Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the historic vote the House took to strengthen our democracy. The For the People Act will help combat corruption and bring ethics and accountability back to our political process.

I am particularly happy that the legislative changes of the Let It Go Act will be part of this bold piece of progressive legislation.

Currently, no laws exist that limit how long candidates or former government officials can hold on to their campaign funds after their campaign ends or following the conclusion of their public service. It is not their money. They should let it go.

Limits to how long surplus funds can remain in campaign accounts and how that money can be utilized must be established. With the inclusion of my amendment, this legislation will do just that.

For far too long, powerful special interests and big money in politics have silenced the voices of the American people. H.R. 1 will help shift the balance of power from a wealthy, powerful few back to the American people. Today I cast an enthusiastic vote, a ``yes'' vote For the People.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1381.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1381) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take actions necessary to ensure that certain individuals may update the burn pit registry with a registered individual's cause of death, and for other purposes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, in celebration of today say ``laissez les bons temps rouler.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1381.

During Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and in other parts of the world where American servicemembers were deployed, the Department of Defense exposed brave Americans to toxic fumes and dangerous chemicals by burning waste in open-air burn pits. Some of the waste burned in these open-air pits were human waste, Styrofoam, lithium batteries, tires, medical waste, and other toxic substances. Servicemembers had no way to avoid inhaling the smoke from these burn pits that were located on their bases, sometimes right next to their barracks.

When this committee held a hearing last year on burn pits, we heard from Leroy Torres, the founder of Burn Pits 360, who breathed in burn pit smoke while stationed in Balad Air Base in Iraq in 2007. When he returned home in 2008, he needed immediate hospitalization for lung disease.

Mr. Torres and other veterans suffering from medical conditions believed to be caused by exposure to burn pits are still fighting to receive healthcare and benefits because illnesses potentially caused by burn pit exposure still aren't recognized by the VA.

Research to understand the harmful effects these toxic substances may have had on military servicemembers is now underway. However, the totality of harmful health effects this dangerous practice may have had on servicemembers is yet to be fully known and understood, and it may take years for clinicians and scientists to understand the health effects or discover effective treatments for those who were exposed.

In an effort to better track the health effects these exposures had on deployed troops, Congress required the VA to create the open burn pit registry in 2012 to compile self-reported data on veterans who believed they were exposed to open-air burn pits while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This registry allows VA to easily communicate with this population of veterans, as well as track trends within the population that may indicate a need for further research into certain health concerns. However, the registry failed to provide, in it, the ability to report cause of death for veterans who are registered and then subsequently pass away.

Congressman Ruiz's bill, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act, would allow an individual designated by the veteran during the registry process or an immediate family member to update the veteran's file on the registry with a cause of death.

These additional data will allow researchers and the VA to identify trends, similarities, and correlations in this population that will better inform our research efforts on the impact these open-air burn pits have on the servicemembers who served in combat zones.

With the addition of more data to the burn pits registry, we hope this will help VA conduct groundbreaking research that will lead to prevention and treatments for toxic exposures, including exposure to toxic substances inescapably connected to military service.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from my colleague, the ranking member, about regular order. I can assure you we will discuss this subject further, and I appreciate and take to heart his comments.

At this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz), my good friend and the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Cunningham), my good friend and a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that we have three doctors who are either now or were associated with the Veterans' Affairs Committee and that they have supported this legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I fully associate myself with the remarks of the minority member of the committee. Again, I want to express my gratitude to the professionally trained physicians who have weighed in on this legislation and further commented about the importance of the electronic health records and the important oversight that was begun in the last Congress, which will continue in this Congress under my leadership.

I agree it is really important that we get those records to work properly and that the communication between the Department of Defense and the VA is functional.

I also think it is very important to make sure that we get those legacy records from the DOD wrapped into this whole package, because the service history, where our military servicemembers have served and what they

were exposed to, will provide a very important piece of information that will help us understand how toxic exposures have affected our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1381, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1271.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1271) to establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a pilot program instituting a clinical observation program for pre-med students preparing to attend medical school.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1271, the Vet HP Act. The Department of Veterans Affairs reported last month that it has 48,985 vacancies. That means about 10 percent of the positions at VA are unfilled.

Sadly, a majority of these vacancies are Veterans Health Administration vacancies. VA does not have enough doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other medical

providers and support staff to make sure veterans have timely access to the high quality healthcare delivered by VA. With shortages in areas like mental health and primary care, it can become increasingly difficult to maintain a facility's efficiency and quality. That is why it is so important that VA does everything it can to fill every last vacancy.

The committee is not blind to the challenge of meeting this laudable goal. Hospital systems throughout the country also face health provider shortages. Rural areas and some urban areas are often the most in need of providers. However, that should not be an excuse for inaction, and relying solely on community providers who also face shortages and lack the expertise and cultural competency to provide for veterans' specific healthcare needs is an incomplete, problematic, and high-cost solution.

The VA must work to recruit and retain talented and mission-driven clinicians and employees who are guided by one goal: to provide the best possible care to veterans when they need it.

The bill offered by Congresswoman Kaptur from Ohio is a creative and necessary step towards ensuring VA is able to fill each vacant position. The Vet HP Act seeks to expose undergraduate students considering careers in medicine to experience the VA healthcare environment directly. By allowing undergraduates to observe the work of staff at VA medical centers firsthand, the department can begin recruiting early--by sowing interest in students about the VA's mission and the healthcare, research, academic, and professional opportunities available to clinicians at VA medical centers. As an educator of 70 percent of the Nation's healthcare providers, VA can create an early familiarity with VA among students thinking about or preparing for careers in medicine.

