Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Madam Chair, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index is defined as ``the average change over time in the prices paid by urban customers.''

Now, let me say that again: Urban customers. What about the 46 million Americans who live in rural areas or the 2.6 million workers that are working on a farm or the 1.3 million in the military? They are crushed by inflation, as well.

Illinois' 12th District is one of the largest agricultural districts in the region. It is also home of Scott Air Force Base. But all too often, these hardworking, God-fearing patriots are ignored by the D.C. swamp.

The President can't ignore their needs simply because they don't live in liberal cities like New York, L.A., and Chicago, so my amendment is simple.

Since the spending patterns of military personnel, individuals in rural areas, and farm households are not included in the CPI, they must be taken into account separately in this report.

These are the individuals who produce the food on our kitchen tables, the ones who raise their right hand and swear to defend our Nation. They deserve to be represented, to be heard. My amendment ensures that they are.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, yes, because the definition itself describes that it is only urban and, therefore, not considering the issues, because I can guarantee you that the price and the situation that occurs in people's lives and the cost of living is completely different from one area to the other.

We are just saying that this should be taken into consideration, as well.

Will the gentleman yield?

It is my understanding, by the definition, that would be the case, that everyone should be considered. By this definition, it is not everyone that is considered, only urban.

By the definition that the Consumer Price Index is defined as the average change, over time, in prices paid by urban customers, not by all customers, which would include the people I was talking about, urban only.

Will the gentleman yield?

Let me explain it this way. The answer is, I don't know, nor do you, nor does anyone because we only use the urban. Therefore, the best thing we could do is include all.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Madam Chair, I appreciate the input from everybody involved, and I ask for positive consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, back in September, President Biden said the pandemic is over. In early January, he extended his public health emergency for COVID for the twelfth time. Now he says the public health emergency will end May 11.

The emergency's been ended, then extended, then expired, when all of us know that it hasn't existed for months.

I guess we can say now that COVID will magically disappear in May because he says so. Who knows? We might even get new guidance tomorrow. I guess the Americans should watch out.

The American people--regardless of what was said on the other side of the aisle--are tired of this. They want to get back to business as usual. The American people are fed up with shutdowns that killed our jobs and restricted our rights.

We are going to end this madness now; we need to, that is why I am a cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 200th anniversary of Marion County, Illinois.

Known as the ``Gateway of Little Egypt,'' Marion County was organized January 24, 1823, and was named in honor of Revolutionary War General Francis Marion. General Marion pioneered the use of irregular warfare against the British during the American Revolution, with his tactics forming a part of the modern-day military doctrine of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.

Marion County is closely tied to the livelihood and commerce of agriculture, the development and expansion of railroads, and the discovery of natural resources including coal and oil. Today, 95 percent of the more than 1,000 farms in Marion County are proudly family-owned, and they grow some of the best soybeans, corn, and wheat in the nation.

I congratulate the residents, churches, community leaders, farmers, families, and factory workers on their contributions to their county and country and commend the generations of dedicated Marion County leaders who made the last 200 years so productive. I look forward to the many achievements to come.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1948 and the VA Employee Fairness Act.

First, I really think that we need to take a moment to clear up some very confusing things on what this bill does.

Some have said that the VA medical staff are not allowed to unionize. That is not true. That is not true. Today, VA doctors, nurses, and dentists are allowed to collective bargain. Hundreds of thousands of medical staff are unionized.

But they are not specifically allowed to use union grievances procedures for matters of, and I will quote the law, direct patient care, clinical competence, peer review, and pay. These very specific exceptions were made for a reason.

The Secretary is responsible for ensuring veterans receive high- quality and timely healthcare. To do that, he or she must have the authority to make difficult decisions to keep hospitals running safely and to put veterans first. That is the Secretary's first mission, and he or she must continue to provide care even in the worst of times.

However, H.R. 1948 will tie the Secretary's hands, and I worry enactment of this legislation would put patients at risk. Let me say that again. Put patients at risk. The main goal of the VA is to take care of our veterans.

