Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, for 230 years, soldier citizens of the United States Army have answered the call to duty as guardians and defenders of America's Freedoms. Millions of these United States Army veterans selflessly served this nation. Their legacy of duty lives and grows ever more glorious in their continuing support of the United States Army mission and their service to country.

The United States Army recognizes and appreciates the sacrifices these courageous men and women have made in answering their nation's call to duty by choosing a life of service and fidelity to the values of their service. The people of the United States of America also recognize that they have incurred a great debt of gratitude to their soldier citizens, and to their spouses and families who support them as they serve us in the defense of freedom. America owes thanks to the employers who support the soldier citizens among their workforce, and to the veterans who stand by those who now wear the uniform.

General Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's Chief of Staff, has said, ``Soldiers and their families demonstrate the value of teamwork at home and in the field, ensuring that our Army is truly an Army of One.''

The United States Army has created a program called Freedom Team Salute to recognize the essential contribution of these supportive spouses, families, employers, and veterans. Any soldier may nominate a spouse, family member, or employer for Freedom Team Salute recognition. This recognition includes a special Army lapel pin and decal, and a letter and certificate from the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Army. Veterans of Army service may also register for Freedom Team Salute recognition at the program's website: www.freedomteamsalute.army.mil. I commend General Schoomaker and Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey for their leadership of our Army and for the Freedom Team Salute program. I ask all Americans to continue their support of our men and women in uniform as they defend freedom, and I commend to them the use of this excellent program as means of expressing their own gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, the completion of the Hoosier Heartland Corridor gets another step closer today with the House passage of the FY 2006 Transportation Appropriations conference report.

For over thirteen years, I have worked with many others in a bipartisan effort across

north-central Indiana as this project has developed from a design plan, to the first groundbreaking, to this latest step in bringing efficiency and safety to North Central Indiana. I commend Congressman Chris Chocola who has provided leadership in the completion of this project and commend the $1.3 million he secured for the Cass County-Carroll County segment.

Included in this bill is a $1.5 million designation for the Hoosier Heartland's most dangerous segment yet to be completed between Lafayette and Delphi. This project continues to be a priority for me and many other community leaders and elected officials along the route.

Also included in this conference report is $750,000 to continue the Lafayette Bus Replacement plan that I have worked on the past several years with CityBus's Marty Sennett and State Senator Brandt Hershman. Earlier this year the, Transportation Authorization bill included $500,000 for FY 2006 and this appropriation places us on schedule to meet $2.5 million by FY 2009.

Finally, Johnson County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state and significant traffic congestion exists and will only get worse. To assist in local efforts to keep traffic moving and doing so safely, $1 million is included in the conference report to help ease this congestion through a feasibility study for the proposed East/West Corridor. These investments in Indiana's infrastructure will improve safety and efficiency and create opportunity for Hoosiers.

Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for Mr. Murtha and Mr. Hunter. And I am uncomfortable when Mr. Murtha talks about one political party rallying round something. I do not want Republicans or Democrats rallying around anything. You moved me when I was in my office and you talked about going to Arlington. All of us have been there; all of us have been to our Nation's cemeteries and seen the white crosses and Stars of David.

The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown) and I were privileged to represent our country this past May, and I am sure Mr. Murtha has been there, standing on the cliffs of Normandy at Omaha. We gave the Memorial Day address representing our Nation. I was there with my 20- year-old son, and I could feel the envy of souls because I thought about what their last thoughts may have been. And then as I strained among these thousands of graves, if I permitted the eyes of my mind to have a vision I could actually see, if I permitted the ears of my heart to listen, I could hear.

And what did they say? They said, What we did on this day was worthy. You see, they came to a continent to free it from tyranny on that day. They came to a land where they had never been to fight for a people they had never met. Does that not yet sound familiar?

And we speak of the sacrifice of what we refer to as the greatest generation. How are we now yet defining ourselves when our men and women are faced with something very similar.

We should be here tonight talking of our strategy of victory, defined by our perseverance to an enduring freedom throughout the world. To discuss withdrawal from Iraq tonight before our mission is complete is the wrong strategy at the wrong time. Why? Because freedom is on the move.

We, the people of the United States, we are a great Nation with a great vision. We seek to preserve the blessings of liberty for our citizens and for all those around the world who recognize the God-given right of freedom.

