SIT-REP Act

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the House amendment to S. 2248, the Veterans Benefit and Transition Act of 2018. This bipartisan measure contains legislation championed by my House and Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle and is a testament to the bipartisan relationships we cultivate and preserve on both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.

I thank Chairman Roe and all members of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees, both Democrats and Republicans, for their hard work putting together this legislative package that will improve the benefits and support our country owes America's veterans.

I want to specifically acknowledge my Democratic colleagues, Ranking Member Walz, now Governor-elect of Minnesota--and, yes, Chairman Roe, it is very cold there--Congressman Scott Peters, Congressman Correa, Congresswoman Pingree, Congressman Himes, and Congresswoman Bustos, who have made valuable contributions to this legislation.

I would also like to take this time to thank Dr. Roe for his leadership as chairman of this committee in this Congress. I look forward to working with Dr. Roe as ranking member of the 116th Congress so that we can continue to function as a productive committee in the 116th, free from partisan gridlock, on behalf of the veterans whom we represent.

Now, as a former teacher--actually, a current teacher--and advocate for improving educational and training opportunities for veterans, I am pleased this legislation contains several provisions written by my colleagues that will improve the lives of our student veterans and those of our Gold Star spouses.

This package also includes a provision that helps our reservists and National Guard members access the valuable help that the vocational rehabilitation program can provide.

I would first like to highlight legislation written by Mr. Peters, our colleague on this committee. This measure contains his bill, H.R. 5538, that would provide parity to our National Guard and Reserve servicemembers involuntarily mobilized to Active Duty under 12304b of title 10 in support of commands that conduct combat missions.

As our country continues to utilize our Guard and Reserve members as an operational reserve force, it is critically important that we modernize our statutes to treat our Guard and Reserve members who have served shoulder to shoulder with Active-Duty servicemembers on multiple deployments with parity while they serve in uniform.

This bill allows Guard and Reserve members to stop the clock on the 12-year limit to use vocational rehabilitation programs while they are supporting active combat missions. Currently, the clock is stopped for most other instances in which National Guard and Reserve are mobilized, but this particular authority was overlooked.

This is an important fix because the Department of Defense continues to increase the use of its 12304b authority. With this provision, Congress has the authority to be proactive in addressing the needs of our servicemembers.

Now, let me turn to Congressman Himes' bill, H.R. 3634, the Securing Electronic Records for Veterans' Ease Act of 2017. It is included in this measure as well.

For student veterans, the VA does not currently provide sufficient information about the exact amount of housing stipend that a beneficiary will receive under the GI Bill benefits; but many veterans rely on their housing stipend to pay for housing while they are attending school, making it necessary for them to show proof of their housing allowance as proof of income. Without this proof of income, veterans often find themselves unable to secure housing before the start of school.

Now, this is a commonsense piece of documentation that VA can electronically provide to allow our veterans to easily use their earned benefits, and I am pleased this great idea by Congressman Himes was included in this package.

Congresswoman Bustos' legislation, H.R. 5882, the Gold Star Spouses Leasing Relief Act, would allow the spouse of a deceased servicemember to terminate a housing lease following the death of his or her loved one.

Servicemembers and their families are often stationed far from home due to the needs of the service. In the sad and difficult time after the passing of a servicemember, spouses should not be locked into a rental lease far away from their home and support network and face an additional financial burden to return home.

This small detail can make life a lot easier for a grieving spouse, and I am pleased to see my colleague's bill included in this package.

Congressman Lou Correa, our colleague on this committee, introduced H.R. 4335, the Servicemember Family Burial Act, which makes permanent VA's practice of providing burials and headstones for the family of servicemembers who predecease them.

When an Active-Duty servicemember loses a spouse or a child, it is always in tragic and difficult circumstances. VA should continue to seamlessly provide this benefit with dignity, sensitivity, and compassion.

I want to thank Congressman Correa for sponsoring this legislation, and I am pleased to see it included in this measure.

