Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I am a U.S. Army veteran who has used the GI Bill.

While I strongly support being good stewards of resources expended by the Department of Defense to various educational institutions across the Nation, the amendment offered by my friend across the aisle goes too far by including the term proprietary when referring to universities. Congress and the Department of Education have set standards of financial responsibility and are already reviewing whether certain colleges and universities meet those standards.

Let's continue to hold all universities accountable for these standards, not just a select few. There is no reason for this amendment to exclude any colleges because all students deserve to know that their choice of school meets Federally set responsibility standards whether public, private, or proprietary.

Fortunately, this is already happening.

Unfortunately, this amendment is duplicative of the work that the Departments of Defense and Education are conducting and is simply an effort to further categorize colleges and universities and hold them to different levels of scrutiny.

Let's work together to make sure all students have access to a high quality, affordable education in a setting and format that works best for them.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table, H.R. 3401, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with 84 votes and should be sent to the President's desk for his signature today.

Mr. Speaker, today our bipartisan group led by Dr. Ruiz is introducing Protecting People from Surprise Medical Bills Act.

This commonsense piece of legislation will give patients peace of mind that an unexpected medical bill will not leave them in financial ruin, while setting up a fair, neutral process to resolve billing disputes between insurers and providers or hospitals.

For far too long, costly unexpected medical bills have caused financial stress, negatively impacting patients and their families all across the Nation. That is why our bill bans the practice of billing patients for unanticipated out-of-network care. It is not fair.

The patients may be incapacitated in an emergency or may have selected a facility that they believe is in network, to be met with a costly medical bill, all because one provider was out of network.

Similarly, providers are between a rock and a hard place because a Federal law called EMTALA requires them to provide care regardless of their ability to pay. Our bill resolves this by setting up a baseball- style arbitration between the medical provider and the insurer to compensate providers for care.

A similar New York State law has been proven successful with out-of- pocket billing records declining by 34 percent after 3 years.

It is time that all States have these protections. I urge support for this approach.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to once again rise

to join in commemorating June 20, 2019, as American Eagle Day and to celebrate the recovery and restoration of the bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States.

On June 20, 1782, the eagle was designated as the national emblem of the United States by the Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress.

The bald eagle is the central image of the Great Seal of the United States and is displayed in the official seal of many branches and departments of the Federal Government.

The bald eagle is an inspiring symbol of the spirit of freedom and democracy of the United States. Since the founding of the Nation, the image, meaning, and symbolism of the eagle has played a significant role in art, music, history, commerce, literature, architecture, and culture of the United States. The bald eagle's habitat only exists in North America.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating June 20, 2019, as American Eagle Day, which marks the recovery and restoration of the bald eagle.

Mr. Chair, I strongly support this amendment and the HHS conscience rule.

As a staunch pro-life OB/GYN physician who practiced for over 31 years and delivered nearly 5,000 babies, it sickens me to think that we would force a healthcare provider to perform a procedure that violates their conscience or religious beliefs.

Although it may come as a shock to some Democrats to learn that many providers are pro-life and forcing them to choose between their legitimate, sincerely-held beliefs and the law is wrong, removing this rule can't force me or other healthcare providers to violate our conscience.

This is a simple concept. Doctors and other healthcare professionals should not be forced to perform or participate in abortions, assisted suicide, or any other service that would violate their conscience.

Opponents of the HHS rule will tell you that the rule is about denial of care. They will tell you that the rule is intended to allow discrimination. There could be nothing further from the truth. The HHS rule protects healthcare providers from discrimination if they choose to act according to their conscience.

We have a First Amendment right to practice our religion in America, and the government forcing someone to act in a way that violates those beliefs is in direct opposition to the very foundation of our Constitution.

This is not about forcing a medical provider's religious beliefs or my beliefs on anyone. This is about not forcing a medical provider to abandon their beliefs due to an arbitrary government action.

The HHS conscience rule is a moral rule, and I oppose efforts to block its implementation in this appropriations bill. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of my good friend from Arkansas' amendment.

This bill contains a line item directing $100 million be spent on the ACA navigator program. Unless I am mistaken, just last month, House Democrats decided it was more important to play politics than consider legitimate, bipartisan proposals to address the constantly increasing healthcare costs.

