Modernizing Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8371, as amended, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.

This omnibus package of veterans' legislation isn't perfect; such packages rarely are. However, it achieves progress on many of the goals we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the 118th Congress.

The backbone of this bill is legislation that was originally introduced by my colleague, Julia Brownley, the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

Representative Brownley has worked tirelessly for nearly 3 years to pass the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, H.R. 542. This bill will enable veterans to remain at home, safely age in place, and avoid or delay admission to nursing homes and other costly institutional settings of care by expanding veterans' access to home- and community-based services such as home health aides.

This legislation will also help connect veterans' caregivers to respite care and other support services that help them care for veterans at home. Further, it will help improve VA's coordination with other Federal long-term care programs that promote aging at home.

I am very thankful to my colleague Julia Brownley for her important work, but I know she worked very closely with Senator Elizabeth Dole, and Senator Dole has risen to an amazing stature in our country. I am so proud that she is also here in this Chamber with us today as the chairman mentioned. I hope someone will get her a blanket because it is so dang cold in this Chamber that I don't want her to freeze up there.

This legislation is an investment in care for millions of veterans and current servicemembers who need this help now and in the future.

Despite the great need for this bill, it has been an uphill battle to get it passed. This Chamber had an opportunity almost a year ago to pass the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act as a stand-alone bill. Unfortunately, House Republicans decided to bring a version to the floor they knew the Senate wouldn't pass.

Why would they do that you may ask? Well, because they decided to hold the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act and other bipartisan policy priorities hostage, attempting to use them as leverage to achieve their goal of outsourcing more VA care to for-profit healthcare providers. The Democratic Caucus stood firmly against these efforts.

It can be difficult and isolating to stand on policy principles, but I will always do so when the future of veterans' healthcare is on the line, and it is. The system is already straining, and if we don't take real and serious action, it will break.

House Republicans attempted nearly for a year to use H.R. 8371 to advance harmful provisions that would have undermined healthcare directly provided by VA, driving veterans to for-profit, lower-quality care from contracted providers. We want VA to remain a strong provider of care instead of diminishing it to nothing more than an insurance company where profits are prioritized over outcomes for veterans.

Madam Speaker, if we have learned anything during the 118th Congress, it is that anything meaningful that we have accomplished has been done on a bipartisan basis with Democratic votes.

It should never have taken this long to get here, but last week, we successfully negotiated a compromise on the most objectionable provision of H.R. 8371, which will preserve VA healthcare for current and future generations of veterans.

Unfortunately, in the year it took to get to this point, House Republicans also held hostage critical legislation to help homeless veterans. In December 2023, my colleagues in the majority knowingly and intentionally took a flawed version of the HOME Act, which includes two Democratic-led bills to the House floor to use these provisions as leverage in negotiations for this package. They used homeless veterans as political pawns in the same way that they did with elderly and disabled veterans and their caregivers.

Meanwhile, VA and its community partners continued doing the hard work to help veterans experiencing homelessness. On Veterans Day, the VA announced that veteran homelessness dropped to its lowest level on record, and that VA had helped place nearly 48,000 veterans into permanent housing in 2024.

While I celebrate VA's success in addressing this issue, there are still nearly 300,000 veterans who interact with VA's homelessness programs each year. We must continue investing resources into these programs and into our communities to ensure that every veteran has a stable place to call home. We hope the next administration will continue this work and adhere to the models that have proven effective like Housing First.

Therefore, the second pillar of this legislation supports our shared goal of ending veteran homelessness. H.R. 8371 includes provisions from Congresswoman Williams' H.R. 491, the Return Home to Housing Act and Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick's H.R. 645, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act. These provisions will provide direct investments in communities across the country as they move veterans from the streets into stable housing.

During the pandemic, VA used authorities contained in Representative Williams' bill to enhance the services that traditional housing providers could offer to veterans through an increased per diem reimbursement rate. It used the flexible authorities in Representative Cherfilus-McCormick's bill to save lives by bringing veterans out of unsafe living conditions into stable, permanent housing and meeting their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing.

It also ensured homeless veterans had the transportation needed to get to and from medical appointments and job interviews.

These long overdue reauthorizations will ensure VA and its community partners can continue to address the veteran homelessness crisis in this country with the urgency and focus it deserves.

There is still more work to do to get every veteran into housing, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to provide VA, HUD, and communities across the country the support they need to end veteran homelessness.

Madam Speaker, I will also acknowledge several Democratic Members who have contributed to the drafting of this package. Representatives Mike Levin, Don Davis, Elissa Slotkin, Frank Mrvan, Dean Phillips, Morgan McGarvey, Chris Pappas, and Lauren Underwood all have provisions in their own bills included in this package. Many of them are or have been members of our committee, and their commitment to serving veterans continues with our work here today.

Among other things, these provisions will increase outreach to veterans about their eligibility for benefits, mandate training for VA employees on reporting wrongdoing to the inspector general, and remove statutory restrictions on the qualifications of senior leaders within the Veterans Health Administration.

