede to the Senate amendments to H.R. 3230. As Chairman Miller has stated during debate on nearly identical motions to instruct last week and again last night, the foremost goals of the House and Senate conference committee are, one, to improve timely access to high-quality health care for veterans who have been waiting for weeks, months, or even years; and, two, to improve the accountability and overall operations of the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. This was the central charge to the conferees at the beginning of the conference and remains so today. I have no doubt that my colleague from California, Congresswoman Brownley, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, shares these goals. However, this motion does not further our pursuit of them.

Tonight, our attention is best spent devoted to finding a true compromise--one that best serves our Nation's veterans and taxpayers and lays the foundation for correcting the departmental deficiencies that have brought us here--and not tying the conference committee's hands with an unnecessary, unhelpful, unbinding, and time-consuming motion to instruct.

As the gentlewoman knows, because she was in the Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing with the acting VA Secretary, this morning, Chairman Miller offered a proposal that would largely agree with nearly everything in the Senate bill, with a few minor exceptions.

Chairman Miller's proposal would accept title I through title VII of the original Senate bill, with amended language to include all 27 leases authorized by the House last December in H.R. 3521 rather than the 26 that the Senate approved; provide VA with $102 million for fiscal year 2014 to address the Department's internal funding shortfalls; provide $10 billion of no-year, mandatory, emergency funding to cover the cost of the Senate's choice provisions, with the remaining Senate provisions subject to appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I am supportive of Chairman Miller's proposal because it is a fair, commonsense approach that ensures Congress is able to continue its oversight to ensure that taxpayers' funds are spent wisely.

As we all know, recently, Senator Sanders, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and cochair of the conference committee, has indicated his desire to expand the scope of the conference to include VA's recent request for an additional $17.6 billion. We call that an airdrop. Unfortunately, there is virtually no parachute in the form of detailed justification for this request, and to a great extent, Congress' acceptance of unsubstantiated funding requests in the past have helped get us to where we are today.

This summer, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee has held multiple full committee oversight hearings to discuss the access and accountability failures VA has been subjecting our veterans to. These hearings have confirmed that the problems VA is facing today require long-term and large-scale reform. Adding more money, more people, and more infrastructure to a system that has not proven itself able to make effective use of its existing resources that it has been provided without first implementing underlying reforms does not serve our veterans well and will not prevent them from continuing to face unacceptably long patient waiting times.

It has been proven time and time again by the VA inspector general, the Government Accountability Office, the administration, and others that VA has been suffering from widespread data manipulation and a systemic lack of integrity.

Given that, what confidence do we have that the $17.6 billion resource request that VA is now making is based on data that is valid or reliable, particularly given that the committee has received very little analysis, justification, or verification of these numbers?

Before Congress can contemplate devoting such a significant amount of taxpayer money, it is imperative that VA provide a full accounting of each additional dollar that is being requested. The resource request the Department has put forward so far is not the well thought-out and thoroughly justifiable position that our Nation's veterans and our taxpayers deserve. Rather, it is an unsubstantiated guess put together in the back room of a massive bureaucracy.

Mr. Speaker, I truly believe we could have already come to an agreement if Senator Sanders would not have insisted on moving the goalposts so dramatically. The House has passed almost a dozen bills reforming the VA that have waited months for Senate consideration. The Senate could pass those bills and send them to the President to become law today.

I would remind Ms. Brownley that one such bill, H.R. 2527, would extend VA's military sexual trauma counseling, along with care and treatment programs, for veterans for sexual trauma that occurred during Active Duty or Active Duty for training to veterans who experienced such trauma during inactive duty training.

Mr. Speaker, we are continually trying to work out a deal with the Senate, but I would submit to this body these motions to instruct are unproductive, are slowing down the conference process, and have become nothing more than a political ploy to distract from the true issues facing our veterans and the conference committee.

So with that, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the motion to instruct.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time, there are no plans to have any additional speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I once again urge all Members to oppose the motion to instruct, and I yield back the balance of my time.