Madam Chair, in Tennessee, since the ACA went into effect, our premiums have gone up in the ACA silo 174 percent. We remember long ago the claim that the ACA would eliminate constantly increasing healthcare costs and included $100 million for the navigator program in that bill.

How many times will we go through this exercise before my colleagues on the other side of the aisle realize this program just doesn't work?

I have never heard of a government program in the history of the country that suddenly started to work without making any changes by simply throwing $100 million at it. Madam Chair, we can't do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome.

In plan year 2017, the navigators received $62.5 million and enrolled 81,426 people. With just over 8 million enrollees for 2019, I am not sure how in the world it makes sense to spend $768 per enrollee to sign them up. Now House Democrats want to nearly double that money for a program that has been shown to be ineffective in its sole function, just to enroll people in the ACA.

With ObamaCare enrollment nearly 20 million people below the original CBO estimate this year--and over 3 million more people gaining private, employer-sponsored coverage over the last 2 years because of the strong economy and job market--we should be using this money for programs that actually work.

I support this amendment that eliminates this line-item funding mandate because I offered a similar amendment that Democratic leadership decided was not in order. It would have moved the money from the navigator program to the substance abuse treatment fund, allowing additional grants to treat those suffering from substance abuse disorders, which actually would save lives.

Madam Chair, let's stop wasting time and money on programs that don't work and support those that do. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Madam Speaker, I would like to associate my comments with the chairman's comments about women's suffrage 100th anniversary today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2359, as amended, the

Whole Veteran Act. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress on the implementation of the whole health initiative and include information in the report about the availability of a number of complementary and alternative treatments like meditation, acupuncture, yoga, and equine therapy.

VA's whole health initiative is a component of Secretary Wilkie's plan to transform the Veterans Health Administration into a more innovative, holistic, and veteran-centric healthcare system that puts veteran patients in the driver's seat.

I support the Secretary in that effort wholeheartedly, and I look forward to seeing how it will yield improved outcomes and satisfaction among veterans across the country.

The dissemination of best practices and complementary and alternative approaches to pain management is particularly important, given the ongoing opioid crisis that continues to plague our Nation.

I thank Congressman Conor Lamb from Pennsylvania for sponsoring this bill and Congressman Barr from Kentucky for improving it with his tireless advocacy for equine therapy. I encourage all Members to join me in supporting it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I, too, want to encourage all Members to support this.

We, in 2003, spent about $2 billion on mental health and PTSD treatment at the VA; in this year's budget, it is $8.5 billion. And we have not moved the needle at all on the number of veterans committing suicide.

So I think this is a great idea to see if we can use an alternative treatment to help lower this way-too-high rate and help.

When you think about 20 people a day dying of suicide, by their own hands, it is heartbreaking. So I encourage all Members to vote for this.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 1812, as amended, the Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act.

Every day, 20 of those who have worn our Nation's uniform die by suicide. Of those 20 deaths, each one is a tragedy.

There are approximately four deaths among Active-Duty servicemembers and nonactivated members of the National Guard and Reserve.

The number of suicides among never federally activated members of the National Guard and Reserve, in particular, has increased from 2005 to 2016, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs' most recent suicide data.

Many of these men and women have stepped up to serve their communities and our country honorably in dangerous and unpredictable situations. That service can have an understandable impact on mental health, but because they may not meet the legal definition of a veteran due to the nature of their service, these individuals may not be eligible for care from the VA.

This bill would address that issue by expanding eligibility for counseling and care at VA Vet Centers to those in the Reserve, National Guard, or Coast Guard who served in response to emergency situations in the wake of a disaster or civil disorder or support of drug interdiction operations who never deployed.

VA's 300 Vet Centers are community-based facilities that provide readjustment counseling services to Active-Duty servicemembers, veterans, and their families.

Vet Center employees, many of whom are veterans themselves, are on the forefront of the fight to prevent suicide among servicemembers and veterans, to assure their successful transition following the military, and to assist them in recovering from whatever trauma or challenges they may be facing.

I am proud to sponsor this bill and grateful to Congressman Mike Levin from California for joining me as an original cosponsor.

I am also grateful to the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America for their support of this legislation.

It is my sincere hope that this bill will allow all of those who served in the National Guard, the Coast Guard, or the Reserve component to get the

help they need and lower the number of suicides among this population of heroes.

Madam Speaker, before reserving, I do want to note my surprise that the bill received a discretionary score of $55 million over 5 years from the Congressional Budget Office.