Today our Nation is truly engaged in an epic struggle for freedom in Iraq. Whether you believe how we got there is true, the struggle among us is evident here tonight. What we do not want is what Mr. Hyde referred to as our enemies to take advantage of our weaknesses. The painful lessons, whether it was Vietnam or Lebanon or Somalia, North Korea, Iran, al Qaeda, they watch, and it is part of what they want to do to envelope our weakness.

You see, Clausewitz had it right. He said, The use of our military force is the instrumentality of a political decision. We then expect our military to act on the field of battle with great valor, courage and commitment. You see, they are an extension of us. And in return, our soldiers ask what of us? Loyalty. And they expect us to have the very same resolve that we expect of them; that in battle, they look at us and say, when it gets hard, when it gets tough, can you hang with us, Congress? That is a very pertinent question for a soldier to ask of us.

So I respect Mr. Murtha, but this is the wrong time for your resolution, sir.

Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. Murtha, I apologize to you. I know you have a resolution. That is what I was referring to. I recognize we are debating Hunter, and I apologize to you, Mr. Murtha.

Mr. Speaker, some say the measure of a man is the depth of the footprint he leaves behind. Malcolm Melville Lawrence, known as ``Mac,'' left a deep footprint on the community of Francesville as a war hero, community leader, and a teacher.

Born on a farm in Wheatfield, Indiana, Mac attended Purdue University on scholarship where he pursued a degree in Vocational Agriculture, Education, and Science. Despite being denied acceptance into the ROTC program at Purdue, Mac was drafted 5 months after graduating from college and immediately called to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis to serve his country.

It may be insufficient to say Mac simply did his duty. Landing on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, with so many other young men from the greatest generation, Mac served as a Medic alongside the 1st Battalion, 18th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. Mac was awarded the Silver Star for valor, two Purple Hearts, and two Bronze Stars during five campaigns in World War II.

After the war, Mac and his wife Phyllis moved to Francesville where he began teaching at Francesville High School in 1946. Mac was beloved by his students for his patience and dedication to his craft, teaching everything from vocational agriculture to industrial arts. He finished as an administrator after more than 30 years in education.

Mac was the kind of person every community needs. Whether it was his service to his country or community, Mac asked nothing in return. He served on the library board, was active in Future Farmers of America, and participated in 4-H for 25 years: He was a pillar of the Francesville community and deserved every honor bestowed to him. Though he left this world on July 8, 2004, his legacy lives on.

I welcome the opportunity to further honor Mac Lawrence with the naming of the Francesville Post Office, the Malcolm Melville ``Mac'' Lawrence Post Office. Leading by quiet example while he was living, Mac deserves resounding recognition after death.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1234) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2005, the rates of compensation for veterans with service- connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and

indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Nevada for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, S. 1234 is the Veterans' Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2005. It is one of the more important pieces of legislation that the Veterans Committee brings to the floor each year. Similar language was included in H.R. 1220, which passed the House on July 13, 2005, by voice vote.

Briefly, S. 1234 would authorize a 4.1 percent cost-of-living increase effective December 1, 2005, for veterans with service- connected disabilities and their survivors. The Committee on Veterans' Affairs concurs with the language in S. 1234, and I ask my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank Ranking Member Evans for his work and cooperation on this legislation. I would also commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, for their work to ensure that disabled veterans and their survivors receive a cost-of-living increase, as well as the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle: Paige McManus, Chris McNamee, and Mary Ellen McCarthy. I also want to thank my colleagues in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that all Members will support this bill.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 1234.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to take a moment and thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) and thank him for working with me and his staff.

I also failed to mention the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), the chairman of the Budget Committee, and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), who worked cooperatively together to make sure that the budget had a place holder so we could have this. This came in a little higher than what we anticipated, and I want to thank the chairman of the Budget Committee. He has got a tough job in laying out the budget and sending the numbers to everyone, and he did yeoman's work. I am really proud of Chairman Nussle and Mr. Spratt.

I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee and also the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).

Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3665, the Veterans Housing and Employment Improvement Act of 2005, as amended. This is a bipartisan bill that as amended also includes provisions from Chairman Boozman's H.R. 3279, the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2005, Ranking Member Herseth's H.R. 1773, the Native American Veteran Home Loan Act, and Mr. Simpson's H.R. 419, the Hire Veterans Act of 2005.

Title I of this bill, as amended, would improve the flexibility of the VA's Adapted Housing Grant Program, and make the Native American Veterans Home Loan Program permanent.

Title II of the bill would extend the life of the President's National Hire Veterans Committee (PNHVC), which was created by Public Law 107-288 to improve industry's awareness of the value inherent in increasing the number of veterans hired by the private sector. The Committee determined that a one-year extension of the PNHVC's three- year authority for purposes of winding down its operations, in addition to providing opportunity for added oversight, would be an appropriate way to ensure that the Department of Labor integrates the positive aspects of the PNHVC into its future activities.

Title III of the bill would reauthorize the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP), which is administered by VETS. Based on testimony and meetings with HVRP providers, the program appears to be one of the more successful homeless programs in government by rehabilitating and finding jobs for the most difficult to place population of veterans.

Title IV of the bill would also make technical, clarifying, and conforming changes to new section 1980A of title 38, the Traumatic Injury Protection program, which was established in the supplemental.

Madam Speaker, as Chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I would like to thank the Ranking Member of the Committee, Mr. Lane Evans (IL) for his cooperation in moving this legislation to the floor. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Mr. Boozman (AR), and Ms. Herseth (SD), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, through whose leadership and hard work, this legislation has come before the House. Its timing is especially propitious, the day after tomorrow being Veterans' Day.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of representing the city of Knox in Starke County for ten years in Congress, and though it is no longer in my congressional district, it is a town that remains special to me. It is a community filled with tight-knit families who support one another through good times and bad.

What is so fitting about naming Knox's post office for Grant Green is that it is not only a tribute to the people of Knox, but to the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service.

Grant Green lived nearly his entire life in Knox where he raised his family, was a model citizen, and dedicated himself to public service.

It is that public service for which he is best known. For 50 years, he served the people of Knox as a postman.

Now, in these days of instant communication and relatively inexpensive travel, it is sometimes easy to overlook the vital role that the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service have played for our communities, especially our rural communities.

Communities such as Knox may have small populations, but they are typically surrounded by family farms. In decades past, postmen may have been the only outside contact that those families had for weeks. Their arrival and what they brought, not only in the mailbag but also in news from town to town, was vital and eagerly awaited.

For 50 years, Grant Green was the link to the outside world for many families and we honor his service today with the naming of the new Knox Post Office.

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank Chairman Hunter for arranging for this opportunity to comment upon the remarkable honor and valor of our United States soldiers.

One thing that I reflect on is the high quality of leaders in our military that we are producing right now in Iraq. We have 1st lieutenants with two tours under their belts already. The seamlessness with which our Guard and Reserves fight alongside our active duty is another tremendous evolution benefiting this conflict and paving the way for future military successes. We are making a significant investment in world peace with the strong commitment of our men and women overseas. These brave soldiers fight in a land they've never been for people they've never met to extend the fundamental rights of liberty.

The Middle East is yet another test of this commitment to liberty. Liberty is defended by the vigilant who are willing to sacrifice to defend freedom and stabilize the country's civil institutions. In January of this year, 2005, over 8 million Iraqi citizens voted and reaffirmed only weeks ago with the ratification of their constitution. What a pleasure it was to observe the Iraqi people defying intimidation and threats to define the course of their country's destiny. This dignity, denied them for decades, was afforded to them by the efforts of those people we honor today.

As Veterans Day approaches let us not forget that the men and women serving today will join the ranks of those who have selflessly served this same mission to bring these freedoms to all people. We have ensured that men and women, active and reserve soldiers from each service, return to a grateful homeland eager to honor their service and sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4061) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the management of information technology within the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing for the Chief Information Officer of that Department to have authority over resources, budget, and personnel related to the support function of information technology, and for other purposes.

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

Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4061, the Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act. I, along with the committee's ranking member, Lane Evans, along with other members of the committee, introduced this legislation on October 17 of 2005.

Over the last several years, the Veterans' Affairs Committee has worked extremely hard on this groundbreaking legislation. We believe its passage will greatly assist the VA to improve its efforts to achieve the one VA mission. The VA has long had a problem with stove- piped administrations that veterans must deal with as though they are separate parts of the government.

