Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong support for the significant package of the veteran's bills that we considered in the House both yesterday and today.

As the former Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (2001 through 2005), I am acutely aware of the challenges our veterans face, especially as they transition from military to civilian life. As Chairman, I authored more than a dozen laws to expand health, education, job training and homelessness benefits for the men and women who served in uniform. Thankfully these laws continue to help our veterans today.

Still, there are new problems and new issues that urgently need our attention. Massive wait times, forged documents by VA officials, ineptitude, lack of equipment and under-staffing at VA medical facilities are just a few of the significant transgressions that have been exposed and are undermining the quality of service and the treatment our veterans receive.

In 2014 and 2016 Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (P.L. 113-146) and the Faster Care for Veterans Act (P.L. 114-286), respectively, to usher in a complete overhaul of VA systems and to institute new technological services for scheduling and in order to secure more timely appointments. Some, but not nearly enough, progress has occurred. Much more must be done.

I commend Chairman Phil Roe, MD and his team at the Veterans Affairs Committee on the package of bills before us this week. All seven will help improve the benefit programs and the delivery of healthcare service for our veterans.

For instance, The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2288) will empower veterans who have been denied benefits to have more options as they pursue their appeals. Under the new bill, vets will be able to waive a hearing and submit additional evidence, pursue a hearing and submit additional evidence, or transfer the jurisdiction of their case to the Board of Veterans Appeals. The new options should help cut through some wait time.

The VA Scheduling Accountability Act (H.R. 467) would require an annual certification of compliance with scheduling directives. Additionally the bill blocks awards and bonuses to any leadership personnel at any medical center that fails to comply with the scheduling directives. Another bill before us, H.R. 1005 would allow the federal government to enter into agreements with state veteran's homes to pay for adult day health care for certain eligible veterans.

The No Hero Left Untreated Act (H.R. 1162) will create a one year pilot program at the VA to use innovative therapy to treat veterans who suffer from invisible wounds, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma, chronic pain, or opiate addiction. As the author of the Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act (P.L. 108-422) which authorized regional veteran polytrauma centers for multiple injuries including TBI, I fully support H.R. 1162 as a way to ensure that the VA is able to adapt to the newest and best practices for treating veterans with these unique traumas and conditions.

The Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017 (H.R. 1725) will require stronger reporting requirements from the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the necessity for in-person disability examinations; and the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017 (H.R. 1329) will increase the cost-of-living-adjustment for disabled veterans who receive compensation to equal the same rate of increase for citizens who receive Social Security in 2018.

Finally, the VA Prescription Data Accountability Act (H.R. 1545) will help combat drug addiction among our veterans by creating better information and data sharing between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the states' recording programs.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleagues that while this package of veterans bills marks another step forward, we cannot be lulled into thinking that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the delivery of veterans' benefits and healthcare will be forever fixed simply with the enactment of new legislation, no matter how well written.

Good legislation is the necessary, minimum first step. But equally important is the full and consistent implementation of the new laws, along with regular and aggressive oversight by this Congress. We must be vigilant and continue to push to ensure that all veterans get the care they have earned--at the time they need it--not months or years later.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1329) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2017, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, to improve the processing of claims by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 1329, as amended.

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

H.R. 1329, as amended, is one of the most important bills the House will take up this year. This bill will help ensure that the benefits paid to veterans who are disabled as a result of their military service do not lose value because of inflation. H.R. 1329, as amended, authorizes a cost-of-living increase for veterans and their families next year as long as Social Security recipients receive an increase.

We pass this bill every year, and it has always enjoyed wide, bipartisan support. This year's bill was introduced by the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Esty.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1329, as amended, and help disabled veterans and their families keep up with the rate of inflation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Chairman Bost.

Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from

Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the vice chairman of our committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), my good friend and a member of our committee.

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

I want to thank my good friend, Sergeant Major Walz for his kind words.

Certainly, what we try to do on the Veterans' Affairs Committee is leave Republican and Democrat at the door of the committee room and go and do the work of the veterans for what is best for them. It is a true pleasure and honor, if you have ever attended one of our meetings, to see that and to see the effort of all Members. And you can see here today, with seven important pieces of legislation passed, it will help improve the lives of our veterans.