It appears that CBO estimated that VA would need to create costly new capacity within the Vet Centers to care for those individuals newly eligible in this bill.

Madam Speaker, I have been to many Vet Centers, and the brick and mortar is already there. You don't have to do anything. The personnel are there. So there would be, if any, minimal costs.

However, I understand from VA that excess capacity exists within the Vet Centers that this bill would help fill, at little additional cost to the Department. I hope that could be taken into account for this bill, moving forward.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this. I think it is a great step forward for our Guard and Reservists.

I will just pass along a quick story of one of the reasons why I have pushed this so hard. In my Tennessee Guard at home, my previous commander said that in the first 45 days he commanded the Tennessee Guard, he had four suicides. He knew he had to do something, so he instituted a program there to help lower veteran suicides.

We have lowered our suicide rate among our Tennessee guardsmen by 70 percent. We would like to make sure that all Guard and Reservists have access to the benefits they need, the therapy they need, and the help they need for their families by allowing them to get this help at the vet center.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2326, as amended, the Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ``Bill'' Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2019.

One of the most important things our government can do to help our Nation's servicemembers is to ensure that their transition from military to civilian life is as seamless as possible. We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I believe that so many of the problems that veterans encounter later in life could have been mitigated if they had a more supportive and successful transition. I know that the goal of this bill is to help servicemembers have as smooth a transition as possible to civilian life.

I will allow Congressman Jodey Arrington from Texas, who is an original cosponsor of the bill, to go into the specifics in a moment. Before I do that, I want to thank him, as the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, for taking the time last Congress to sit down with stakeholders and really examine the transition process from the very beginning and look at the need for improvements.

While this bill was a culmination of a bipartisan review and work, it is only one step in the process to ensure a successful transition for all servicemembers. I know that we all remain dedicated to making improvements to this process to reach this goal. We were unable to persuade the Senate to act on this bill last Congress, and I want to thank Mr. Arrington, Chairman Takano, and subcommittee Chairman Levin for picking up where we left off in pushing this bill through yet again. I am confident, with their continued support, we can ensure it is on President Trump's desk very soon.

Madam Speaker, I want to just say from a point of privilege, when I separated from the military, the U.S. Army in 1974, a long time ago, my transition: Was how quick can I get to the front gate? We have made huge improvements since the end of the Vietnam war. There really was no program for veterans then. It was a mistake then. I appreciate the efforts of my colleague to rectify this mistake.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 2326, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend.

This is my sixth term in Congress, and I have served each one with Gus. I can assure you, there is nobody in this body, of the 435 of us, who is more supportive of our Nation's veterans than Gus Bilirakis of Florida 12.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), my good friend who was a previous chairman of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and have him tell you about this bill because this was his friend.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas.

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

Madam Speaker, I think it is appropriate, as we approach this Memorial Day, as many families go on picnics, to remember what it means. We not only memorialize those whom we lost in combat, but I think we also memorialize those who are lost because of the invisible wounds of combat.

I can't think of a more fitting time to pass this bill for Navy SEAL Chief

Petty Officer Bill Mulder. It is a small consolation for his family, but I think they know his memory can live on by helping other veterans. I encourage all Members to support this legislation.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2333, the Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act. This bill would require a Government Accountability Office report on the responsibilities, management, workload, training, and vacancy rates of Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention coordinators. The VA employs at least one suicide prevention coordinator in every VA medical center to coordinate, care for, and conduct outreach to servicemembers and veterans at risk of suicide.

These men and women are on the front lines of the fight against the tragic loss of 20 of our Nation's servicemembers and veterans every day to self-harm. We must ensure that they are appropriately staffed, supported, and overseen as they go about their difficult and incredibly important work. Passage of the Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act today will help us do just that.

This is a bipartisan bill sponsored by several members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, including Congressman Jim Banks from Indiana, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization; Congressman Mike Bost of Illinois, the ranking

member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs; Congressman Steube from Florida, a member of both the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and Health Subcommittee.

I am grateful to each of them, as well as the bill's lead sponsor, Congressman Andy Brindisi from New York, for their efforts.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to join me in supporting H.R. 2333, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), my good friend, the previous chairman and now ranking member on the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and a Marine veteran. I have seen this Marine drink from the Devil Dog fountain in Belleau Wood.

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

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this piece of legislation.

