Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4601) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to States to improve outreach to veterans, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 4601, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4601, the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, as amended. This bill authorizes VA to provide grants to States, counties, and Tribes to implement programs that improve outreach and assistance to veterans and their families to ensure that such individuals are fully informed about veterans' benefits and programs.

Specifically, VA may provide grants to States, counties, and Tribal entities to implement or enhance outreach activities or activities to assist in the development and submittal of claims for veterans or increase the number of county or Tribal veteran service officers in the State.

Additionally, VA would be required to prioritize awarding grants in areas with a critical shortage of county or Tribal veterans service officers, areas with high rates of suicide among veterans, and areas with high rates of referrals to the veterans crisis line.

With high-profile, sweeping veterans' legislation like the PACT Act recently signed into law, the support and outreach offered by H.R. 4601 would greatly assist in implementing such new programs as smoothly as possible.

With enhanced communication outreach focused on explaining new benefits and services to a broader range of veterans and their families, the more opportunities we will have to connect with potential beneficiaries interacting with VA for the very first time.

With more accredited claims representatives available to assist with the preparation and submission of claim applications, the better positioned VA will be to decide these claims in a more timely and accurate manner.

With funds to recruit and train more county and Tribal veterans service officers, helpful skills and information related to life- changing benefits and other VA services will reach farther into our veteran communities that are so often and undeservedly overlooked.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this bill. I thank Representative Levin for crafting this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote for its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, I ask all my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 4601, as amended. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4601, as amended, the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act.

This bill would provide VA the authority to award grants to States and Indian Tribes to improve outreach to veterans and their families about the benefits they may be eligible for.

H.R. 4601, as amended, would prioritize grants to the areas that have large populations of underserved veterans and high rates of suicide. Additionally, this bill would help county and Tribal VSOs assist veterans with preparing and presenting their disability compensation claims.

With the implementation of the PACT Act right around the corner, it is imperative that Congress provide local VSOs with the resources they need to assist veterans with their claims.

Every veteran deserves access to the same wraparound help with their benefits regardless of where they live. Congressman Levin and Congressman Rosendale's proposal would do exactly that.

I also want to point out that this bill has a mandatory cost because of toxic exposure funds created by the PACT Act. Now, I am happy to see the cost is now fully offset rather than swept under the rug.

Congress must find a permanent solution to the toxic exposure fund scoring problem before we use up all of our offsets and become unable to move additional legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to work toward that solution, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 4601, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I proudly stand in strong support of H.R. 4601, the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, which will authorize the VA to provide grants to states to implement programs that improve outreach and assistance to veterans and their families to ensure that such individuals are fully informed about veterans' benefits and programs.

As our veterans have put their lives on the line for defense of our nation, we must do everything in our power to support them when they return home after their service.

This bill achieves this goal by increasing outreach to veterans and their families to ensure that they are fully informed about their benefits and can get the assistance they need to apply for and get the benefits to which they are entitled.

According to a report by the Department of Veterans Affairs, America has over 19 million veterans, of whom over 1,567,000 live in Texas, the second most of any state. Over 179,000 live in Harris County and about 29,000 live in my district.

Of the total veteran population, the VA reports that only 49% (9.8 million out of 20.0 million) used at least one VA benefit or service in

Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 5 of House Resolution 1499, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bills: H.R. 4601, H.R. 4772, H.R. 5943, H.R. 7158, and agree to H. Res. 744 and H. Res. 922.

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