Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Tonight, Mr. Chairman, we have talked about the lack of accountability of this administration, the poor wisdom of unilateral action, and the lack of a plan on the part of this administration, but I want to spend the few minutes that is allotted to me on priorities.

Looking at this chart, we have requested $87 billion this evening for Iraq for a total of $201 billion. What we spend on veterans benefits this year is less than $62 billion; on food and nutrition 46; on education 34; on the environment 30; on housing 30. Where are our priorities? We are spending an obscene amount of money on an unwise action. But what about the troops that are coming home after they have been in Iraq? Are we going to provide for them? We have not provided sufficient money for their health care as veterans. We have not provided money for what we call concurrent receipt. My amendment says that there shall be full funding for those military retirees, for their pension and for their disability if they are so disabled. It provides the money for full funding of concurrent receipt.

Why must we do this? Why must we work for our veterans? Why must we make sure that when our young men and women come home, they are provided for? In our budget resolution of this House, we make sure that over 150,000 veterans are still waiting 6 months for their first appointment. Thousands, tens of thousands of veterans are waiting for their disability claims to be adjudicated. We have not provided enough money for their care. And we have levied a tax on our military retirees for their disability. Yes, we have a disability, a veterans disability tax on those retirees. On the one hand, they earned their pension through their service to our Nation. And we have talked a lot about support of our troops tonight, but we are not supporting them when they come home because they have to choose between getting their pension and, if they are disabled, getting their disability. They are actually having to pay for their own disability. We are making them pay for their food in the hospitals right now, except for an amendment by the chair of the Committee on Appropriations, so we are taxing them on their disability.

Mr. Chairman, this is not the priorities for this Nation. This is not the way a grateful Nation treats its young men and women who are so brave in their service whether to our Nation in Korea or Vietnam or in the Persian Gulf.

Mr. Chairman, there is rumor today that the Republicans will say they have taken care of concurrent receipt. They have made a deal to cover this. What the Republicans have done, and which I urge all veterans groups to oppose, is to say those veterans with over 50 percent disability, only those will get some money, and we will phase that in over 10 years. So in the first year, they will get one-tenth of one- half of what they deserve. That is not

a way to treat the folks who we are supposed to be supporting with our supplemental today.

Let me tell you under the Republican proposal for concurrent receipt what occurs. A Vietnam retiree who is disabled by an amputation below the knee is not covered by the Republican plan for concurrent receipt. He gets no disability. He continues to pay his veterans disability tax. The Korean vet who has numbness and tissue loss in both feet because he had a cold weather injury in Korea, he gets zero disability under the Republican plan. This is not a way to treat our troops. And if you were in the Persian Gulf and have Persian Gulf War illness, and you can work with less than 50 percent of the efficiency you had before you went to war, you get no disability. The Republican plan gives very little support to those retirees who are on disability. My amendment gives full funding for disability of the retirees. Let us fund concurrent receipt. Let us vote for the Filner amendment.

I would, Mr. Chairman.

We have just heard some very arcane rules that are never followed by the other side. They make waivers to legislation on an appropriations bill every day. There must be dozens in this bill today. Yet, you do not want to make the exception for a bill for our military retirees for their disability, their disability payments.

Let the Nation know that on a technicality, the Republicans refused to fund concurrent receipt for our veterans.

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Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 49: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 13: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 14: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 15: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 16: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 17: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 18: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 19: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 20: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 21: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 22: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 23: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 24: After the appropriating clause (preceding

title I), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2297, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003. This bill contains many improvements in the benefits for our Nation's veterans and for their survivors and dependents.

One important provision of this legislation that I would like to highlight will positively affect many Filipino veterans of World War II who are living in the United States, as well as their survivors. Many of my colleagues know that in 1946, Congress unfairly rescinded the benefits of many Filipino veterans and cut in half the benefits of many others--those who were service-connected disabled veterans. This limitation on compensation benefits was intended to reflect the difference in the cost of living between the Philippines and the United States.

But in the 60 years since World War II, a large number of Filipino veterans and their dependents have immigrated to our country. As citizens or permanent residents, these disabled Filipino veterans face living expenses comparable to those of United States veterans. Limiting their benefits has caused hardships for these disabled veterans and for their survivors who are receiving DIC (disability indemnity compensation). To fix this inequity, this bill eliminates the ``50 cents on the dollar amount'' that they are currently receiving and restores full payment of their compensation benefits.