Our Nation's future healthcare providers may be more likely to choose residencies at academic affiliates of VA medical centers and careers at VA if they are more familiar with VA's mission and are able to observe the improvements VA clinicians are able to make in the lives of those who have served our Nation.

Moreover, as the veteran population becomes increasingly more diverse, VA should strive to recruit students from backgrounds as diverse as the military and veteran population so that VA staff and clinicians reflect that growing diversity and are better equipped and able to understand the needs of the veterans they serve.

In an effort to create a pipeline of diverse, mission-focused students, this bill focuses specifically on students who graduated from high schools in health professional shortage areas, students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions of higher education that serve minorities, and first-generation college students.

Giving students this exposure to VA's mission will help address the VA's 48,985 vacancies so that it can continue to provide the healthcare veterans need.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who is my good friend and the author of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my colleague, the ranking member, about our effort to insert 1,500 medical residencies into the Choice bill. That was one of the great accomplishments of that particular Congress.

I would point out that we still face shortages nationally of physicians and specialists, and we face a great challenge with our medical workforce and our healthcare workforce, and that impacts the VA's ability to fill these positions.

I particularly want to highlight the gentlewoman from Ohio's comments about young people who do not have the connections to medical professionals, or they are not necessarily connected to the professional segments of our society where they might be exposed to what it means to be a medical professional and what it means to serve the VA's mission. I think that her insights and her experience and what she brings to this bill is a tremendous understanding of the need for those of our young people who come from lower incomes or who come from segments of society that could be left behind. We have Americans of great ability whom we need to recruit and expose to the opportunities that await them in organizations like the VA.

Let me just say that filling these vacancies is going to be a high priority of the committee and to poke, prod, cajole, and urge the VA to do what it needs to do to reform itself in order to make sure that these positions are filled. Let me emphasize that these positions are funded, that these are funded positions. They are empty, and that, to me, also indicates that we have a workforce training challenge before us.

H.R. 1271, offered by my colleague, Ms. Kaptur, is one of the necessary steps that we need to take in order to fill those vacancies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1271, the Vet HP Act, and I 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 insert extraneous material on S. 49.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 49) to designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the life of Major Brent Russell Taylor, who was killed in Afghanistan on November 3, 2018.

I thank my colleague, Mr. Bishop of Utah, for bringing this bill before us so that we all may be able to pay tribute to a selfless public servant.

Brent was born on July 6, 1979, in Ogden, Utah, the second of eight children of Stephen and Tamara Jones Taylor. Five of his brothers joined him in his military service in the Army National Guard.

At an early age, Brent showed his passion for business and politics. During his senior year at Chandler High School, he earned his Eagle Scout award and was elected student body president. He graduated in 1997.

Brent was a man of faith. He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he spent 2 years serving as a missionary for the church in the Brazil Maceio Mission from 1998 to the year 2000. This time of full-time service largely impacted the course of the rest of his life.

After his mission, Brent attended Brigham Young University, where he met Jennie Kristin Ashworth on a blind date less than a month after she returned from her own full-time service as a church missionary in the Chile Santiago North Mission.

They enjoyed a sweet courtship and were engaged on a Saturday in June of 2003. Brent enlisted as a soldier in the Utah National Guard the following Tuesday, with Jennie proudly by his side. They married on September 18, 2003.

In 2006, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant from Brigham Young University. He went on to work for the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Ground Intelligence Center, and the Department of Homeland Security. Over the course of 15 years, he served in the Utah Army National Guard, deploying four times in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2009, he was elected to further serve his community by sitting on the North Ogden City Council, and in 2013, he was elected mayor of North Ogden, Utah.

In 2018, Major Taylor, a Purple Heart recipient, left on his fourth deployment, acting as an adviser to the Afghan Border Police. He was the first known sitting mayor in Utah history to deploy for wartime service.

Tragically, on November 3, 39-year-old Major Taylor was killed in an insider attack by an Afghan trainee he was trying to help.

In addition to his wife, Jennie, Major Taylor is survived by seven children: Megan, Lincoln, Alex, Jacob, Ellie, Jonathan, and Caroline. He is also survived by his parents and several siblings.

In letters to his wife, Jennie, and his children, his comrade, Afghan Air Force Major Abdul Rahman, said of Major Taylor: ``He died on our soil, but he died for the success of freedom and democracy in both of our countries.

``Your father was a loving, caring, and compassionate man whose life just wasn't meaningful; it was inspirational.''

In his last message to his community on October 28, 2018, Major Taylor wrote: ``It was beautiful to see over 4 million Afghan men and women brave threats and deadly attacks to vote in Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in 8 years. . . . Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible.

``As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election next week, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote,'' he wrote, ``and that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us.''

As lawmakers, the least we can do to honor Major Taylor is to come together to pass S. 49 into law. His legacy of fighting to protect democracy and freedom and working to unite his community and all Americans must never be forgotten.

We can all learn from Major Taylor's example to serve, as he would say, ``whenever and however I can.''

