Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3219) to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in the laws administered by the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating to insurance and health care, and for other purposes, as amended.

I thank the Speaker, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of passage of this bill, the Veterans' Insurance Health Care Improvement Act of 2009, H.R. 3219. This important legislation was assembled with the help of many members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, without whose efforts this bill would not have been possible. I'm surprised to see my friend, Mr. Stearns, managing the bill, having just railed against nationalization of health care, which is not what the Obama plan has, but then he's a great supporter of the veterans' health system, which I think may come under his definition. So I'm pleased that he supports so strongly the Veterans Administration health care system, which is nationalized care, but I wish he would support Mr. Obama's health care plan, which has nothing to do with nationalization.

But I want to recognize and applaud the outstanding effort of especially two dynamic members on the committee who sponsored major insurance provisions of the bill under consideration. Mrs. Halvorson of Illinois sponsored the Families of Veterans Financial Security Act, H.R. 2774, which has become section 101 of this bill. And Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Arizona sponsored the Veterans and Service Members Accelerated Benefit Option Equity Act of 2009, H.R. 2988, which is now section 103 of this bill.

These measures represent commonsense yet critical insurance provisions intended to ensure that our veterans, servicemembers and their families who have insurance-related needs receive the full measure of the benefit offered and that the survivors have ample replacement income to meet their needs. All of the provisions would give veterans and servicemembers greater flexibility in their insurance choices, and, consequently, greater peace of mind.

Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office reports that none of the bills would increase Federal direct spending for veterans' insurance programs. And I want to applaud, also, the chairman of our Disability Assistance

and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee on these measures, Mr. Hall of New York, for his leadership on these measures.

The legislation further provides for a wide variety of health care improvements in recognition of veterans who have sacrificed so much for the safety and freedom of the Nation. It enhances the lives of the Nation's veterans, from World War II to the current conflicts.

Other members also contributed to the health care provisions of this, and I want to thank them for their efforts. For example, Mr. Mitchell of Arizona, who wrote H.R. 1197, the Medal of Honor Health Care Equity Act of 2009, which assigns a higher priority status for VA hospital care and medical services for veterans who are recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Another provision by Mr. Hare of Illinois, H.R. 1302, would establish a position of director of physician assistant services within the Office of the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health. And Mrs. Halvorson from Illinois also sponsored H.R. 1335, which would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled from non-service- connected causes and have income above the means tested level.

Mr. McNerney from California sponsored H.R. 1546, the Caring for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Act, and that has been incorporated to establish a committee on the care of veterans with traumatic brain injury to assess the VA's ability to treat and rehabilitate veterans with TBI--that is traumatic brain injury--and to provide recommendations on how to more effectively treat these veterans.

Mr. Nye of Virginia introduced H.R. 2926, which was incorporated into the bill to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for certain Vietnam-era veterans exposed to herbicides and also veterans of the Persian Gulf War.

Mr. Buyer's bill, H.R. 2270, would establish a compensation fund for all civilian groups who are given veteran status under the G.I. Bill Improvement Act of 1977, and that is also in the bill.

And finally, we have a bill introduced by Mr. Teague of New Mexico to waive the housing loan fee for certain veterans with service-connected disabilities called to active service.

So I want to thank all of the members of our committee who've worked so hard to put together the important legislation we are considering today, and I hope my colleagues will support H.R. 3219 as amended

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to one of our dynamic new members of our committee, Mrs. Halvorson of Illinois.

I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

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 H.R. 3219, as amended, and urge my colleagues to unanimously support the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1293) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the amount payable by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to veterans for improvements and structural alterations furnished as part of home health services.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member of our committee, Mr. Buyer of Indiana, for introducing this bill.

In the past, many of our veterans have returned from combat with life-changing injuries and illnesses. Congress saw fit to provide special adaptive grants to help them improve their quality of life. Today, another generation of servicemembers is returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with even more egregious life-changing injuries and illnesses due to the development of better equipment and body armor that keeps them alive, albeit seriously injured.

The bill provides for a long overdue increase in the amount payable to veterans for improvements and structural alterations to their homes. This amount, Mr. Speaker, has not been increased for 17 years. The bill would increase the grant amounts from $4,100 to $6,800 for veterans with a service-connected disability and from $1,200 to $2,000 for veterans with nonservice-connected disability. Importantly, Home Improvement and Structural Alteration grants, called HISA, are the only grants available to nonservice-connected veterans and those conditions.