I also wish to highlight legislation written by Congresswoman Pingree, the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2017, which is included in this legislative package.

The American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars testified before our committee that the debt collection letters VA sends veterans are confusing, do not clearly explain the reason for the debt or clearly describe the steps a veteran must take to dispute or mitigate the debt.

This legislation would require VA to explain the reason the veteran incurred a debt in plain language and clearly explain the steps they can take to dispute or repay the debt.

It would also require VA to give veterans the option to opt-in to electronic notification and require VA to determine the number of veterans who are not receiving debt notification letters due to incorrect addresses on file, which prevents veterans from taking action because they have not been notified. This legislation forces VA to make these changes within 90 days of enactment.

Finally, I wish to thank my good friend, Ranking Member Tim Walz, for his leadership on this committee during the 115th Congress. The Governor-elect of Minnesota leaves the United States House of Representatives with a legacy of bipartisan legislative accomplishments that will undoubtedly improve the lives of veterans for years to come.

I want to thank Chairman Roe and our Senate colleagues for including his bill, H.R. 4245, the Veterans' Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017, in this measure, enabling this committee to continue its oversight of the $16 billion Electronic Health Record Modernization, or EHRM, program over the next 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman, Chairman Roe, we are going to do intensive oversight of this project; I guarantee you that.

This legislation requires the VA to submit contract, technical, and other documents to Congress and to provide updated documents on a quarterly basis.

The legislation also requires VA to notify Congress about program challenges, including incidents affecting patient safety, cost overruns over $1 million, and a milestone delay of 30 days or more, bid protests, or a data or privacy breach.

Now, we know that we will likely need to expand these reporting requirements in the future to include other contract and technical documents as the program matures and additional technical capabilities are achieved. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the next Congress to ensure that we maintain close oversight of this program and hold VA accountable, if necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the House amendment to S. 2248, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa), my colleague, my good friend and fellow Californian, and member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), my good friend and also a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

I want to urge all my colleagues to join me in passing this important legislation, S. 2248. I want to announce my intention to work with Mr. Roe, my colleague from Tennessee, in the next Congress, that we will preserve the sacred bipartisan space that we have here for America's veterans in the Veterans' Affairs Committee. We have so much more to do, and I hope it lays the groundwork for this Congress to continue to heal and reach out to each other and serve America as well as our veterans.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2248) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide certain burial benefits for spouses and children of veterans who are buried in tribal cemeteries, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2248, as amended, the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018. This legislation is a prenegotiated, bipartisan package of bills that we have worked out with the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The amended version of the bill contains 23 sections, many of which originated in the 80-plus veterans bills that the House passed in the 115th Congress.

Though S. 2248, as amended, reflects just a fraction of our collective efforts, as we were unable to come to an agreement with the Senate on several outstanding issues, it, nonetheless, contains many important provisions that we can all be pleased to support.

For example, one provision of the bill would make schools ineligible for GI Bill tuition payments if they place penalties or burdens on students due to the Department of Veterans Affairs' inability to pay the GI Bill payments to schools on time. This provision was championed by Vice Chairman Bilirakis, and I thank him for his advocacy.

There are several provisions in the bill that make improvements to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act that protect deployed servicemembers from commercial penalties, which they can occur as a result of their service.

The bill also includes provisions that would improve burial benefits for servicemembers, veterans, and their families; expand eligibility for a successful homeless veteran job training program; authorize funding for VA construction projects; and provide critical oversight of government purchase cards and the development of VA's new electronic health record.

Mr. Speaker, before yielding back, I will take a moment to say that serving as chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee has been an immense honor to me, and I am grateful to all of those who put their trust and faith in me to fulfill this role for Congress.

I thank a number of individuals who have been instrumental in this committee's success during the 115th Congress.