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I owe a debt of gratitude to Major Brent Russell Taylor and the entire Taylor family for their service and sacrifice to our Nation.

I fully support this bill naming the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center in North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Utah, that our hearts go out to the families.

When I read the names of the seven children, it was a very difficult moment for me, and we certainly are paying tribute today to his family, his children, and his community of North Ogden, where he served as mayor. It is our tribute to him.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record three letters--a letter from Frank Maughan, Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, Department of Utah; a letter from G. Hayes Stromness, Commander of the American Legion, Department of Utah; and a letter from Nick Flake, Commander of the VFW, Department of Utah--all in support of S. 49.

November 9, 2018.

Chairman Phil Roe, M.D.,

House Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Tim Walz,

House Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz: Please accept

this letter as demonstrating the total support of the Utah

Department of the Disabled American Veterans, in recognition

of the ongoing initiative to change the name of the Veterans'

Center in Ogden, Utah to the Major Brent Taylor Veterans'

Center, in memory of Army National Guard major and North

Ogden mayor, Brent Taylor.

Major Taylor's model of selflessness in the areas of

military service and civic responsibility should be a shining

example for all Americans to follow.

Major Taylor began his military service in 2003, and later

received a commission as a second lieutenant from Brigham

Young University in 2006. He served in the Utah Army National

Guard for 15 years, during which he deployed four times in

support of US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His life of

service, however, was not limited to the armed forces, and in

2013 he was elected mayor of North Ogden, Utah. His devotion

to duty as a citizen soldier, in the tradition of George

Washington, Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. In 2018,

Major Taylor left on his fourth deployment, acting as an

advisor to the Afghan Border Police. Tragically, on Saturday,

November 3rd, Major Taylor was killed in an apparent insider

attack. He leaves behind his wife and seven children.

Today, the state of Utah, and the nation, grieve for Major

Taylor. We would like to honor his amazing legacy. To that

end we offer our full support, and encourage the committee to

support legislation renaming the Ogden facility as the Major

Brent Taylor Veterans' Center.

Sincerely,

Frank Maughan,

Commander, Disabled American Veterans,

Department of Utah.

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

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

I echo the comments of my colleague from Tennessee. We are a grateful Nation. I am privileged to take part in this tribute to Major Brent Russell Taylor, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a friend and someone I looked up to, Mayor Greg Pettis, of Cathedral City, California.

Motivated by his drive to fix the injustices that the LGBTQ community faced back in the late eighties, Greg took action and entered public life during a time when acceptance and understanding was not the norm. He inspired many, including me, by taking a courageous stance and living life as his true self, becoming Riverside County's first openly gay elected official. It was Greg's persistence that encouraged me to continue pursuing my passion to serve my community, regardless of the setbacks I faced as an openly gay person.

Though he was initially motivated by his passion to improve the lives of LGBTQ people, his lifetime of service brought justice to all people. As mayor of Cathedral City, Greg helped improve transportation infrastructure in his region and recognized LGBTQ veterans in his city by erecting a monument in their honor. If his memorial service was any indication, Mayor Pettis' legacy will live on for years to come.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I support this amendment because we want every veteran who may be eligible to receive no-cost childcare to be able to access it. If veterans don't know that they may be eligible to place their child in childcare while they attend their healthcare appointments, they may mistakenly think they will have to miss their healthcare appointments to care for their children.

When veterans are not aware of the healthcare benefits available to them, or don't know where or who to turn to for help, the result can sometimes be fatal.

When 20 veterans and servicemembers commit suicide every day in this country, and the VA under this administration only spent $57,000 last year out of the $6.2 million set aside for suicide prevention outreach, that is less than 1 percent. The administration's lack of commitment shows.

As VA's top clinical priority, we cannot allow VA to continue to fail in its duty to notify veterans of VA's mental health and suicide prevention services, and that is why I support this amendment.

If VA is not mandated by Congress to notify and conduct outreach to veterans, it won't do it. Many veterans who would benefit from cost- free childcare won't know it exists.

Mr. Chairman, I would also like to quickly add that Congressman Allred, a new member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, is expecting his first child any day now, so it is very appropriate that we are debating a bill today that will help so many veterans who are parents of young children.

I thank both Congresswoman Sherrill and Congressman Allred for offering this amendment, and if it is adopted, this committee will ensure VA conducts outreach and notifies veterans of their childcare benefits.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from Wisconsin for yielding.

I support this more amendment because we need to know how many veterans and children are eligible for no-cost childcare versus how many veterans and children are participating in this program.

Each region and medical facility should know how many veterans and children are eligible, and this report asks for VA to report this data in the President's budget submission to Congress so we can ensure VA is accurately reporting the resources it needs to make this a successful program.

Every 2 years, the VA would also be required to report other challenges and barriers veterans face, apart from childcare services that prevent veterans from receiving their healthcare at VA.

This report is also key to ensuring VA conducts the outreach and notifications to eligible veterans that would be required if this bill passes into law. This bill will require VA to assess whether lack of outreach by VA, or lack of awareness by veterans of this no-cost childcare program is a reason for lower participation.

This report would hold VA accountable for not doing everything it can to make this benefit available for the veterans who need it. I support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I support this amendment offered by Congresswoman Kuster, a former member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a tireless advocate for veterans in the State of New Hampshire. I am pleased that our colleague, Congressman Pappas from New Hampshire, has joined our committee so that we can continue to work on veterans legislation for the veterans of the State of New Hampshire and across the country.