Since coming to Congress, I have witnessed the VA's inability to adequately manage its IT funding and IT modernization efforts. In fact, the VA's IT modernization efforts go back at least 20 years, to 1985 when it was the policy of the Veterans Administration to provide ``better service to the veteran through modern technology.''

Unfortunately, the Department has annually requested and spent billions of dollars without accountability or measurable performance outcomes on IT modernization, and America's veterans are still waiting for the ``one VA.''

According to GAO, the VA spent approximately $10 billion over the last decade alone for VA IT spending, and this is probably a very conservative figure. Historically, the VA has included funding for IT in its general administration accounts of each of the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemetery Administration.

What that really means is that the VA has been spending billions of dollars on three separate IT infrastructures within the Department. For example, the Health Administration, the autonomy is downstream to the VISIONS and then on to the hospitals with their own operating systems.

To take a second example down further is what happened with Katrina when they took the medical records from New Orleans and they then transferred them within the same VISION, VISION 16, and downloaded the medical records at the Houston VA. They had to be reconfigured when they were brought to Houston. That is just within a same VISION.

To make matters worse, these three separate IT infrastructures within the VA cannot efficiently and effectively share important information. For our veterans this is a significant and unacceptable convenience.

Ultimately, centralizing the VA IT organizational structure will allow the VA to better serve our veterans. The VA absolutely needs to modernize its IT, both in hardware and software, and it should be the vehicle and tools of efficiency.

When there is truly One-VA with modern IT support, it will provide a seamless transition of our military being treated at the VA hospital as he or she move in and out of that system, whether it be back to active duty status or to veterans status. We will also improve timely medical appointments and reduce waiting time. It will foster better patient safety through updated and correct medical data. It will have faster and more accurate claims processing and afford timely benefits delivery of all VA benefits, such as VA home loans and GI Bill education benefits.

Equally important, the cost of VA's inability to manage its IT programs and initiatives has resulted in some significant IT failures: as much as $600 million-plus for a decade of VETSNET, the automated compensation and pension claims processing system that still has not been implemented after 10 years of development efforts; $342 million for CoreFLS, the failed financial management system; $300 million for the HR Links, the failed automated personnel system; $485 million annually to maintain VISTA, VA's 25-year-old medical information system.

In 1996, Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, legislation that created the position of chief information officer for Federal agencies. The provisions of the bill were later renamed the Clinger-Cohen Act.

In 2001, 5 years after this mandate, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the last Cabinet-level Department to comply with the requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act and appoint a full-time chief information officer.

In 2003, then-Secretary Principi directed VA to centralize its IT processes to better align IT management. It did not happen.

In 2004, the VA hired Gartner Consulting, a Fortune 500 IT consultant, to analyze and review its IT infrastructure and processes. In testimony before the Veterans' Affairs full committee in September 2005, Gartner testified that the VA's IT budgets are very fluid, without much accountability on how and when funding is spent. Gartner analyzed several organizational models, including no change or the status quo to help VA resolve its IT issue.

Two of the models have the greatest potential application to the VA. One that the VA advocated is called a ``federated model,'' where centralized planning, technology operations, and budgeting/financial are controlled by a chief information officer with business applications developed and supported by application teams in each business line. But it still preserves the stovepipes.

Then you have what is called the ``centralized model,'' where all VA IT is organized into a single entity reporting to a chief information officer. Key functional entities reporting directly to the CIO include business applications, infrastructure and operations, customer relations, enterprise architecture, data and information management, security management, and IT finance.

According to VA's own consultant, the centralized approach provides the greatest opportunity to successfully execute the One-VA mission objectives. It maximizes asset utilization and achieves economies of scale across all of VA by managing the infrastructure

through a central function; and through common organization, it will more rapidly mature the IT investment management processes across the VA's IT program portfolio. The bill in front of us is the centralized approach that has also been endorsed by Gartner Consulting to the VA.

Furthermore, Gartner testified that the centralized approach could save the VA $345 million annually, or more than $1.7 billion over 5 years.

