Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1263) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide surviving spouses with certain protections relating to mortgages and mortgage foreclosures, as amended.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, one of the top duties of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is to help enforce and improve the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA, as it is designed to help ease economic and legal burdens on military personnel who are on active duty status. The SCRA is intended to postpone, suspend, or relieve certain civil obligations during a servicemember's period of active duty. It accomplishes this, in part, by regulating certain legal actions against military personnel.

H.R. 1263, as amended, makes several changes to strengthen the current protections. So in order to discuss these improvements, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, the gentleman from Indiana, Marlin Stutzman.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

I encourage all Members to support H.R. 1263, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1025) to amend title 38, United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1025 recognizes those retired from the National Guard and Reserve component of the United States Armed Forces by honoring them with the status of veterans under law.

Representative Walz of Minnesota, the bill's chief sponsor, recently commented that ``failure to recognize those who have served 20 years or more in the Reserve and National Guard as veterans represents a gross injustice.''

These are men and women who showed devotion and dedication, serving their Nation in uniform for an entire career of 20 years or more in the Reserve and National Guard. These servicemembers wore the same uniform as active duty servicemembers, were subject to the same code of military justice, received the same training, and were available for call-up to active duty service at any time.

H.R. 1025 confers honorary veteran's status on the individuals who are entitled to retirement pay for nonregular service or who would be entitled to retirement pay but for age. In addition, this bill ensures those who receive the honorary recognition as veterans conferred in the bill would not be entitled to any statutory benefit under title 38 or any other title of United States Code for reason of such recognition alone.

I would now like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham).

I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee, Dr. Roe.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

I once again encourage all Members to support H.R. 1025, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true hometown hero and one of the stars of the Bi-Annual Congressional Football Game for Charity, Jim Davis. Jim is currently deployed as a reservist in Iraq where he is the First Sergeant for C Company, 373rd Military Battalion at Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Prior to his deployment, Jim served as a U.S. Capitol Police Officer and K9 Handler. He was also one of the fiercest and most competitive players on the Capitol Police Football Team. Once again, Jim will play for the Capitol Police Team and take on the Members of the 112th Congress. Jim scheduled his leave in order to make this year's game, due to his commitment to the charities the Congressional Football Game supports--The Capitol Police Memorial Fund and Our Military Kids.

Jim was born here in Washington, DC and raised in Northern Virginia. After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, VA, Jim joined the United States Marine Corps. He was on active duty for 4 years in the USMC, and then spent 5 years on active duty in the Army.

Throughout Jim's time in the service, he remained active in athletics, playing football for the Marine All-Star team-and running track for the All-Army track team at Ft. Hood prior to Desert Storm. While on active duty in Germany, Jim also played football for the NFL feeder team--Frankfurt Galaxy.

Although we hope to beat the Capitol Police in this year's Congressional Football Game, we do wish Jim all the best in his current pursuit of an MBA at Johns Hopkins University and a position as a Command Sergeant Major.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Jim Davis.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

I thank my colleague from New York (Mr. Grimm) for his support on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Runyan-Grimm amendment which seeks excess baggage fees being charged to servicemembers deploying or returning from an overseas contingency operation.

This issue was brought to light early in June when a group of Army Reservists traveling back from Afghanistan were charged $200 each for checking a fourth bag, some of which contained U.S. Government equipment like an M4 rifle, a grenade launcher, and a 9-millimeter pistol. The soldiers posted a YouTube video, titled, ``Delta Airlines Welcomes Soldiers Home,'' expressing their frustrations for what they had experienced.

After serving our country in theater and enduring an 18-hour layover on their trip home, the warm welcome this group received was a $2,800 out-of-pocket expense. This is an unacceptable slap in the face, whether it was intentional or not. Applying these charges to those headed to or returning from the fight is an insult to them and their service to our Nation.

My amendment would make none of the funds available by this act to be used to pay any commercial air carrier if that airline charges excess baggage fees for the first four pieces of checked luggage that are 80 pounds or less per servicemember. This amendment is a reasonable compromise, whose primary purpose is taking care of our warfighters while not allowing the system to be abused.

Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines risk their lives to protect the freedoms we all enjoy. They take great personal sacrifices to defend our country. There is no doubt they should be provided with any reasonable accommodations while traveling on orders to or from theater of operations. Most importantly, they should not have to endure personal financial hardship as a result of traveling to and from overseas contingency operations. $200 is a large amount of money to pay out of pocket, especially for those who are enlisted.