HISA grants can be used in conjunction with other adaptive housing grants offered through the Veterans Benefits Administration to help cover some of the additional costs a veteran may be facing when building or adapting a home to meet his or her unique needs. We owe it to our veterans to keep pace with the many different needs and challenges that they face on a daily basis. Seventeen years is a long time to wait.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1293.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), a great supporter of veterans in our Nation.

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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 H.R. 1293.

I urge my colleagues to unanimously support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2770) to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify and update provisions of law relating to nonprofit research and education corporations, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

I rise in strong support of H.R. 2770. VA research is a very vital mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Focusing on research for the special health care of our veterans, VA's program has been recognized for excellence over many, many years. Boasting such developments as the cardiac pacemaker and the CAT scan, VA also lays claim to three Nobel Laureates and six Lasker Award winners.

In 1988 Congress allowed the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to authorize the establishment of nonprofit research corporations. Currently, 82 of these NPCs provide their affiliated VA health care systems and medical centers with a highly valued means of administering non-VA Federal research grants and private sector funds in support of VA research and education.

The fundamental purpose of these nonprofits is to serve veterans by supporting VA research and medical education to improve the quality of care that veterans receive. It has been 20 years now since the creation of the NPCs, and in that time the statute has never been updated. The purpose of this bill is to modernize and clarify that statute relating to nonprofit research education corporations so they can better support the research that is undertaken in the VA.

Specifically, the bill expands the general authorities on establishing nonprofit research corporations by authorizing the creation of multi-medical center research corporations where two or more VA medical centers share one corporation. It also clarifies the purposes of the corporations by allowing them to support functions related to research and education, such as travel to scientific conferences, improvements in laboratories with new equipment purchase, and support for the institutional review board.

Additionally, the bill modifies the requirements for the board of directors of the corporations so that they can acquire board members with legal and financial expertise for sound governance and financial management of the corporations. The legislation also provides clarification on reimbursements and other fee charges.

Finally, H.R. 2770 improves accountability and oversight of the corporations by detailing the audit requirements so that they are consistent with OMB Circular A-133, which provides guidance on audits, as well as clarifying that employees of the corporations are to be subject to a conflict of interest policy adopted by the corporation, instead of applying the Federal conflict of interest regulations to non- Federal employees.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2770, as amended.

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

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 H.R. 2770, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3155) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain caregivers of veterans with training, support, and medical care, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

I want to thank the chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Mr. Michaud of Maine, for introducing this bill.

I yield to him such time as he may consume to explain the bill since he

spent so much time in doing this, and we really thank him so much for his work.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Halvorson), one of the movers of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, again I thank the gentleman, Mr. Faleomavaega, for his support of these bills.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3155, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues' total support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I recently introduced legislation (H.R. 3248) intended to simplify the charitable giving rules for automobile donations.

As you know, in 2004, Congress enacted legislation that imposed new reporting requirements on individuals and charities for automobile donations. This legislation has had the unintended consequence of reducing the number of automobiles donated to charities in my district. The corresponding loss in revenue and reduction in services offered by these charities has hurt the San Diego region.

To correct this situation, my bill will exempt certain charities from the reporting requirements of the 2004 law. My bill is targeted only to those charities that operate ``in-house'' vehicle donation programs and that retain at least 80% of the proceeds from their vehicle donation programs.

I invite my colleagues to join me as co-sponsors of this legislation to simplify the vehicle donation process for charitable organizations across the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1037) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of expanding the scope of certain qualifying work-study activities under title 38, United States Code, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the Veterans' Committee, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, for introducing this bill, the Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2009. It would direct the VA to conduct a 5-year pilot project to expand on existing work study activities for student veterans to participate in work study positions in academic departments and in student services.

As this committee's chairman and a former university professor, I understand the financial hurdles of paying for college and strongly support all methods to make education more affordable for our brave veterans.

This legislation provides an additional avenue for student veterans to help pay for college and places them on a par with other students in the same financial situation. Furthermore, these new work study positions would provide student veterans with much needed job skills that they can use in their professional career.

Our chairwoman, Ms. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, will be speaking on this bill, and I urge all our colleagues to join me in reaffirming our country's commitment to our veterans by supporting this H.R. 1037.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would yield as much time as she may consume to our dynamic chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Ms. Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota.

I have no further speakers and am prepared to yield back.

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 H.R. 1037, as amended.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 402) to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the ``William C. Tallent Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic''.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this naming bill comes to us from the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan). He is a great supporter of veterans and of this Nation, and I am going to leave it to him to explain what Mr. Tallent has done to deserve this honor.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 402.