I know, for me, that this time of the year--and I feel sure that my friends on the other side of the aisle feel the same way--is one of the most difficult times of the year. It is Memorial Day. And I don't think we need to forget, this coming Monday, what that means. It is for all of those who didn't make it home who protected this great country.

I know, myself, I get some guilt this time of year. I was a drafted soldier, as many of us were. I served my time in 1973 and 1974 in Korea, just south of the DMZ. Many of my friends didn't make it home from Vietnam. I still feel for them and their families.

I know every Memorial Day, when I attend a service for veterans, it is difficult for me to get through that day because I got to come home, as all of us here who are serving did. We got to raise our children and see our grandchildren be born. These men and women who died in Vietnam and other wars didn't get to do that, as young people are doing today. So I can't thank, enough, the veterans of this great Nation who serve us every day and keep us free.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 1329, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise to support H.R. 1329, as amended. The Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act provides a 1-year cost-of-living adjustment for the rate of compensation for veterans with service- connected disabilities as well as the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors.

As most of us know, this adjustment is tied directly to the rates of increase in Social Security benefits. Disability payments are vital to the economic well-being of most veterans, and that support should never be eroded by inflation. This bill ensures that does not happen.

I thank Chairman Roe for bringing the bill to us in a totally bipartisan process, and the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, as always.

The names of Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Esty have been brought up a lot today. It says something about it. They are tackling issues that have lasted years. They are bringing up important issues that are going to impact the well-being of veterans. You heard them both say it. They did so in a bipartisan manner that I think serves the reputation of this House well. We sorely need more true bipartisan problem solving like this.

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

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

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

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1329. But as we get ready to close on the final piece of seven pieces of legislation, some that have taken years, that have included diverse groups coming together to try to find solutions, you are seeing today all seven of these bills are going to pass this House. They are going to pass with overwhelmingly, if not unanimous, bipartisan support.

I have stood on this floor and have expressed my displeasure and my discomfort when we don't work together. Today it is one of those pleasures to stand here and say this is what the American people expect, and this is the hard work that needs to be done. That kind of thing does not happen by chance. It usually takes one person standing at the middle of that in leadership to make it happen.

I would like to thank my friend and colleague, our chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), for ensuring that veterans come before politics, veterans come before partisan differences, and that veterans legislation can be done together in a bipartisan manner. So, I thank him for that and encourage support of all of these pieces of legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, this truly is a bipartisan committee under the able leadership of Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz.

Again, I am proud to serve on this committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1329, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act. Passage of this bill gives our Nation's veterans the same cost-of-living adjustment as those receiving benefits through Social Security.

These brave men and women have sacrificed so much for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy on a daily basis. As a grateful nation, we must ensure that those who put themselves in harm's way are able to receive the benefits they have earned and deserve. Providing for our Nation's true American heroes is not a partisan issue, but simply the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, approximately 1.6 million veterans reside in the great State of Florida, where so many veterans call home after serving in the military. As vice chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am so very proud that Florida is considered one of the most veteran friendly States across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Representative Mike Bost from Indiana, for introducing this very important piece of legislation.

As a cosponsor of H.R. 1329, I urge all of my colleagues to support our Nation's heroes and pass the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman very much for this opportunity to speak on behalf of H.R. 1329, and I salute Congressman Bost from Illinois and Congresswoman Esty from the great State of Connecticut for their great work in a bipartisan fashion to help our heroes.

I think, Mr. Speaker, it was our first Commander in Chief, George Washington, who said, in effect, that we can never expect our young men and women to step forward and serve our country in uniform unless and until we make sure we take care of those who have already returned from the battlefield.

Now, in the State of Maine, Mr. Speaker, we love our veterans. We have about 125,000 of our heroes in our State of Maine, more than half of whom are in the rural part of our State, the Second Congressional District of Maine, that I am honored to represent.

I think it is a great idea and about time that we make sure that we come before the American people, Republicans and Democrats together, to make sure that our veterans receive a cost-of-living adjustment--those who have been disabled--as a result of their service for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Republicans and Democrats on this committee and in this body to please support H.R. 1329. It is the right thing to do, to give a cost-of-living increase to our veterans.