Now, for example, the Secretary may remove a provider from direct patient care because the care they are performing is substandard. I fear this bill would allow a third-party arbitrator to second guess--to second guess from a position that they are not trained in

the field that they are trying to second guess--the Secretary's decision to remove that provider from direct patient care.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle will argue that this is not going to happen, yet not one of them can say with 100 percent confidence that that is not the case. In fact, it may happen. Unfortunately, bad actors and subpar providers do exist, and when they harm veterans or pose a risk, they need to be removed from patient care quickly.

It is also not hard to believe that the expanded grievance process envisioned by this bill could paralyze hospitals over the issue of patient care, clinical competence, and pay.

In that scenario, care would be delayed; wait times would increase; critical illnesses would go undiagnosed; costs would go up; most importantly, veterans would suffer.

And the Secretary would fail to carry out the VA's first mission and responsibility to our veterans.

This is exactly why medical staff at major healthcare systems like Mayo Clinic, Kaiser, Intermountain Healthcare, and the Cleveland Clinic are generally not unionized and do not allow arbitration to be used over patient care.

Neither should VA. The care of my fellow veterans must come before everything else.

Now, I am going to tell you this because you need to know. I, myself, was a union firefighter, and I come from a union family, so I believe in our unions, and my concerns about H.R. 1948 do not mean I am blind to issues raised by unions at the VA.

Allegations that the Secretary is abusing his authority are something that I take very seriously. It is the job of this committee to conduct aggressive oversight to ensure veterans get the care that they need, and the VA workforce is treated fairly.

Unfortunately, my friends on the other side of the aisle did not take a critical look at the Secretary's use of his authority; there was no oversight hearing, there were no public investigations, no work to address the allegations made by the unions. Instead, my colleagues have moved forward to pass sweeping legislation to turn over Congress' responsibility to arbitrators. I can't support that.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to put veterans first and oppose this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, in response, as we have talked about the concerns we have heard from the employees, how do we really know the bill is needed? Because the Democrats have never, in nearly 2 years of working on this bill, they did not hold one oversight hearing. Not one.

They did not call the Secretary and answer the allegations that the group pushing for this legislation is asking for. They didn't conduct public investigations into those allegations. They simply passed a bill out of committee, on a party-line vote, over a year ago.

Madam Speaker, it is our committee's job to hold the Secretary accountable, and all of the administration,

over these employees. I would have gladly worked with the Democrats to do that. Sadly, that is not what happened.

Now, we are coming out here on the 11th hour of our last week or two of being here, and we are jamming through an 11th-hour bill with no clear idea that it does what my colleague says it does.

How can we support legislation like this in the last hour? That is why they call this lameduck. It is because we try to shove things through right at the last.

This has not been vetted. It did not have more hearings. We did not do our job when it came to what our job is on oversight. We could have handled this a different way.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, in closing, there are several things I will say about this bill. One of the most important things to realize is that these employees have something that other medical employees around this Nation don't have. They have the Committee on Veterans' Affairs to argue on their behalf, if problems occur; that we would give oversight and give guidance and direction to our Secretary.

Now, there are far too many questions that remain unanswered about

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the VA's PACT Act Week of Action. Since 9/11, nearly 3.5 million Americans have been exposed to burn pits and other dangerous substances during their time in military service.

It is critically important that they receive the care that they need before it is too late.

This week, we are raising awareness about the health benefits available to them as a result of the PACT Act being signed into law.

Southern Illinois veterans and their families can attend an event with the Marion VA tomorrow, Thursday, December 15, to learn about the care and benefits available to them, including toxic exposure screening, healthcare, enrollment benefits, and claims assistance. It will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Central Time, at John A. Logan College in Carterville.

Similar events will be hosted all over the region and all over the country, as well.

Now, the veterans need to know you can find out more information at VA.gov/PACT or by calling 1-800-698-2411.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage any and all of our veterans who would be eligible for this care to be proactive in getting the help that they need.