This amendment will require the VA to establish criteria for childcare assistance for veterans who need to drive long distances or face other unique geographic challenges. I believe that this amendment would also address some of the concerns raised by our colleague Mr. Sablan from the Northern Mariana Islands, where veterans must cross the Pacific Ocean to access VA healthcare. I also thank the gentlewoman for including a technical fix for the underlying bill in her amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I support this amendment because veterans should be able to receive stipends for extended day programs for their children. Extended day programs are before- or after-school childcare programs that are generally less expensive than traditional childcare services and often include tutoring or other academic assistance to children.

If placing children in an extended day program is a convenient way for veterans to make sure their children are being cared for while they attend their healthcare appointments, we should support making this alternative and often less expensive childcare service available to them.

Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Will the gentleman yield?

The order of the amendments got reversed.

That is correct.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and let me also associate myself with the remarks of the ranking member. I thank Congressman Golden for his service and, more importantly, thank him for sharing his story so bravely and forthrightly on the House floor. I hope it will do much to encourage other veterans to seek counseling with the VA.

I support this amendment because the transition from military to civilian life can be a stressful time for many veterans. When veterans are simultaneously caring for children, it can be difficult for veterans, during this time when they may be looking for or starting a new job or starting school, to get the mental health services they need. They should not be worried about finding and affording childcare so they can receive mental health counseling and healthcare treatment when the VA can provide it at no cost.

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for offering this important amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I support this amendment because veterans living in rural or highly rural areas face many barriers to receiving healthcare. Childcare, whether for a lack of convenience or its high cost, should not be another roadblock for veterans who must sometimes travel great distances for their appointments.

This amendment would require VA to report to Congress on the effectiveness and accessibility of no-cost childcare for veterans living in rural communities. This report can, in turn, be used to find solutions for veterans who need both childcare and healthcare in rural communities.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I also thank the gentlewoman for her service in our military as a Navy pilot.

I support this very important amendment because veterans must be able to trust that childcare centers and childcare providers caring for their children will not place their children at risk.

At a very minimum, the veterans should know that when they receive their health services, their children are safe. This amendment would prevent an onsite VA childcare center, or any childcare agency that has a contract with VA, from employing anyone convicted of sex crimes, offenses involving a child victim, violent crimes, drug felonies, or other offenses.

Since State and local laws often have even stricter standards when it comes to who can be employed as a childcare provider, this amendment would not supersede those State or local laws or any contract or agreement that requires higher standards to be met.

At the very minimum, veterans who need childcare so they can see their healthcare providers must trust that those who are watching their children will keep their kids safe. I thank the gentlewoman for offering this very important amendment.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I support this amendment because veterans, especially women veterans, who have been victims of military sexual trauma, often need intensive healthcare services and mental health treatment that can require frequent appointments at VA medical centers, clinics, and vet centers.

Finding convenient, safe, and affordable childcare should not stop veterans from receiving treatment, especially veterans who are victims of sexual assault in the military and suffer from the lasting effects of that trauma.

This committee, through the Women Veterans Task Force, led by Congresswoman Brownley, will make access to care for women veterans and their specific healthcare needs a priority of ours. I support this amendment and urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise to support this amendment because it would allow the VA to consult with the Department of Defense on the implementation of this bill.

Since DOD provides childcare for servicemembers and their families, VA can look to DOD for best practices so that it can successfully and efficiently expand this program so that every veteran eligible for no- cost childcare while they are receiving healthcare services can access this benefit when they need it.

I thank the Congresswoman for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I might also add that I am pleased to see so many of the amendments that my colleagues offered today are adopted. I hope that when we vote on this much improved bill, it will pass with unanimous support so that I can advocate for its swift passage with my Senate colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Lamb), who was a former criminal prosecutor before he arrived in Congress.

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

Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, in the engrossment of H.R. 840, the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, spelling, and cross-references, and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the actions of the House in amending the bill, including the changes now at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 840.

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

Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 840, the Veterans' Access to Child Care Act.

We ask our servicemembers to risk their lives in service of our country, and in return, we promise to provide healthcare and benefits so they can live happy, healthy, and successful lives, and provide for their families.

As our veteran population becomes increasingly diverse, as the number of LGBTQ and minority and women veterans goes up, we must ensure every veteran has the opportunity to access their healthcare and benefits. Addressing underserved veterans is a pillar of my VA 2030 vision, which will drive our work on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the 116th Congress.

I proudly chose Congresswoman Brownley's Veterans' Access to Child Care Act as the very first bill our committee would bring to the House floor because it addresses a sometimes overlooked group of veterans: veterans who are parents and caregivers to young children.

Providing cost-free, safe, and convenient healthcare so that veterans can see a mental health provider for treatment of post-traumatic stress, military sexual trauma, cancer resulting from exposure to Agent Orange, spinal cord injury, or even treatment for drug or substance abuse is the least we can do to make their lives easier so they, in turn, can be loving parents and caregivers to the children who depend on them.

Under my leadership of the most diverse and talented Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the history of this Chamber, underserved veterans, especially women veterans, minorities, LGBTQ veterans, and veterans from our tribal communities, homeless veterans, and even deported veterans will be a top priority.

We will work together to shatter the barriers and structural challenges underserved veterans face in this country they selflessly served by first attending to their most basic and essential needs: healthcare.