In addition, it extends burial benefits in national cemeteries for the Filipino World War II veterans living in the United States who, to this date, did not have these benefits--namely, the New Philippine Scouts. And the bill provides other in-kind and monetary burial benefits to these deserving veterans.

I am elated that, with this legislation, my colleagues are addressing the 60-year-long injustice to Filipino soldiers who lived in a territory of the United States and fought side-by-side with our soldiers from the mainland during World War II. Without their vital participation in this war, the outcome might have been entirely different!

Combined with H.R. 2357, which has passed the House and which improves access to VA medical facilities for Filipino World War II veterans who live in the United States, we are clearly making progress. I sincerely thank the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (Mr. Smith) and the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House VA Benefits and Health Subcommittees (Mr. Simmons, Mr. Brown, Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Michaud) for their assistance in putting these bills forward. And a special thank you to my colleague, VA Committee Ranking Member Lane Evans who, with me, at a Veterans Town Hall Meeting in San Diego County ten years ago, heard first-hand the moving story of the injustices affecting Filipino World War II veterans, voted into law by the 1946 Congress. We heard this story from one veteran who had survived the Bataan Death March. From that moment, he has been my ally in this fight to restore justice and equity. I thank him for his unfailing support.

My colleagues, please join me in voting for H.R. 2297.

Ms. CORRINE BR0WN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2297, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, would expand the Montgomery GI Bill program to provide veterans considering self-employment with improved access to training benefits, including training related to franchises. Allowing veterans to use their MGIB benefit in this manner gives the flexibility necessary so that veterans can pursue an educational path that best suits their talents and interests.

Additionally, this legislation would allow a surviving spouse of a veteran to be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery regardless of the status of a subsequent marriage. In many cases, the veteran's children and grandchildren, and often the most recent spouse of the veteran, support this burial eligibility.

This legislation also makes important strides in including more disabilities as service-connected. The VA Advisory Committee on Former Prisoners of War recommended that the original 30-day requirement for service-connection be eliminated for all psychiatric conditions, cold weather related injuries and post traumatic arthritis. No durational criteria exist for post-traumatic stress syndrome or frostbite. PTSD is common in former prisoners of war. And frostbite can occur within hours if the temperature is low enough. Post-traumatic arthritis is a condition that comes from trauma--which can occur in seconds. Removing the 30-day requirement is the right thing to do in order to make these disabilities presumptive.

H.R. 2297 also expands benefits eligibility to children with spina bifida who were born to veterans who served in an area of Korea near the demilitarized zone between October 1, 1967 and May 7, 1975. The Department of Defense estimates that approximately 12,056 service members were potentially exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides while serving in the Republic of Korea between 1968 and 1969. This legislation is similar to other legislation that covers the children of members of the Armed Forces that serve in Vietnam.

This legislation also provides for uniformity of home loan guaranty fees between reserve and active duty members of the Armed Forces. Reservists have traditionally been paying a funding fee that is 75 percent higher than active duty members, although reservists have a lower foreclosure rate than other loan guaranty beneficiaries.

H.R. 2297 includes many other benefits that will help us to meet our veterans' needs. This is a step in the right direction. However, time and time again, our veterans' needs are being ignored.

Not only do America's veterans face issues with concurrent receipt, but they also face long waiting periods to see a VA doctor and prescription drug copayments. Also, VA still

needs $1.8 billion to bring the fiscal year 2004 appropriation to the level set forth by the Budget Resolution. Where are our priorities?

On average, 14,000 veterans have been waiting more than 15 months for their disability claims to be finalized. And 200,000 veterans wait for six months or more for an appointment at VA hospitals. This shabby treatment of our veterans is intolerable. If we can come up with an $87 billion supplemental appropriation for the war in Iraq, in addition to the $63 billion already provided by Congress, then surely we can give VA the $1.8 billion that is necessary to minimally provide for our veterans. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

At this time, more than every, we need to show our veterans that we appreciate them. We first need to pass H.R. 2297, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003; then we need to give VA the $1.8 billion it still needs to bring the fiscal year 2004 appropriation to the level set forth by the Budget Resolution. Our veterans should not have to come begging at our doors.