First, I thank Ranking Member Walz, the newly elected Governor of the very cold State of Minnesota; my subcommittee chairmen and ranking members; and the members of the committee. Without their continued hard work and involvement, none of this congressional success in the veterans area would have been realized. Many members on our committee had numerous other duties but never, ever neglected the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

I thank the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman, Senator Isakson, and Ranking Member Jon Tester for their hard work, and I look forward to working with them in the next Congress.

I am also grateful to the House leadership on both sides of the aisle, but particularly Speaker Paul Ryan, Leader McCarthy, Whip Steve Scalise, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Leadership support for this committee was unwavering and ensured that veterans' matters received the time and attention they so richly deserve.

Finally, I want to thank all Members of the House of Representatives who strive, day in and day out, to do right by America's veterans. With Members' support, we have helped enact landmark legislation this Congress, including: The VA MISSION Act, the Forever GI Bill, the VA Accountability Act, appeals reform, and many, many other smaller, yet impactful pieces of legislation which Americans, and especially veterans, can be proud of.

The bipartisan nature of this committee is unique in Congress, and it is nothing less than what our veterans deserve. I look forward to serving as ranking Republican member of the committee next Congress and continuing our work with soon-to-be Chairman Mark Takano.

I urge my colleagues to support S. 2248, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), vice chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and one of the most fierce advocates for our veterans in this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), my good friend, and chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, and a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), my good friend, who currently serves and has served on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee as the Health Subcommittee chair. He also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, Intel Committee, and is a colonel in the reserves

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), my good friend and fellow member of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to encourage all Members to support S. 2248, as amended.

As I close, I thank both the Republican and Democratic members of the committee and of the full House for the incredible work that they have done. This committee is an example of how Congress should work. We put our partisanship aside at the door and we think about one thing: what is good for America's veterans and their families.

You heard today how Members on both sides of the aisle have gone home and listened to their constituents and come back with great ideas. Often, the great ideas don't emanate from here; they emanate from the citizens of this country. I thank them and the 20 million or so surviving veterans in this country for their incredible service. We will never get it all straight up here, but I can assure you that we are trying our very best to do what is right.

I congratulate Mr. Takano in his elevation to the chairmanship. I know we have worked very closely together through the last several years--not just the last 2 years, but the last several years. He will do a great job as chairman, and I look forward to serving.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4830) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the disapproval of any course of education for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by Department, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 4830, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4830, as amended, the SIT-REP Act, the Servicemembers Improved Transition through Reforms for Ensuring Progress Act.

Mr. Speaker, the Post-9/11 GI Bill provides generous education benefits, including a monthly living stipend to veterans and eligible dependents. In order for a student to utilize this benefit, they must provide a certificate of eligibility to the school or training program and then the institution certifies the student's attendance to the Department of Veterans Affairs. After this process, the school receives tuition payment and the veteran receives their monthly housing allowance.

Mr. Speaker, if all goes well, those claims are supposed to be processed within 12 to 14 days for original claims, and between 6 to 8 days for supplemental claims. However, there are times when delays do occur, and they can have a significant impact on a school's and a student's bottom line. These delays typically occur at the beginning of a semester, or when a school doesn't do their part to certify a student's attendance quickly.

Mr. Speaker, we have been told that some schools and training programs have, essentially, taken these delays out on their student veterans, dependents and surviving spouses by placing students on payment plans, blocking access to school facilities; and, in some cases, have been barring students from registering for classes.

Mr. Speaker, I believe these practices are incredibly unfair, as students should not be held accountable for bureaucratic delays and hiccups that are outside their control. I am pleased that H.R. 4830, as amended, would address this issue and say that in order for schools and training programs to be eligible for the GI Bill, they must adopt a policy that doesn't punish students in any way for delays in tuition fees and payments that are not their fault.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Vice Chairman Bilirakis and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS, a great organization that helps survivors of all ages deal with loss, for bringing this important bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4830, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the vice chairman of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 4830, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for, once again, bringing up a really important piece of legislation. I believe the gentleman is also the longest serving member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Any piece of important legislation over the last decade-plus has had his hand in it.