It shouldn't take a YouTube video and bad publicity to convince any of us to do the right thing. With this amendment, we are sending a very strong message that our warfighters are individuals who are serving our country and not for an addition to a profit margin.

The amendment is endorsed by the VFW and the National Guard Association of the United States. I hope all my colleagues will stand with me in support of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines by voting in favor of this amendment.

National Guard Association

of the United States, Inc.,

Washington, DC., July 7, 2011.

Hon. John Runyan,

House of Representatives, Longworth Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Runyan: We are writing to express our

strong support for your recently proposed amendment to H.R.

2219, the FY12 Defense Appropriations bill to target and deny

funds to commercial airlines who would charge excess baggage

fees to servicemembers deploying and returning from overseas

contingency operations. The National Guard Association of the

United States represents over 45,000 members of the National

Guard, their families and employers.

NGAUS believes in the fair treatment of our servicemembers,

including our Guard and Reserve, when they deploy and return

from overseas operations. The incident this past June where

soldiers were charged excess baggage fees for equipment by an

airline was outrageous. This amendment would appropriately

target the program airlines participate in for supporting

additional airlift capability for troops/baggage and

equipment while denying funds made available in the bill to

those airlines who violate tile program and charge baggage

fees for the first four pieces of baggage (not exceeding 80

lbs and not including any carry-on baggage).

The National Guard Association of the United States

strongly supports your efforts to correct unfair treatment by

airlines in regards to our members of the National Guard and

our Armed Forces deploying or coming home from overseas

contingency operations.

Sincerely,

Gus Hargett,

Major General, USA (Ret),

President, NGAUS.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Offered By: Mr. Runyan

Amendment No. 104: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, I humbly rise today to congratulate one of my constituents, Colonel Gina M. Grosso, on her elevation to the rank of Brigadier General. Brigadier General Grosso is currently the Joint Base and 87th Air Base Wing Commander at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst in my district. She entered the Air Force in 1986 as a ROTC distinguished graduate from Carnegie-Mellon University. She has held several command and staff positions throughout her career. Her command tours include Headquarters Squadron Section, Military Personnel Flight, Mission Support Squadron, and command of the Air Force's sole Basic Military Training Group. I am tremendously proud of Brigadier General Grosso and I know she will continue to serve her country with honor and distinction. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating Brigadier General Gina M. Grosso.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise awareness about Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne is a progressive muscle disorder for which there is no cure and affects boys disproportionately. According to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the disease affects approximately 1 in 3,500 live male births. Conditions of the disease include deterioration of the muscle tissue, abnormal bone development, paralysis and eventually death.

Earlier this year, my office was contacted by several families from my district whose young sons are living with Duchenne.

Duchenne takes lives too quickly, but due in large part to research developments, there are signs of hope.

Over the last five years, Congress has appropriated $157 million to the National Institutes of Health for Duchenne efforts. In 2010, the NIH awarded three grants specifically to New Jersey institutions totaling $874,000.

Two of the grants were awarded to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, to explore treatments for congenital diseases, and the third went to TRIM-Edicine, for research of protein therapies for muscular dystrophy.

I hope these and other innovations bring us closer to finding the answers that we need to help and even cure Duchenne MD.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise awareness about Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Duchenne is a progressive muscle disorder for which there is no cure and affects boys disproportionately. According to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the disease affects approximately one in 3,500 live male births. Conditions of the disease include deterioration of the muscle tissue, abnormal bone development, paralysis, and eventually death.

Earlier this year, my office was contacted by several families from my district whose young sons are living with Duchenne disease. Duchenne takes lives too quickly, but, due in large part to the research developments, there are three signs of hope.

Over the last 5 years, Congress has appropriated $175 million to NIH for Duchenne efforts. In 2010, the NIH awarded three grants specifically to New Jersey institutions totaling $874,000. Two of the grants were awarded to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to explore treatments for congenital diseases, and the third went to TRIM-edicine for research of protein therapies for muscular dystrophy.

I hope these and other innovations bring us closer to finding the answers that we need to help and even cure Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Thank you for the time.

I thank my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) for his work on this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the Holt-Runyan amendment, which takes further steps towards keeping veterans alive by dedicating $20 million of suicide prevention outreach within the VA for fiscal year 2012.