Madam Speaker, that does not mean this bill is perfect, and I will stress my objection, once again, to the backward practice of the majority to offset discretionary spending along with mandatory spending in every bill. This means taxpayers will be paying for these programs twice and many remaining legislative priorities from the VSOs who are with us here today are at risk of being left undone next Congress when we must unnecessarily waste our limited offsets in order to advance this legislation.

Also missing from this package is a strong piece of bipartisan, bicameral, good-government legislation that would have installed much- needed guardrails on VA's electronic health record modernization project.

It is no secret that the Oracle-driven modernization effort has struggled at VA. The program is woefully behind schedule and is only operational at 6 of 172 medical centers. I am not convinced the system is fully functional. The EHR Program RESET Act would have required minimum operational criteria to be met before Oracle could be deployed to any further facilities, which would have prevented many of the current problems.

Further, this key legislation would have improved coordination with the Department of Defense and instituted major contracting and acquisition reforms over VA's IT modernization efforts that are long overdue.

Unfortunately, RESET was stripped from the package, which is not surprising given the army of lobbyists that Oracle unleashed to kill it.

That said, I thank the Veterans Service Organization community and other stakeholders whose tireless efforts and refusal to compromise their values proved critical in finally getting our Republican majority back to the negotiating table to reach a compromise on H.R. 8371 last week.

As we saw with the passage of the PACT Act, we know good things can be accomplished when VSOs are unified and committed to doing the right thing. I am glad that House Democrats also held firm to our values in negotiations and fought to preserve VA healthcare for current and future generations of veterans.

This package has taken more than a year to get to the finish line, but I am pleased that we as a caucus will be able to support passage on this compromise today.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Davis), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture and a veteran himself.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I have said as much as I can about this important piece of legislation. What I will finally say is I am very glad that we got here, and I thank the chairman. We spent all this time, and we have reached a compromise. That is what we have to do in Congress, put our veterans and the people first. I think the American people want to see more of this sort of thing happening.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that we could get this done before the Thanksgiving weekend.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8371) to make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 8371, as amended.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8371, as amended, offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani), my friend and colleague.

For nearly the entire 118th Congress, the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs have worked together to develop a bipartisan package of commonsense proposals. The Dole act is the result of that work and would enhance, reform, and modernize nearly every part of the

Madam Speaker, while I think we could and should have been able to pass this bill months ago, I am pleased to be here today. I know that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle took issue with some provisions in the Dole act due to a disagreement on the provision's intent.

The provision that was opposed only affected about 6 percent of the VA's current community referrals. This provision would rightfully make sure that VA bureaucracy cannot veto a doctor's medical decisions.

Veterans groups understand this, and that is why they support this bill from the start and without reservation. Thanks to the hard work of these groups of pushing Members to do the right thing, we have come to a compromise on the language before us today. I think it is obvious to everyone that our veterans and their families simply can't wait.

Before I reserve my time, I will thank Representative Ciscomani and dozens of Members that have provisions in this bill. I am so happy to have Members like Representative Ciscomani on our team.

I also thank my friend, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, for bringing the Dole act to the floor. He has reaffirmed his and the rest of the House Republicans' commitment to veterans, servicemembers, and their families.

Last but certainly not least, I will personally thank my friend and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, this bill's namesake, Senator Elizabeth Dole, for working for months to get this bill to where it is today. Our Nation's veterans have no better friend than Senator Dole, and I am honored that she is with us here today.

Madam Speaker, 2 weeks ago the American people voted and gave us a mandate to fix problems they talk about at their kitchen tables that affect their families and communities every single day. The Dole act is the foundation for that work to begin for the veteran community, and I urge my colleagues to do right by the veterans and support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC, November 4, 2024.

Hon. Mike Bost,

Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 8371, the

``Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and

Benefits Improvement Act,'' which contains legislative

provisions within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Natural Resources.

In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed

expeditiously to floor consideration, the Committee on

Natural Resources will forgo formal consideration of the

legislation. I do so with the understanding that the

Committee on Natural Resources does not waive any future

jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in

the bill that fall within its jurisdiction. I also request

that you urge the Speaker to name members of this committee

to any conference committee which is named to consider such

provisions.

Please place this letter into the Congressional Record

during consideration of this legislation on the House floor.

Sincerely,

Bruce Westerman,

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani), the chief sponsor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the Representative from Nebraska (Mr. Bacon).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair as to how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I offer a very special thank-you to the ranking member, the staff who have been involved in the negotiations back and forth, the Senate, all of our VSOs that came out--as I said in my opening, there were over 50--in support of this bill, and for the hard work and pushing forward that Senator Elizabeth Dole has done on this bill. We are so glad that we can call it up tonight.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 8371, as amended, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.

As you know, last week on Veterans Day, many of us attended events in our congressional districts to commemorate Veterans Day and to honor the men and women who have served our Nation in uniform. As Members of Congress, on Veterans Day, we recognize every man and woman who has answered the call to duty. In fact, it has been nearly a century since Veterans Day was first established as a Federal holiday in 1938.