H.R. 4830, as amended, is a bill that we have worked on in a bipartisan basis with TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. TAPS came to the committee and to Mr. Bilirakis, after they heard from many surviving spouses that with all of the changes that were being implemented on August 1, there will be delayed payments and processing times for payments for veterans and survivors enrolled for the fall 2018 semester.

The Forever GI Bill that we are all in this body proud of passing and proud of updating contains several large-scale changes the VA is currently working very hard to implement. Some of those changes went into effect in the fall of 2017, and TAPS reported to the committee that, because of delays in VA payments, many schools demanded payment from students.

There were stories of students who were not allowed to attend class, register for classes, or use campus facilities only because the VA payment was delayed. In some cases, students were even put on a payment plan they could not afford or forced to take out student loans with egregious orientation fees in order to continue their education.

This bill will provide students receiving VA payments with the same protections as those who receive title IV funding, such as Pell Grants and Federal student loans. These title IV students are allowed to attend classes, participate in extracurricular activities, and use campus facilities as long as their school knows payment is forthcoming.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4830, as amended, will give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the ability to disapprove any course of education unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by the VA and accept a certificate of eligibility as a promise. As such, the bill will serve as a preventive measure to discourage schools from engaging in shutting out VA beneficiaries simply because of an administrative delay. This is a really good step toward ensuring that our student veterans and other GI Bill beneficiaries are not unnecessarily prevented from getting the most of their benefits due.

To be very clear about this, there are very few benefits that are really earned in the way a GI Bill benefit is earned. Those of us who have used the GI Bill to get an education know how important it is.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for continuing to show care for these veterans. This is a great, smart piece of legislation. I encourage its adoption.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his great work on this. I encourage its passage.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the House amendment to S. 2248, the Veterans Benefit and Transition Act.

I am proud of the work Chairman Roe and the rest of our committee did to pass the multiple historic pieces of legislation over the course of this Congress, including the Forever GI Bill and the VA MISSION Act.

Despite all the progress we have made, there is still more work to be done. I look forward to working on these issues for our heroes.

This legislative package contains many commonsense, zero-cost bills we passed in the House over the past year but have stalled in the Senate. But I know there is an agreement in the Senate, and we are going to get this done before the end of the year.

I am especially proud that this package contains a provision that includes my bill, H.R. 4830, the SIT-REP Act, which will hold student veterans harmless from bureaucratic red tape and delays at higher education institutions and at the VA. This legislation prevents educational institutions from imposing a fee on student veterans or denying their access to education when tuition payments are delayed by bureaucracy, no fault of the veteran.

In our subcommittee hearings on the implementation of the Forever GI Bill, we heard many concerns about delays and processing of tuition payments between schools and the VA. I also had roundtables in my district and heard the same concerns, Mr. Speaker.

This fall semester, IT failures and delay at the VA led to an artificially created backlog, adding a significant amount of stress to our heroes who rely on their monthly stipends and tuition benefits. In some cases, delays meant the schools putting a hold on a student's account or forcing the student to begin payment of tuition and fees on a payment plan until they receive the money from the VA.

It is unacceptable. We cannot allow this type of uncertainty for our Nation's heroes, Mr. Speaker, and my SIT-REP bill protects these veterans from additional penalties from schools. It is not the veterans' fault, and they should not be punished for the actions of others. It is as simple as that.

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this commonsense, bipartisan legislative package which contains many additional provisions to help our veterans, such as a study on community-based transition assistance programs, a report on the feasibility of expanding access to dental care for veterans at the VA, and the expansion of eligibility under the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program.

I hope the Senate takes this up quickly, and I know they will. I want them to pass the Veterans Benefit and Transition Act of 2018 so we can send it to the President's desk before the year's end.

Mr. Speaker, the chairman did an outstanding job as chairman, and my friend Ranking Member Walz did as well on behalf of our heroes.

I thank Mr. Takano and congratulate him on being the next chairman of the committee. I look forward to working with him.