Suicide is always tragic, but suicide by a veteran, especially young veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, is especially troubling. VA officials tell us that one in five suicides in America is a veteran, and that the suicide rate of male veterans is twice that of the general population. While most of these are older

veterans, young male veterans are still more likely to commit suicide than those who have never served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

When the suicide rate of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan spiked in 2004, Congress responded by increasing VA's budget for mental health by nearly a third. This allowed VA to create a veterans crisis line and place suicide prevention coordinators in every medical center.

But if any veteran who needs help cannot get help or does not know it is available, the program is a failure. As I said before, every suicide is tragic. And more must be done.

This is why I strongly support this amendment which would give the VA the necessary additional resources to let veterans know, through TV and social media, to reach out to our veterans. I hope all of my colleagues will stand with me and my colleague, Mr. Holt, in support of this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of fifty-one high school seniors in Camden Country for their admirable decision to enlist in the United States Armed Forces.

Of these fifty-one seniors, twenty one have joined the Marine Corps. They are Nicholas Iezzi, Ryan Bordi, Edwin Rivera, Alexander Bonilla, Alan Rivas, Michael Colman, Brandon Piazza, Skipper Schilling, Steven Serrno, Carlos Rivera, Alexander Benitez, Khiry Rowley, John Gibson, Danielle Gregg, Matt Falcone, Tim Anstotz, Ricky Chan, Kianya Eldridge, John Hines, Allison Wright and Andrew Cipolone.

Thirteen have jointed the Army. They are Christopher Gunning, Sean Barger, Eric Martinez, Joshua Ryan, Daniel Buscio, Raven Minerva, Jamir Taylor, Christopher Robinson, Dominic Massimo, Derek Hoinkis, Aaron Brown, Stephen Gracia and Indeo Ragsdale.

Six have joined the Navy. They are Taylor Cocuzza, Michael Papapietro, John Feldman, Reinaldo Pacheco, Redman Miles-Ruiz, and Shawn Daley.

Five have joined the New Jersey Army National Guard. They are Matthew Krevetski, Valerie Kibler, Desmond Taylor, Luis Barats and Scott Arons.

Four have joined the Air Force. They are Patrick Covaleski, Destern Winkler, Steven Deleon and Brian Jurek.

Two have joined the New Jersey Air National Guard. They are Shaun Feuson and Francisco Moran.

All of the fifty-one seniors will be recognized at the ``Our Community Salutes of South Jersey'' ceremony on the evening of June 2nd, 2011.

As June unfolds, these young men and women will celebrate graduation with their fellow classmates. While many of their peers will prepare to move onto college, vocational school and other endeavors, the aforementioned young men and women will enter a life of service to defend our Nation and its ideals.

I would like to offer my personal thanks to these brave young men and women. They have chosen a commendable path of service to our Nation, and with excellent education and steady encouragement, they will be able to successfully meet any challenges they face in the field, and in life.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating the remarkable dedication to our country these young adults have shown by their decision to enlist in our Armed Services. We owe all of our service members--past, present and future--our deepest gratitude; and we must never forget to recognize the courage and valor of those who choose to serve our Nation and who are committed to freedom.

I thank the chairman for the time.

I rise today in support of the manager's amendment to H.R. 1484, as amended, and the Veterans Appeals Improvement Act of 2011.

The veterans disability claims policy is very complex, and all of us on the Veterans' Affairs Committee are constantly seeking ways to improve the process for both our veterans and the VA. This bill is a good first step in accomplishing the goal by improving upon the current process. Specifically, section 2 will work to simplify the process for submitting evidence to the Board of Veterans Appeals by allowing veterans to keep their place in line at the Board of Appeals for Veterans Claims when they submit new evidence in support of their claim.

Under current law, if a veteran submitted new evidence to their case with the intention of expediting their adjudication, they may have actually made the adjudication take longer due to the VA's archaic rules that require the agency to resubmit the claim back to the regional offices. This bill corrects that problem.

While I'm hopeful that the VA's new electronic processing system, which is currently being developed, will alleviate the backlog, we must do right by our veterans by continually improving the claims process and continuing to make changes, no matter how small, to help our veterans who are currently stuck in a failed paper-based system.

This bill is one of many steps my subcommittee will take in this Congress to address the backlog of veteran disability claims. On Thursday, the subcommittee will be holding a hearing on underperforming regional offices, and my staff is currently working on ways to improve training and accountability at all VA regional offices. Every veteran has the right to have their claim adjudicated in a prompt and accurate fashion.