While celebrating Veterans Day is an important tradition, we also owe our Nation's veterans more than words of thanks. Our words ring hollow if we don't do our part to fulfill our Nation's solemn promise to serve our veterans and their families as well as they have served our country.

As you may know, access to long-term care is one of the biggest challenges facing our aging veteran population and the families who care for them. I have been working for several years now to address this need, working with former Senator Elizabeth Dole, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, veterans service organizations, and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both Houses of Congress.

I was proud when the bill passed the House in November of 2023 with overwhelming bipartisan support. It has been a year, and we simply cannot deny our veterans this crucial care any longer. We must get the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act across the finish line and signed into law.

Passage of my legislation would be the most impactful change in VA long-term care in decades. It would also be one of the smartest. Currently, every veteran enrolled in the VA has the right to nursing home care if clinically eligible, but it is important to note that nursing homes are not where veterans want to live their golden years. They want to be at home with their families and in their communities.

It turns out care at home is also less expensive than institutionalized care. Probably most important of all, health outcomes are far, far better by having received care at home than it is in an institutionalized setting.

As you know all too well, our healthcare system is facing a silver tsunami as baby boomers enter their

later years. The VA is not exempt from this tsunami, and immediate preparation is critical. Almost half of the VA's patient population is over 65. Without fixing veteran home and community care in the next 15 years, the VA will double its spending on institutionalized long-term care services, nearing $15 billion to meet these needs.

Congress has a great deal of difficulty coming to agreement on most things, but we all agree that long-term care at home is better for our veterans. It is better for the VA, and it is better for our country.

I am proud to say my bill has been incorporated into the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The package before us also includes legislation that Senator Sanders and I have worked on to create a new pilot program to expand VA comprehensive dental care to veterans diagnosed with diabetes and other heart disease, as well as numerous bipartisan, bicameral provisions to improve VA's benefits for veterans.

I thank Chairman Bost, and I thank Ranking Member Takano for their work to reach an agreement on this package that will help veterans all over the country by delivering the relief caregivers and veterans need and what they have been advocating for. I also thank Senator Elizabeth Dole for her help and support in making this the perfect bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 141) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve certain programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs for home and community based services for veterans, 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 for

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 141, authored by my friend and colleague, Senator Moran, from Kansas. The House came together 1 month ago and passed H.R. 8371, the Dole act, with a bipartisan vote of 389-9.

This vote was a strong message from the House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats, to improve the veterans program and deliver on promises we made to those who served.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to finish the commitment we made 1 month ago. The Dole act would improve veterans' homeless programs, expand nontraditional education and employment programs, protect servicemembers while they are deployed, put veterans' healthcare back in the hands of the veterans, and hold VA officials accountable.

This bill has many House Republican priorities that we have worked this Congress to pass. The Dole act is not only a commonsense bill, but one that would save lives and push the VA forward and not backward.

I thank the over 40 veterans service organizations, advocacy organizations, and stakeholders from every corner of this country for their support of the Dole act. Their advocacy was the push we all needed to get the bipartisan bill done.

I also thank the Senate for making technical changes to the language to make sure we sent the best version of this to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, before I reserve the balance of my time, I thank Mr. Ciscomani and dozens of other Members on both sides of the aisle who have provisions in this bill. This legislation will make a difference for veterans and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support veterans by supporting this good bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Luttrell).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage all Members to support this legislation. It is life-changing legislation for our Nation's veterans.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.

This bipartisan legislation contains consequential reforms that will significantly improve the lives of veterans and their families across the country.

I'm very proud that my bill, the Caregiver Outreach and Program Enhancement Act, is included in this package.

Known as the COPE Act, my bill would authorize the VA to award grants to organizations that provide mental health resources to those who care for our nation's veterans.

Caregivers play a critical role in the lives of older Americans-- especially our veterans--and as the only geriatric nurse practitioner in Congress, I know being a caregiver comes with immense emotional challenges.

By ensuring veteran caregivers can properly take care of their mental health, the COPE Act will improve the lives of our nation's heroes and solidify the support system they need to age with dignity.

In addition to the COPE Act, this package also includes the VA Medical Center Security Report Act of 2023, which I introduced to increase veterans' safety and support police officers at VA Medical Centers amid an uptick in violent crime.

Madam Speaker, I am the granddaughter of a veteran, the daughter of a veteran, the wife of a veteran, the mother of future veterans, and I served 10 years in the U.S. Navy myself.

I'm blessed to represent one of the largest veteran populations in the U.S. in Hampton Roads.

Improving the lives of our nation's heroes is, and always will be, one of my top priorities in Congress . . . and the legislation before us on the House Floor today helps Congress do just that.

I'd like to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle-- Representatives Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Pappas--who joined me in originally introducing the COPE Act.

I'd also like to thank Chairman Bost for his commitment to our veterans and for spearheading the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.

I'm confident with the passage of this impactful legislation, we will move closer to fulfilling our promise to provide for America's veteran population and those who care for them.

I urge all my colleagues on both sides to support the Elizabeth Dole Act.