Recognizing Maria Tripplaar

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to celebrate the service of one of my staffers on the VA committee.

Mrs. Maria Tripplaar has been my staff director, counsel, and friend for the last 5 years as we have worked to deliver on the promises that we have made to our veterans.

Through her counsel and leadership, we have achieved landmark legislative wins for veterans, their families, and their survivors, particularly the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, the Isakson and Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act, the PACT Act, and so many other notable and worthwhile laws.

All the while, she was raising two young children and helping us do all of that.

Maria, thank you for your dedication to America's veterans and the success of our committee. We wish you well as you move to the next chapter of your life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California for yielding the time for me to speak today.

I rise in opposition to this legislation. This bill is unnecessary and creates additional carve-outs to an already broken immigration system.

Right now, DHS can't even do their job of securing the southern border and enforcing current immigration law. Just last month, we saw the highest number of got-aways ever at the southern border. That is 73,000 individuals that evaded Border Patrol.

DHS agents and staff are overwhelmed and overworked. We should not be adding more to their plate when they already struggle to secure the border.

Now, as a veteran, I greatly appreciate those who are willing to raise their right hand and swear to protect our Nation and our Constitution, and I served with many of them.

Even though an individual is a veteran, that shouldn't excuse or create an excuse for poor judgment or criminal activity, and I fear that this bill may encourage just that.

We already have a pathway for individuals who are serving our country in uniform to stay here in the U.S. and become citizens. Instead of this bill that we are debating today, we should improve the information provided to our servicemembers during the Transition Assistance Program on how to upgrade their immigration status. Making improvements to the TAP has been and will continue to be a top priority of mine.

During that time, we could explain to them, once again, how important it is to follow the laws and the Constitution, which they fought to uphold.

Next Congress, I plan to be working on the TAP to ensure a smooth transition to civilian life for all of our servicemembers, but on this bill, I urge a ``no'' vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2521, the Delivering Optimally Urgent Labor Access for Veterans Affairs Act of 2022, or the DOULA for VA Act of 2022.

Women are now our fastest growing group within the veteran community. More than 2 million women veterans live in the U.S. today. Many of them are within childbearing age.

In the last few years, the use of maternal services within the VHA has increased by 44 percent. The DOULA for VA Act would require VA to conduct a study to provide doula services for pregnant veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system.

Mr. Speaker, a doula is a trained companion who provides physical and emotional support to women before, during, and after childbirth. They also offer guidance and educational support for new mothers. However, doulas are not medically trained professionals, and there are no certifying or licensing standards for doulas, which is why it is imperative that doulas meet the minimum quality and safety standards set forth by the VA.

This bill will provide VA and Congress with valuable insight into the trade, and I ask all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2521.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage all my colleagues to support the bill, 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 H.R. 4601, as amended, the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act.

This bill would provide VA the authority to award grants to States and Indian Tribes to improve outreach to veterans and their families about the benefits they may be eligible for.

H.R. 4601, as amended, would prioritize grants to the areas that have large populations of underserved veterans and high rates of suicide. Additionally, this bill would help county and Tribal VSOs assist veterans with preparing and presenting their disability compensation claims.

With the implementation of the PACT Act right around the corner, it is imperative that Congress provide local VSOs with the resources they need to assist veterans with their claims.

Every veteran deserves access to the same wraparound help with their benefits regardless of where they live. Congressman Levin and Congressman Rosendale's proposal would do exactly that.

I also want to point out that this bill has a mandatory cost because of toxic exposure funds created by the PACT Act. Now, I am happy to see the cost is now fully offset rather than swept under the rug.

Congress must find a permanent solution to the toxic exposure fund scoring problem before we use up all of our offsets and become unable to move additional legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to work toward that solution, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 4601, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, 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 H.R. 4772, as amended, the Mark O'Brien VA Clothing Allowance Improvement Act.

The clothing allowance program was created to give veterans the financial means to replace clothes that have been damaged due to their service-connected disability. For example, a veteran who has a prosthetic or uses a wheelchair may wear out their clothes quickly and need to replace them often.