I am proud that many veteran service organizations, as well as the VA, have expressed support for H.R. 1484, as amended; and I urge all Members to support H.R. 1484, as amended.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Thank you, Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith, for your leadership and for working with me on this amendment. It, again, is an honor working with the both of you.

Mr. Chairman, the Commission on Wartime Contracting is an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This eight-member commission was mandated by Congress to study Federal agency contracting for reconstruction logistical support of coalition forces and the performance of security functions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

In their latest report, the CWC found that, as contingency operations have stabilized, agencies have not shifted contracting approaches to introduce the much needed competition into long-term support contracts. Competition is the key in order to get our warfighters what they need through a fair and transparent contracting process and at the best value for taxpayers' money. I know this is something that we can all agree on.

My amendment would require the DOD to establish goals for competition and contracts awarded in support of a contingency operation and would require an annual review of omnibus contingency contracts to identify any subcontracts that can be completed as a standalone contract. It would also amend section 863 of the fiscal year 2008 NDAA to increase reporting requirements to competition in contingency contracting.

I urge my colleagues to support this critical amendment in support of the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and in support of the American taxpayer.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for his support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith, for your leadership on this important legislation for our men and women in uniform. It is an honor to serve with the both of you.

Mr. Chairman, as a result of the 2005 BRAC, Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst in my home district was combined into one installation from three separate military installations, which caused a problem. One issue this bill addresses is pay parity.

Currently at Joint Base MDL, which used to be the separate Fort Dix and McGuire bases, wage grade system employees are paid at the Philadelphia locality pay rate, while at the Lakehurst side, the people doing the same jobs are paid at the New York locality rate.

While OPM has indicated they want to resolve this situation, no change has yet been made.

The language in the bill will work towards fixing this inequity by requiring OPM to work with the DOD to implement OPM's recommendation with respect to the Department of Defense Federal Wage System employees working at all joint military installations.

Additionally, I want to recognize my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Rob Andrews and Congressman Frank LoBiondo, for their work on this issue, as well as Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, who also has been active in assisting the employees at the joint base.

Again, I thank you, Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith, for your support on this, and I want to express my strong support for H.R. 1540 and our Nation's war fighters.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the people of Seaton, England. The people of Seaton were invaluable partners prior to the ``D-Day'' invasion of June 6, 1944. Seaton's unwavering support and hospitality allowed U.S. troops to launch a successful invasion of Europe and ultimately win World War II.

The kindness of the people of Seaton manifested itself in many ways. They welcomed, housed, and supported the men of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division from January 1944 through early June, 1944. Many of these soldiers were taken in and treated like family, and respected members of the community.

This feeling of community was made evident when the people of Seaton organized dances, entertainment, and other events, for the troops. There's no doubt that this welcoming atmosphere helped ease the transition for the young soldiers, most of whom were away from home for the first time.

Seaton was instrumental in the continued training of our forces providing marksmanship instruction alongside the British guard. This training inevitably led to our nation's forces being better prepared for battle and ultimately saved American lives.

Seaton's lasting legacy is the positive atmosphere that it helped to foster. In fact in the five months that it housed American troops there were no recorded adverse incidents to speak of and many troops who were stationed in Seaton had some of their fondest memories of the war while stationed there.

Seaton had a significant strategic impact on the war. The town's support of the 2nd Battalion was instrumental in allowing it to become the first to land on Utah Beach, during ``D-Day'', and obtain all of its objectives within the first few hours of Operation Overlord.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the lasting legacy of the people of Seaton, England and their contributions in support of American forces prior to the ``D-Day'' landing on June 6, 1944.

Thank you, Chairman Miller.

Today I rise in support of H.R. 1407, as amended, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011.

H.R. 1407, as amended, which I introduced in April, puts veterans on equal footing with Social Security beneficiaries by increasing the amount provided for disabled veterans' compensation, veterans' clothing allowance, and dependency and indemnity compensation for veterans' survivors by the amount of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment.

This annual and noncontroversial bill, which has been scored by CBO as having no budgetary impact, is a crucial part of ensuring benefits for disabled veterans and their families are sufficient to meet their needs.

H.R. 1407, as amended, also includes H.R. 1671, introduced by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Braley), the Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act, which provides a 5-year extension to the current program set to expire on September 30.

Mr. Connolly's story demonstrates the beneficial impact specially adapted housing can have on a disabled veteran temporarily living in the house of a family member. It is important that we extend this program and continue to allow disabled veterans in similar situations adapted housing.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 1407, as amended.