I thank Mr. Duncan for bringing us this wonderful story of Bill Tallent, and I urge my colleagues to unanimously support H.R. 402.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 531, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 532, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 533, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 534, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 535, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 536, I was unable to vote, as I was in New York to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, Jimmie Cannon, 80, an Imperial Valley legend, passed away on Thursday, May 21, 2009, at El Centro Regional Medical Center. Jimmie Cannon had a profound effect on the musical culture of the Imperial Valley and his students; he

brought and nurtured music and jazz in the region for five generations. He will be remembered as a truly great and inspirational teacher whose lasting effect will be felt for many years to come.

After fulfilling his military obligation in the Army, Cannon graduated from Philander Smith College, in Little Rock, Arkansas. While studying music, he was also a member of the football and track teams. Following his graduation, he began teaching music at Jones High School in North Little Rock, where we met and married his wife of 50 years, Maxine Sutton. They moved to Mahaska, Kansas in 1959, where he taught general music from kindergarten to 12th grades.

In 1964, the family moved to El Centro, where he taught elementary and junior high music. In 1966, he became the band director of The Great Spartan Band at Central Union High School, where he distinguished himself as a teacher and band director for 30 years.

Bands from Central High received many awards and honors from the Orange Coast College Jazz Festivals, El Centro Navy Base Jazz Festival, Southwestern College Jazz Festival, Imperial Valley College Jazz Festival, USC Concert of the Bands, UCLA Band Festival, Holiday Bowl Music Festivals, Columbus Day Parade, Mother Goose Parade, and the Disneyland Parades and concerts in 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1987.

The Great Spartan Band traveled extensively beginning in 1972 with a trip to Mexico City, where they were honored by the President of Mexico. The band traveled four times to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and twice to Hawaii. The bands last trip before his retirement in 1996, was to Disneyworld in Florida (1995), where they participated in the Magic Kingdom Easter Parade. Throughout the years, the band performed for numerous local events.

He received the Teacher of the Year Award in 1988, which led to the Imperial Valley Arts Council sponsorship of Valley Jazz; a nonprofit big band that sponsors scholarships and provides local musicians with performance opportunities.

He is survived by his wife, Maxine; two sons, Derek (Jenee), of La Mesa, and Mike of El Centro; one daughter, Janine of El Centro: three grandchildren, Breanne, Carley, and Brenna of San Diego; two nephews, Hardy Thrower Jr. (Susan), of Sparks, Nevada, and Eric Thrower, (Sandra), of San Diego.

Funeral services were held on Sunday, May 31st, at the Southwest High School Center for the Performing Arts where hundreds of friends, former students and fellow musicians gathered to honor his life and lasting legacy which became synonymous with jazz.

Madam Chair, I rise to offer amendment No. 2.

I thank the Chair. I would like to thank Chairman Edwards and Chairman Obey for the incredible work they have done on this budget for the last, now, 2\1/2\ years. As I understand it, we have increased the health care budget in that time 60 percent. In this bill we have raised the health care budget 11 percent; and in a revolutionary kind of approach, I think, we forward fund the health care items for the VA, and the increase is 8 percent. This is an incredible victory for veterans; and we thank, again, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obey for leading the charge on this.

You know, in the last 22 years I think we've only had the VA budget approved on time in three out of those 22 years. From now on that VA budget will be approved a year in advance. It will make sure that we have timely and adequate funding, for the VA health care system needs to know what its budget is in order to be able to run efficiently and at high quality. So we thank Mr. Edwards for these items. I know there are numerable things in here that we're going to pass that will strengthen health care for our Nation's veterans.

Some of my colleagues may recall that last year we authorized the VA to fund the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events at a $10 million authorization which we believe is the appropriate amount to enhance and improve the quality of life for the men and women who have made a tremendous sacrifice for our country. The underlying bill provides $6.5 million, as requested by the administration, but it does not provide the full authorized amount. But what this amount does is it increases the level of funding by $3.5 million. I strongly believe that providing this program the needed funding to assist our injured servicemembers and veterans will enhance and improve the quality of life for these men and women while they heal from their wounds.

Madam Chair, I think all of us have been inspired whenever we have a chance to watch these warrior athletes, those who have been ``disabled''--and I put that in quotes--perform at an incredibly high level in these Paralympics with their training. It obviously strengthens their quality of life and their optimism, but it helps us all as we realize not only do people sacrifice life and limb for their country, but we can provide the resources to make sure that they have a full and productive life. So I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

I thank the gentleman.

I would yield the balance of my time to the cosponsor of this amendment, Madam Chair, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). I thank him for his leadership on these issues.