I, too, have visited Canandaigua, which is in New York, which is a call center, and I think this committee is doing everything it can in a bipartisan way to help lower this unbelievable rate of 20 suicides per day.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2340, as amended, the FIGHT Veteran Suicides Act.

This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to report to the local congressional delegation, as well as to the committee, whenever a veteran attempts or dies by suicide in or on the grounds of a VA facility.

We have all heard the heartbreaking stories of veterans who have died by suicide on VA campuses, including five veteran suicide deaths in the last several weeks alone. There is no indication that these events represent an increase in the rate of suicide among servicemembers and veterans, but they are particularly poignant because they occur so close to help and appear to be an indictment on the healthcare system that was created to support them.

To be clear, suicide is a national public health crisis that is not unique to VA, the military, or veterans. However, we must pay careful attention to the incidents of suicide among those who have served and sacrificed on our behalf and do everything we can to point those in crisis to the resources they need to recover from the traumas and live long, full, healthy lives.

I am grateful to Congressman Max Rose from New York for sponsoring this bill, which will allow us to learn all we can about the suicides that occur on VA campuses so that we can take action that may save other lives in the future.

I encourage all Members to support this much-needed piece of legislation.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1200, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2019.

In keeping with the traditions of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, this bill was introduced by Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee Chair Elaine Luria and Ranking Member Mike Bost. I appreciate their commitment to ensuring that veterans and their families can afford living expenses when prices go up.

H.R. 1200 authorizes a cost-of-living increase for veterans and their families next year if Social Security recipients receive an increase.

To put this in perspective, in 1975, a veteran who was rated totally disabled would receive at least $655 in monthly disability compensation. Because of the COLAs that Congress has passed for decades, totally disabled veterans now receive $2,907 in tax-free monthly disability compensation, an increase of 443 percent over the years. As you can see, H.R. 1200 is necessary to prevent inflation from eroding the value of veteran and survivor benefits.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 1200, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and a marine veteran.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Madam Speaker, I encourage everyone to support this commonsense bill.

I think my last duty assignment was probably in Mrs. Luria's district, Fort Eustis, Virginia. That is where my last 9 months in the Army was.

I was raised in a military town: Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. I grew up around the military, and I just cannot thank them enough.

This is the very least we can do for our disabled veterans, to give them a COLA which will, hopefully, make their lives a little bit better and thank them for their service.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2372, as amended, the Veterans' Care Quality Transparency Act.

This bill is sponsored by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood of Illinois, and I thank her for her efforts to bring it to the House floor today.

This bill would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of all memoranda of understanding and memoranda of agreement entered into by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other governmental or private-sector entities regarding suicide prevention activities and outreach, as well as the coordination of mental health services, during the 5-year period preceding the date of enactment.

For the last two decades, approximately 20 of our Nation's servicemembers and veterans have died by suicide on a daily basis.

Suicide is, unquestionably, a tragedy that impacts all Americans and is a crisis that VA cannot combat alone. In light of that, VA has become increasingly mindful of the need to collaborate with partners in both the public and private sectors to connect with servicemembers, veterans, and their families wherever they reside and with whatever they may be struggling.

This bill would ensure that Congress has insight into those collaborations and whether or not they are working as intended to reduce incidents of suicide among those who have served our country.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Congresswoman Underwood for submitting this legislation today. I think it is much needed. I have thought it all along. Let's find out what works and what doesn't work. I appreciate her doing this, and I feel like it will be supported by the entire body.

I encourage all Members of the body to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2045, as amended, the Veterans' Education Transition and Opportunity Prioritization Plan Act, or the VET OPP Act.

Madam Speaker, investing in education and employment opportunities for our Nation's veterans is one of the Department of Veterans Affairs' most important but least recognized missions.

Today, programs concerning education and employment are embedded within the Veterans Benefit Administration which, understandably, devotes

most of its time, attention, and resources to disability compensation- related issues and backlogs that rise and fall with time.

The focus on compensation programs creates programs when other VBA programs need attention. An example of this was the implementation last fall of the Forever GI Bill which was, to say the least, rocky, the start was.

While I know that the VA has many dedicated employees who tried their best to prevent the delays that occurred, I do believe that if the implementation of this law had received more attention from senior leaders at VA, things could have been better.