Ms. Brownley, the chair of the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health and the head of the Task Force on Women Veterans, has been a tireless advocate for veterans since being elected to Congress. Her bill makes an already successful and popular pilot program permanent, a program that helps mothers, fathers, grandparents, and caregivers who need their VA healthcare, but struggle to find safe and convenient childcare or struggle to afford the high cost of childcare for their children.

A veteran should never be made to choose between caring for their children and their health. This bill will make sure veterans will no longer have to make this terrible choice.

The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act first authorized the pilot program we are making permanent today. Under the pilot, VA could provide childcare services to eligible veterans seeking mental healthcare, intensive mental healthcare services, and other intensive healthcare services that require veterans to travel to VA hospitals, clinics, or vet centers for regular or frequent appointments.

The first childcare program started at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo, New York, in October of 2011. Within 2 years, VA expanded the program to Northport, New York, and American Lake, Washington, and later brought childcare to Dallas, Texas.

The 2-year pilot program was meant to end in September 2013, but Congress has reauthorized the program for the past 6 years due to its success and popularity.

Since the beginning, over 10,000 children have used the childcare pilot program, and as more veterans and their children use the program, the cost decreased.

Last Congress, the legislation authorizing this program passed unanimously, and now we will have an opportunity to improve this already great bill with amendments we will be considering today and tomorrow. I am optimistic this bill will pass with the same bipartisan, unanimous support.

So I am very excited to work with Dr. Roe, the ranking member of our committee, on this bill and on future bipartisan legislation.

Before I give him a chance to share his thoughts on this bill, I would like to share one of the anecdotes we received from a social worker who helps homeless veterans under the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, otherwise known as the HUD-VASH program: ``Just this week a female veteran with a 3-year-old son discussed childcare with me. She was so relieved it was still open, because she scheduled a gynecological appointment that she was going to cancel because she had no one to care for her son.

``This is a veteran who came to us homeless with a newborn and unmanaged diabetes. She is now diligently following her medical regimen and consistently makes appointments. She is stably housed in the community, enjoying being a mother, attending college, and working part-time.

``I do not think we would have been able to stabilize her life without the support of childcare to allow her to get to her appointments and receive the treatment, medication, recommendations, and care that have helped her succeed.''

Now, as chairman of this committee, I look forward to sharing more stories of veterans throughout this country whose lives have been improved because of access to VA healthcare.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for his support of the bill. I would say, with regard to the amendments, we would have entertained more amendments. I would have been happy to do so had they been germane, and we would have been glad to entertain them, but they were not.

Before I yield to Ms. Brownley, the sponsor of this legislation, I include in the Record a letter of support from the Easterseals.

Easterseals,

February 6, 2019.

Hon. Julia Brownley,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Brownley: Easterseals is pleased to

again support your Veterans' Access to Child Care Act

legislation to increase the availability of child care for

veterans who are receiving services or treatment at a U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center.

Easterseals is a national network of more than 70 nonprofit

organizations who deliver local services to help children and

adults with disabilities, veterans, older adults and others

to live independently and to fully participate in their

communities. Easterseals is a leading provider of inclusive

child care and early education and development in the United

States, providing thousands of young children with and

without disabilities with high-quality child care.

Easterseals understands how important access to high-

quality child care is to allow parents, including veterans,

to go to work and to meet their own health care needs. That

is why we supported the establishment of a pilot program at

the VA to provide child care at select VA medical centers

around the country that qualified veterans could use while at

a medical appointment or while receiving medical services.

The program has been particularly helpful for female

veterans, nearly 30 percent of whom have children living at

home. A recent VA report found that 42 percent of female

veterans who use the VA reported that finding child care to

attend a medical appointment was hard or very hard. When

asked about solutions, more than three of out five female

veterans surveyed said on-site childcare would be ``very

helpful.''

The Veterans' Access to Child Care Act would expand and

make permanent the VA Child Care Pilot Program. The

legislation would make available a stipend, to cover the full

cost of child care provided by a licensed, on-site or private

child care center while the veteran receives services,

including travel time back and forth to the facility. The

legislation is a common-sense next step toward improving

access to VA health care to veterans.

Easterseals is pleased to support the Veterans' Access to

Child Care Act. In addition, Easterseals stands ready to

partner with the VA to provide child care assistance while

they attend to their well-being and medical care. Thank you

for your leadership on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Maynard Friesz,

Assistant Vice President,

Government Relations, Easterseals.

This bill is also supported by the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and other veterans service organizations. So I am pleased to say that we have heard the VSOs weigh in on Ms. Brownley's legislation.

Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), the author of the bill.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins).

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

We have the data to show how access to healthcare services improves and saves lives, but I think it is important that we also hear from the veterans and the providers whose lives have been improved by this program.

I would like to share another story from a childcare staffer in Buffalo, New York.

``Buffalo also has a World War II veteran, now 97 years old, who cares for his great-granddaughter. He heard of the service, stopped in to see the facility and ask questions to verify he felt `safe' in leaving her in their care. As primary caretaker for this child, he is so pleased to be able to attend his appointments at his `elderly age' and keep his family close.''

Let me also add, I want to address the reservation, although the ranking member has stated his general support for the bill, but this reservation about the legislation, H.R. 840, lacking a pay-for that was included in last session's legislation, and the pay-for that they said was necessary this time around.