Yet, under current law, veterans who qualify for the clothing allowance must go through a tedious process of reapplying every year to receive their benefit, even if their condition is unlikely to change.

H.R. 4772, as amended, would streamline the process for veterans receiving a clothing allowance by making the renewal process automatic.

To ensure proper oversight of this program, VA would be required to reevaluate the veteran 5 years after they have received the benefit to determine eligibility for the clothing allowance. If a veteran has a more permanent condition, such as an amputation, VA would have the authority to exempt the veteran from regular reevaluations.

I support these commonsense changes, which would simplify the clothing allowance program and reduce the paperwork burden on our veterans, and I am glad to see the cost of the bill is also fully offset. I thank Congressman Levin and Congressman Moore for their leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 4772, 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 H.R. 5943, as amended, a bill to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Greenville, South Carolina, as the Lance Corporal Dana Cornell Darnell VA Clinic.

Lance Corporal Darnell was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and joined the United States Marine Corps on his 18th birthday. While he was deployed to the Republic of Vietnam in 1967, his unit was engaged in a mission against Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces in Quang Tri Province. His patrol was ambushed by enemy forces using heavy small arms and automatic weapons fire.

In the chaos that ensued, his mortar gunner was knocked unconscious. Displaying courage in the face of extreme danger, Lance Corporal Darnell quickly retrieved the mortar.

Despite being unable to set the mortar up properly, he continued to fire at the enemy. When he ran out of ammo,

he moved from man to man, collecting more ammo until the enemy guns fell silent.

When Lance Corporal Darnell's unit was ordered to withdraw from the area, he dragged two marines to safety and refused to evacuate himself. He stayed back to tend to the wounded.

Lance Corporal Darnell died 2 days later, on April 26, 1967, at the age of 19. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his selfless sacrifice and act of courage in combat.

Lance Corporal Darnell's service to our Nation is truly worthy of honor. Semper Fidelis.

Naming this VA facility after the Greenville native son and hero will serve as a reminder and an inspiration to all who seek care there. It will also ensure that his story of service is never forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 5943, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Timmons).

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill and honor the lance corporal by naming this facility after him.

Mr. Speaker, 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 H.R. 7158, the Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act.

H.R. 7158 would give VA the authority to grant payments to non-VA entities for veterans who require long-term care in medical foster homes. A medical foster home is a private home, not an institutional facility, where trained caregivers provide wraparound care and service to patients.

VA inspects and approves medical foster homes and enrolls veterans in the VA Home Healthcare Program. But under current law, VA is not authorized to pay for veterans' medical foster home care. Veterans must cover the bill themselves, even if they would otherwise be eligible for a VA-run nursing home facility.

Now, medical foster homes are a more cost-effective alternative to nursing home care. They typically cost between $1,500 and $3,000 a month, compared to a typical $7,000-a-month cost in a nursing home.

Allowing veterans to age with dignity and being comfortable is something that I care deeply about, and this bill is a critical step towards helping us to do just that.

However, this is another bill that CBO gave a large mandatory score to because of the toxic exposure fund. We were able to fully offset this score, but we won't be able to do that for every piece of legislation. Our offsets are quickly running out, and we have to solve the scoring problem before the work of our committee grinds to a complete halt.

This bill is supported by the VA and numerous VSOs, and I thank Congressman Higgins for his tireless work on it.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support H.R. 7158, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the chairman as we move forward to try to cure that problem that we were just talking about.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), a great Member, who has worked hard on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the service of one of my staffers on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Ms. Samantha Gonzalez has dedicated over 10 years of her career to our Nation's veterans, their families, and their survivors. She started on the committee as an intern and has worked her way up to being the communications director and senior health policy adviser.

Samantha helped craft messages and advance a number of bills supporting veterans and their families--notably, the Choice and VA MISSION Acts, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, the PACT Act, and so many more landmark pieces of legislation.