The VET OPP Act is a means to mitigate these problems in the future. The bill would create a new, fourth administration at VA which would be called the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration and led by a new Under Secretary for Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition.

The new Under Secretary would oversee education benefits like the GI Bill, the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program, VA's home loan program, the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP program, and the small business programs. Creating a new administration within VA to house education and employment programs will ensure that those programs receive the focused leadership time and attention that they deserve.

I appreciate my friend and colleague, Congressman Wenstrup from Ohio, for championing this legislation. It has my full support.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend, and a Member I have served with on the Veterans' Affairs Committee the entire time I have been in Congress. As I have said previously, there is no one in this body, in this House that I have seen that cares for veterans more than Congressman Bilirakis does, and he is the ranking member on the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Florida an additional 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), my good friend, a Congressman, doctor, colonel, Iraq war veteran, and in the previous Congress, chair of the Health Subcommittee on the Veterans Affairs' Committee, and currently a member of the House Committee on Armed Services and the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this bill. When I first got here to Congress in 2009, the Veterans Benefit Administration had 1 million backlogged disability claims. It is hard to focus on something else when you have that much on your plate.

I think we have recognized that over the last several years, and I commend Dr. Wenstrup and others for bringing this up.

Madam Speaker, I strongly encourage all Members to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 1947, as amended.

This bill would address a limitation in current law that prevents funding from being transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs nonprofit research and education corporations, or NPCs, for longer than 1 fiscal year.

NPCs were established by Congress in the late 1980s to provide a flexible funding mechanism to support research. Collectively, they have contributed more than $2 billion to VA research projects over the last decade.

However, last year, VA's Office of the General Counsel uncovered a legal limitation that prevents funding from being transferred to the NPCs for longer than 1 fiscal year. This upturned years of practice by the NPCs and threatened a number of ongoing research projects across the country that could benefit veterans and all Americans.

Madam Speaker, I have been involved in a number of research projects over the years, and they just don't go for 365 days. Many of them go for years and years. This bill would correct that limitation and preserve the ability of the NPCs to support important multiyear research projects.

Additionally, H.R. 1947, as amended, includes a provision from Representative LaMalfa's bill, H.R. 1126, the Honoring Veterans' Families Act.

Currently, VA is authorized to add a memorial inscription for a veteran's deceased spouse or eligible dependent child to a VA-furnished marker, but only if they are buried in a national cemetery or a State or Tribal veterans cemetery. Unfortunately, VA cannot provide this benefit to veterans and their families if they are buried elsewhere, such as a private or local cemetery. H.R. 1947, as amended, would address this problem by allowing VA to memorialize a veteran's deceased spouse or certain children on the veteran's marker, regardless of where they choose to be laid to rest.

The cost of this bill will be paid for by closing a loophole in GI Bill rules related to flight schools by capping the total tuition and fees that can be used at a public school for flight training at the current private school cap of $23,671 per year. The bill would authorize a 2-year grandfather clause so that no current students are impacted by this change.

It also includes provisions that would make it easier for students to attend flight training by removing the prohibition against GI Bill funds paying for a private pilot's license and giving students the option to accelerate their GI Bill benefits to pay for the increased cost associated with flight training.

These changes to flight training for the GI Bill have had wide bipartisan and veteran service organization support in the past, and I am pleased that they are included in this bill.

I encourage all Members to support H.R. 1947, as amended.

I thank the chairman for his kind comments and support of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), my good friend and an author of one part of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar), my good friend and Western Caucus chair.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Before I yield back, I do want to express my disappointment that H.R. 2196 is not on the floor for consideration this afternoon. This bill, introduced by my friend and outstanding new member of our committee, Congressman Barr from Kentucky, would clarify the eligibility of the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program. This scholarship, which was enacted as part of the Forever GI Bill, authorizes extra GI Bill funding to help student veterans complete their undergraduate degrees in the science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM, fields.

Madam Speaker, we all know that there is a need to fill vacancies for high-paying jobs in the STEM fields. The Smithsonian Science Education Center found STEM-related jobs grew at three times the rate of non-STEM jobs between 2000 and 2010. By 2018, they projected that 2.4 million STEM jobs would go unfilled.

The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program is critical to ensure that veterans are the ones who fill these vacancies. However, the way the original law was drafted, it would unintentionally prevent most students from using this scholarship in all but a few STEM programs.