I want to state that H.R. 840 simply makes permanent a program that we, as a Congress, have reauthorized six times since 2013. For none of those six times was the issue of a pay-for really germane. In fact, the CBO has never required that we do it.

The pay-for that the gentleman keeps speaking of will not pay for this program. It will simply take money from veterans and send it to the Treasury, and the VA, still under discretionary funds, will still have to find the money to pay for it.

Each of the six times we authorized this program, not once did my colleagues insist on a pay-for. Only when we are introducing legislation to make it a permanent program does this suddenly pop up as a concern.

In reality, even if we included the pay-for, the Treasury wouldn't see the funds for nearly a decade.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, just in response, the pay-for to which the gentleman from Tennessee is referring is under mandatory spending, which would not actually pay for the program. It would be returned to the Treasury, and the discretionary funds simply--there is no pay-for out of the discretionary funds. It is coming out of the mandatory side. It is a very illusory device.

So I want to reiterate that each time this pilot program was reauthorized under the majority, never was there a demand on their part that there be a pay-for.

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

Madam Chair, I wholly support Ms. Brownley's bill, H.R. 840. I urge my colleagues to join me in its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I support this amendment because, by clarifying that community-based outpatient clinics are covered under the bill, we are ensuring that veterans seeking healthcare services at any VA facility are able to receive no-cost childcare.

Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment to ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent according to Congress' intent.

I agree that childcare should only be provided to veterans when they are using the childcare to attend their healthcare appointments.

I thank the gentlewoman for working with me to make this amendment bipartisan and ensure it is clear to the VA that they cannot revoke this benefit from veterans for missing an appointment.

The intent of this amendment is not to be an incentive to access care. It is simply to make it easier for veterans to make it to their appointments. It will be up to us as lawmakers to keep close oversight over this program and many others at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This committee will keep close watch over the resources we provide and the programs we authorize at the VA. We will hold VA leaders accountable when these programs are not carried out according to congressional intent, or made in a haphazard and uninformed manner, or without the purpose of doing what is best for veterans.

I look forward to working with the gentlewoman and my colleagues on this committee to oversee the successful execution of this childcare program so any eligible veterans who need childcare can get it.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan).

Madam Chair, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

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

Let me say for the record that I believe, if a veteran is receiving care at a facility, in this case in Hawaii on travel from Saipan, that the intent of the legislation would provide that childcare for the time necessary for that veteran, and it would be at a VA facility. It would be childcare at a VA facility in Hawaii, in this particular case.

Madam Chair, in closing, I do urge that my colleagues support the amendment by Mrs. Radewagen, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I support this amendment because veterans are not immune from the opioid epidemic. They are not immune to alcoholism or substance abuse. When a veteran is also suffering from post-traumatic stress or other serious health conditions that may have caused dependency on a substance, we should do everything we can to make sure that veteran can receive care.

I thank the gentleman for offering this very important amendment, and I urge all my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, which would prevent additional VA hospitals and clinics from providing onsite childcare to veterans receiving care at VA hospitals and clinics.

VA only has four childcare sites throughout the VA system, and this amendment would prevent further expansion of the program by preventing a VA hospital or clinic from even doing basic things to provide convenient childcare, things like covering electrical sockets to make a facility safe for young children or putting up fencing around the playground so children can play safely.

As our colleague, Ms. Shalala, reminded us during the Rules Committee meeting yesterday, and as many parents of young children quickly learn, most private childcare facilities do not allow children to be temporarily dropped off for just a few hours. Childcare facilities need to know whether children are up to date on their vaccinations, have food allergies or other medical conditions to provide safe care.

This means VA must have the flexibility to determine how best to execute this program at each of its facilities throughout the country. If this means that it makes sense to build an onsite childcare center, VA should not be barred from doing so.

I think this amendment was written without considering its effects, which would limit further the expansion of the program and prevent veterans from being able to access childcare and their healthcare when they need it.

Any of us who have been on this committee long enough know that VA has had trouble managing major construction projects. Admittedly, this is what we know on the committee. And I am just as outraged as my colleagues across the aisle when VA construction projects are mismanaged and money is wasted. However, we are talking about minor construction that, in many cases, will be necessary to expand this program to all eligible veterans who need it.

There are other ways in which we can ensure the money for this program is not mismanaged, and it doesn't need to be something as drastic as preventing construction which will, in effect, prevent the program's expansion.

Now, I hope to work with General Bergman and my other colleagues on this committee to prevent mismanagement of construction projects, procurement of the $16 billion electronic health record, and other contracts and programs at the VA; and I pledge to work with the general to ensure funds for construction of childcare facilities are not wasted.

Mr. Chair, I must say that I have to urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I would just wish to point out to the ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, General Bergman, that his amendment would not even allow for the repurposing of existing facility space that may exist at a VA.

It is so rigid that it would be difficult to even put protective electrical sockets in to prevent young children from electrocuting themselves. Even minor construction would be prohibited by this amendment.

I am pleased to know that the general is serving on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and I do plan to work with the chairman, Mr. Pappas of New Hampshire, and him to make sure that VA money is well spent.

As I said, this amendment would simply prevent reasonable expansion of this program, and that is something that members of this committee and Members of this House would not want to see happen.