There is no doubt that the entire veteran community is better off because of her tireless work on their behalf.

I thank Samantha for her commitment to America's veterans, and wish her the best of luck in her next adventure. She will be missed.

national suicide prevention awareness month

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind everyone that while National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is concluding, we cannot afford to lower our guard. It dismays me that still so many veterans take their lives every day.

In 2020, approximately 16 veterans died by suicide daily, another year with more than 6,000 veteran suicide deaths. We must stay vigilant.

It took an incredible amount of work to get the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program passed in legislation through Congress. I am pleased that the first grants were awarded just last week.

Now, 80 community-based organizations in 43 States, D.C., and American Samoa will receive funding to provide or coordinate suicide prevention services for veterans and their families where and when they need it.

Many veterans either cannot or will not access the VA, but their community knows how to find them, how to get them out of isolation and out of trouble and get them the care that can save their lives and offer them a future of hope. I am excited to see just what these grants can do.

celebrating the life of richard martin

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Richard Martin, a good friend and great man who passed suddenly this week.

You get to know people very closely in stressful conditions. Well, many of you know that I was a professional firefighter, and Richard always had my back.

Richard and I both served on the Murphysboro Fire Department. Richard served with the department for 32 years, from 1984 until 2016. During that time, he was a member of the Firefighters Pension Board and served as the treasurer and president of the Murphysboro Firefighters Local 3042.

Never fully retiring, he went on to become the southern district's legislative representative for the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.

Richard was dedicated to his family, his friends, his career of service, our hometown, Murphysboro, and the community. Our prayers are with his family, including daughter Olivia and sons Eli and Zeke during this difficult time.

He was a close friend. He will be missed tremendously. His ability to teach others the art of fighting fire and doing it safely and the number of lives that he saved and the amount of property he saved will not be forgotten.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the AUTO for Veterans Act, as amended.

This bill would help severely disabled service-connected veterans purchase and adapt a vehicle 10 years after they purchased their first one. Current law only provides veterans with the funds for one vehicle during their lifetime. We all know that the life of a car is not infinite. Maybe my father didn't, but most people do.

For too long, disabled veterans have had to drive vehicles that have logged hundreds of thousands of miles. This bill would help a deserving population with the safe and reliable transportation they need. I am also pleased that this bill is fully offset.

The underlying bill is very similar to H.R. 1361, the AUTO for Veterans Act, which was introduced this Congress and last by our colleague, Congressman Meuser. While I would have preferred that we consider his version today, this bill will help many disabled veterans, and it has my full support.

I thank the PVA and the DAV for their continued advocacy for this proposal.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

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

Madam Speaker, I reluctantly support this bill.

Food insecurity is an issue that impacts thousands of veterans every year. Veterans continue to suffer from skyrocketing food prices caused by the economic mistakes of the Biden administration.

While I support bringing more attention to veteran hunger, I am skeptical that this bill is the correct solution. The bill before us today would try to address these issues by creating a new office of food security at the VA. The VA has also already told us that they were working to set up an office at the VHA dedicated to food insecurity.

I look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to modify the language in this bill to match the Department's efforts.

That said, I am pleased by the changes that were made today to improve on the text. All considered, I reluctantly urge all of my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, 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 reluctant support of the Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act. Last Congress, my bill, H.R. 7445, proposed expanding VA home loan benefits to members of the National Guard who have served on Active Duty or full-time guard duty.

Congressman Ryan's bill would expand the home loan benefit to members of the National Guard that are on Federal Active Duty orders for training. Unfortunately, this policy is being rushed in an election year gimmick.

Unlike other bills we are considering today, this bill has not had the benefit of legislative hearings, and I would have liked to have heard the views of the VA and other stakeholders. A hearing would have allowed us to understand the impact this legislation could have on the mortgage markets. It would also have provided insight on the effect this bill could have on recruitment of National Guard Active Forces.

That said, I do not want to stand in the way of legislation that can help members of the National Guard, and I reluctantly urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

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