With the scholarship going live on August 1, 2019, I am grateful to Mr. Barr for quickly stepping up to the plate to offer this bill to ensure students are eligible for it.

We all know that the Senate generally takes longer to review legislation than the House. Let me repeat that. We all know that the Senate generally takes a lot longer to review legislation than the House does. That is why, with the August 1 deadline approaching quickly, I was hopeful we could consider this legislation today. The bill has gone through full regular order, is supported by VA and veterans service organizations, and has no cost.

I would ask the chairman if he would please work with the majority leader to schedule this bill for consideration immediately after the Memorial Day district work period.

Before I yield back, next Monday is Memorial Day. For me, personally, I want to thank all of the members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the chairman and others, as you have seen today, for the work they have done in a bipartisan way to help our Nation's heroes.

As I said, for me, personally, as a veteran, this is a very difficult day because it is a day that we mourn the loss of veterans who served on Active Duty and paid the ultimate price. I want to just mention a few names of people.

First, Sergeant Thomas E. Thayer, a tremendous man whom I knew as a young boy growing up. He was my Scout master. He was in the 101st Airborne and was killed in Vietnam, receiving the Silver Star in 1965.

Johnny Parham, who was also an Eagle Scout, as I am. Johnny and I ran on the 2-mile relay team together in high school. I have to say, we were pretty good. Johnny died in 1969 in Vietnam and was unable to have the wonderful life that I have had, to be able to raise a family, have children and grandchildren, because of service to our Nation.

Bob Perry, a young man whom I went to elementary school with all the way through high school. I found out at my high school reunion many years later that Bob also died in Vietnam.

We just heard today, Chief Petty Officer Bill Mulder, a highly decorated Navy SEAL who protected this Nation, giving up his life because of, really, the invisible wounds of war.

I just want to thank all of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 987, the Democrats' ObamaCare bailout act. This legislation includes three bipartisan bills that could help lower the cost of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the majority has decided to package these positive bills with four bills that double down on trying to force ObamaCare on people who don't want it and can't afford it.

We are back on the floor again using valuable time to consider legislation that will not pass the Senate. Make no mistake: If House Democrats wanted to accomplish something, they could have put their three drug pricing bills on the floor by themselves today and they would have passed. Everyone needs to understand that.

Instead of working together to find ways to bring down the costs of healthcare, House Democrats are acting to eliminate affordable options that many folks across the country rely upon for covering their family's healthcare needs.

One provision in this bill would be to limit the availability of short-term limited duration plans to no more than 3 months. This change by President Obama went into effect January of 2017 and overturned 20 years of regulations that had been in place since Bill Clinton was in office, including the entirety of President Obama's administration.

These plans are for essential health benefits chosen by the individual consumer, not the Federal Government. We have different needs at different points in our life. Unfortunately, the ACA does not allow for plans to be sold as ``compliant'' unless they contain government approved what you need, not what you and your family decide what is in your best interest and can afford.

If my colleagues want to get rid of junk plans, they can start by working with us to get rid of ObamaCare.

In my district, while the individual mandate was in effect, there were 20,000 people who purchased their coverage through the exchange and about 15,000 who paid the penalty. Many of those people who paid the penalty were able to find a plan that was affordable through the Tennessee Farm Bureau or the Christian sharing ministries.

I have said it before and I will say it again: ObamaCare is a good deal for you if you get a subsidy, of which about 90 percent do. But these subsidies hide the true cost of the care, and for people who don't receive a subsidy, it is unaffordable.

When the Education and Labor Committee marked up the short-term bill last month, I heard the argument that these short-term plans were too difficult to understand, that consumers don't know what they are getting.

This is offensive to me. This is saying, just because patients don't choose plans that Washington bureaucrats think are good for them, they don't have enough sense to figure it out on their own.

They do. I trust the American people.

Why on earth when we do something using common sense and creating association health plans that allow small groups to get together-- Washington State does that, hardly a conservative State. They have had AHPs for over 20 years, and they are working well.

If my friends across the aisle want to engage in a good faith effort to find solutions to high healthcare costs, I am all in, Mr. Chairman. I want to help. But the point is that people are finding ways outside of ObamaCare to best access coverage for their families.

The CBO initially said there would be 27 million people in the exchanges in 2019. That number is 8 million. Competition works.

I hope my colleagues oppose this legislation, and I am ready to work in a bipartisan way to solve these problems.