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

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I support this amendment because, by clarifying that vet centers are covered under the bill, we are ensuring that veterans seeking healthcare at any VA facility are allowed access-at-no-cost childcare.

Vet centers are particularly attractive to veterans who are uncomfortable in a more clinical setting, and they should be able to seek childcare while they receive their mental health care at a VA vet center.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment offered by the gentleman from Kentucky, a new member on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and I believe the co-chair of the Bourbon Caucus.

I agree that it is important to require that VA collect data on the effectiveness of its childcare program so we can determine whether veterans are better able to access their healthcare because of this benefit.

As the veterans population becomes increasingly diverse, the VA of the year 2030 that I envision must be prepared to provide healthcare to women veterans, fathers of young children, stepparents and grandparents, and to make sure veterans are able to access their healthcare while also caring for their children.

Congress and VA need reliable data to inform these decisions and determine whether other barriers to healthcare access exist for veterans who care for young children. If the data from this study demonstrates that veterans are less likely to miss appointments and have better healthcare outcomes, it could be used to inform further VA policy decisions to expand the program.

Mr. Chairman, I wholeheartedly support this bipartisan amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I support this amendment because it will allow Congress to receive the critical data and information it needs to determine how to expand this program and the feasibility of expanding this program to community-based outpatient clinics and VA centers, VA facilities that are away from the main VA medical center campuses but critical for veterans in rural areas to access their care.

While this bill specifically provides the no-cost childcare benefit to veterans receiving care from the VA doctors, nurses, and VA providers, I would like to work with my colleagues on the committee at a future date on whether it may be feasible to provide no-cost childcare to veterans receiving treatment from community providers, or even look at ways we can provide incentives to community providers to offer no-cost childcare on-site when they contract with the VA to provide care to veterans.

I thank the gentleman for offering this important amendment. I support it wholeheartedly, and I urge all my colleagues to do so as well.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I support this amendment because it provides an important clarification that veterans receiving physical therapy for a service- connected disability will be able to access no-cost childcare.

When 50 percent of the veterans treated in VA facilities suffer from chronic pain, physical therapy is a vital part of their treatment that will reduce their need for prescribing opioids. We are in the midst of an opioid epidemic in this country, and many of our veterans, sadly, suffer from opioid addiction because they were prescribed these powerful drugs to treat pain.

We should encourage other treatments like physical therapy, which can address the root cause of pain, and make it easier for them to access this care, which often requires multiple treatments over time.

I thank the gentleman for this important amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois, which would ensure either parent to a young child would be considered the primary caretaker for a child and, therefore, eligible to receive the childcare benefit.

This amendment is necessary, especially in instances when a veteran is receiving mental health services with a spouse. In instances like this, a veteran could not rely on the spouse to watch a child if it was important that a spouse participate in the treatment.

This will also relieve a significant administrative burden on VA and the veteran: As long as a veteran is a parent to a child and in need of childcare, that veteran would be eligible.

As lawmakers, we should strive to make sure that programs we authorize are not confusing to VA and conduct oversight to ensure our constituents are not confused when the VA rolls out a program. This amendment will make it more clear to VA and veterans that, in families where one or both parents are veterans, they are eligible for this childcare benefit when receiving services from the VA.

I support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I want to make note that we just have gotten a release that the VA has exceeded 1 million telehealth visits in fiscal year 2018. That one-year achievement represents a 19 percent increase over the previous year. I congratulate the VA for that amazing achievement.

I want to make known my support for my good colleague from the Northern Mariana Islands, Mr. Sablan's, amendment, because as VA expands its footprint--and we have just seen how it has expanded its footprint significantly--and that it remains at the forefront of providing treatment via telemental health services, we need to ensure that the VA has the ability to make those telehealth services as successful as their in-person services.

In districts like Mr. Sablan's where veterans are separated from VA healthcare services by the Pacific Ocean, telemental health is often the only manner in which veterans are able to receive mental healthcare from the VA.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for offering this very important amendment and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas.

I think all of us can recount concerns raised by our constituents about VA payment processing and late payments to healthcare providers.

Although I am not aware of any issues with respect to VA stipend payments to childcare providers under VA's pilot program, I do think it is important that VA report to Congress on whether it has experienced problems with making timely payments and ask for the resources to address payment processing.

The more data we collect from VA, the better we are able to determine what solutions and resources are needed to improve VA programs and services.

Mr. Chair, I do thank the gentleman for offering this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further speakers. I urge support for the gentleman's amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Madam Speaker, I rise today because what our country is going through is a disgrace: 800,000 Federal workers are going without a paycheck. They are suffering, and their families are suffering, all because the President wants a wall that is nothing more than a monument to hate. The American people are tired of this President's games.

Last night, I called some constituents who had contacted my office because they are furloughed due to the Trump shutdown.

I talked to a Forest Service worker from my district who has missed a paycheck and doesn't want to be used as a bargaining chip by the President.

I talked to another constituent who works at the National Archives and is experiencing the consequences of this shutdown. She knows that the longer this drags on, the more people who will get hurt.

Last night, I received a heart-wrenching message from a constituent who is experiencing hardship and needs to apply for assistance programs, but she can't because she can't even access the information she needs from the Office of Personnel Management.

