A bill to require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on disparities associated with race and ethnicity with respect to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1031) to require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on disparities associated with race and ethnicity with respect to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1031.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1031. To build a better, more welcoming, and more equitable Department of Veterans Affairs, we must take a hard look at how VA can earn back trust. Too many veterans have experienced barriers to receiving the benefits that they have earned from service to our country.

I believe that VA care and benefits must be distributed fairly to all eligible veterans, regardless of social or physical disparities. That is why we must look back to document whether veterans have been unjustly denied benefits, address the root causes of disparities, and ensure equitable treatment moving forward.

Such an important evaluation will certainly require digging into vast datasets, evaluating agency processes, and laying the framework for meaningful recommendations to effectively make any needed course corrections at VA. That is why this bill mandates that the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office perform this examination.

Under Senator Raphael Warnock's legislation passed by the Senate, GAO would study racial and ethnic disparities regarding VA compensation benefits, including VA disability ratings and rejections of fully developed claims for benefits under laws administered by VA.

The VA Secretary would brief Congress within a year after passage of the bill and then prepare a report that includes recommendations to address identified disparities.

The companion legislation I sponsored, H.R. 3856, was approved by the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and I am pleased to support Senator Warnock's legislation today. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I, again, ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing S. 1031, and 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 S. 1031, sponsored by Senator Raphael Warnock. I would also like to recognize Chairman Takano for leading this effort in the House.

As you all know, when the men and women of our military sign up to serve, we make a promise to care for them upon their separation, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, or gender.

The Veterans' Affairs Committee has heard concerns from veterans who say that they have been treated unfairly in the VA benefits system based on their minority status. However, we have no objective data to determine whether there is a bias against the minority groups in the VA through the claims process.

S. 1031 would help address this question by requiring a GAO study to determine whether any differences exist in the way the VA administrators compensate benefits based on the veteran's background. This report would provide Congress and VA with the information we need to determine what biases exist and, if so, how to address them.

I support S. 1031, and I hope that my colleagues will do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1031 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.