This has to end. We have voted not once, not twice, but 11 times to reopen the government. Leader McConnell and the Senate Republicans have blocked these bills in the Senate every step of the way. To them, I say: Enough. Do your jobs, not the President's bidding. 800,000 workers and the rest of the American people demand it, and so do we.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of one of Riverside's finest citizens, Robert ``Bob'' Melsh.

Bob dedicated his life to community, to activism, and to making our society more just and equal for everyone. His commitment to the political process and to our democracy has been integral to the growth and political involvement in Riverside.

Through his work, he found a way to get everyone engaged and make everybody know their value in our democracy. He encouraged people to raise their voices and make sure elected officials listened.

Bob was an organizer. He knew what our community cared about; he fought for what we needed; and he was a force to be reckoned with. For Bob, social progress was inevitable but not without effort.

I had the honor to know Bob beyond the world of politics, and I will always remember him recounting his story of organizing a concert for the iconic Louis Armstrong, otherwise known as Satchmo, in Riverside.

Bob, I am going to really miss you. Riverside is going to miss you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today because nearly 500 Amtrak workers in Riverside are being forced to uproot their lives or lose everything they worked so hard for, a good, stable union job that pays them well and gives them benefits.

This nightmare scenario is born out of a sudden decision by Amtrak to shutter its call center in Riverside in what amounts to a union-busting maneuver to outsource jobs and replace these employees with contractors for lower pay.

Today, I want the Amtrak CEO to hear, not from me, but from Theresa Kolaras, an Amtrak employee in Riverside, and U.S. Army veteran, who will be losing her job on January 18 if Amtrak moves forward with this call center closure. And here is what Theresa had to say:

Growing up, it was my dream to serve my country. That's why

I joined the JROTC program in high school. And after 9/11, I

enlisted with the U.S. Army with hopes of making a difference

and happy to have a career. My job wasn't glamorous. I was a

Unit Support Specialist, MOS 92 Yankee. But I was proud to be

serving during a difficult time for our country.

Unfortunately, just as my platoon was readying to deploy, I

suffered successive fractures in my foot that wouldn't heal.

I was honorably discharged due to the injury and, just like

that, my dreams were cut short. At the time, nothing saddened

me more than having to watch my friends deploy without me.

Saddled with my foot that wouldn't heal, I now had to

figure out what to do with my life. Jobs were hard to find

due to having to choose ones that kept me off my feet so

much. I found many odd jobs here and there and, within a few

years, I finally started a family and continued my education.

In 2014, I was ecstatic to find out I was hired with

Amtrak, as I come from a railroad family, and was proud to

continue that tradition. Being able to work at our call

center in Riverside was a blessing for my family and me.

Amtrak's reputation for its passengers and its employees

gave me hope for a brighter future. Living in California is

nearly impossible, with its high cost of living, especially

being a single mother of two boys.

I was able to take care of my kids on the great benefits

and wages at Amtrak. My boys love the train and enjoy our

many trips we were able to take.

Now, on November 14, I got a sudden awakening as I got

notice that Amtrak would be closing our call center in

Riverside.

Amtrak reassured us employees our jobs were secure. As

months went by, Amtrak started closing stations, putting

employees out of work, and many of us in Riverside started to

worry about our jobs.

Now that feeling of worry is a reality, and we're left

wondering why Amtrak has been so dishonest.

Amtrak sent out a letter to us stating that they are not

laying us off, but we are able to go to its Philadelphia call

center.

Now, I count myself among the great majority that just

can't pick up on short notice and leave. I have small

children and share custody, and I can't legally move my kids

out of state.

I honestly have no idea where my children and I will go. We

have a month to figure out where to live, as I can't pay rent

without a job, along with this injury that I still deal with

every day.

I am one of the many employees who are at a hardship, and a

few days away from closing we still don't have any real

answers or hope that we will at least have a severance

package.

Amtrak has been quiet, and I am still in disbelief that

this was once a company that was known for its employee and

customer loyalty. Many of us loved our jobs because we were

proud of the railroad, proud to wear the name, and proud to

help our customers plan their trips.

Now, at work these last few days, I see people with despair

in their faces and loss of hope in their eyes.

I still have hope that Amtrak will wake up and realize that

the direction they are going is hurting its customers and its

employees, which are their biggest fans. This decision is

both ethically and morally wrong.

I would like to thank Theresa for allowing me to read her powerful statement to Amtrak's CEO.

As of today, 39 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, and I, as well as Senator Feinstein and Senator Harris,

have joined the Amtrak workers in this fight. We will do everything we can do to fight this closure until the bitter end.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6418, as amended, the VA Website Accessibility Act of 2018. This bill from Representative Esty mandates that the VA finally make all of its websites compliant for visually impaired individuals. This is a long-overdue action that the Blinded Veterans Association has tirelessly advocated for to make VA communications and information fully accessible to everyone, and I am proud to support this bill.

I have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 6418, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3444, a bill to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as the Douglas Fournet Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.

I support this bill from Senator Cassidy to name this clinic after Louisiana Medal of Honor recipient Douglas Fournet.

I have no further speakers. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of S. 3444, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3777, the Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act of 2018. This bill from Senators Boozman and Schatz will help keep the VA accountable as it moves forward to fix the issues it has run into in fully implementing the Forever GI Bill.

As we continue our oversight over VA's implementation of the Forever GI Bill, I am glad this bill provides us with more tools to do so.

I have no further speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of S. 3777, the Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act of 2018, and I yield back the balance of my time.