Gartner also estimated that the cost to VA for reorganizing IT will be $14 million. Even if the implementation cost is doubled and the estimated savings are too optimistic and halved, the return on investment will be approximately three to one, and this is from one of the leading IT consultants in the world, the very consultant on which the Fortune 500 companies rely.

Despite these findings and recommendations, the VA has now decided to adopt a federated approach and they really do not need Congress to act, that we are going to do this all on our own. Quite frankly, VA's plan looks like the Department wants to carry on, really, business as usual, but give it a title. On a bipartisan basis, we find this completely unacceptable.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am also putting the Department on notice.

My advice to the Under Secretary of the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Perlin, is to cease and desist in his staunch efforts to push for this federated model.

My advice to the Under Secretary of the Veterans Benefits Administration, Admiral Cooper, is to stop his efforts to adopt a federated approach.

My advice to the newly designated Under Secretary of the National Cemetery Administration, William Turk, is not to proceed with the federated approach.

Earlier this year, the Veterans' Committee recommended that Congress withhold $400 million for VA IT because the Department has poorly managed its major IT initiative. Furthermore, the Department has not held anyone accountable when multimillion dollar projects fail.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my distinguished colleague and the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs (Mr. Walsh) for adopting our recommendation and withholding $383 million from the fiscal 2006 budget.

If the Department of Veterans Affairs continues down this path of disregard for this legislative body, we have no choice. We will continue to recommend withholding a portion of VA's IT budget until the CIO is allowed to instill a disciplined and accountability approach to the VA's IT budget and that it be done on a centralized approach.

Congress should not tolerate the continued mismanagement of the precious veterans resources on failed IT programs within the Department. Allow the CIO to do his job.

Ultimately, this bill will empower the CIO with the authority over IT's budgets, equipment, and personnel. This legislation is long overdue, and I urge my colleagues to support this important effort.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner), a member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, the ranking member and Marine, Lane Evans, for his work and cooperation on this bipartisan legislation. This is the way the committee is supposed to work.

We have invested almost 6 years of work on this to bring corrections to IT systems, and I am glad that we have been able to work together in a bipartisan fashion to deliver a product to this floor for which we can be proud of.

I would also like to commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), the chairman and ranking members of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, for their hard work in providing the oversight required to define these problematic issues and helping to make needed legislative changes to address these shortcomings at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I would also like to reiterate my thanks to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) for his support in bringing accountability to VA's IT programs within the appropriations process.

I would also like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), Army Vietnam vet, for his work on this and the original cosponsorship, along with the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) and the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth).

Finally, I would also like to thank Art Wu, Len Sistek, Kimo Hollingsworth, Ginny Richardson, and Risa Salsburg for their diligence and dedication in serving our Nation's veterans on the committee, and also the staff directors, Jim Lariviere and Jim Holley, both for the majority and the minority.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act of 2005. This is a bill whereby when we come to this body we do not leave our experiences behind. We are to learn from the past and to plan for the future. We are to modernize Federal governments, to cut through the bureaucracy, and to create workable solutions that will become a standard that will be leveraged across all departments of the government, creating greater efficiencies, responsiveness to people, and saving money. That is exactly what this product has done, and it is being brought to the floor in a bipartisan fashion, and so I ask all my colleagues to support this.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 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 include extraneous material on H.R. 4061.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 1691) to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Appleton, Wisconsin, as the ``John H. Bradley Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic''.

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

John ``Doc'' Bradley was a Navy Corpsman during World War II and one of six men who took part in the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima. John Bradley survived the war; and he passed away on January 11, 1994. Before his death, his family was asked not to answer calls from the media; and his war history was boxed away to be forgotten. However, after his death, in 1994, his family found the box of letters and mementos from John Bradley's time serving his Nation during World War II. John Bradley once told his children that the real heroes on Iwo Jima were ``the guys who didn't come back''.

After he participated in the now-celebrated flag raising on Mt. Suribachi, John Bradley received the Navy Cross for rushing to a wounded man's aid in heavy Japanese fire. He received several shrapnel wounds to his legs a few days later and was evacuated from the combat zone to a hospital in Hawaii.

This legislation is cosponsored and supported by the entire Wisconsin delegation and also has the support of the State's major veterans service organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I particularly would like to thank my colleague (Mr. Green) who represents the Eighth Congressional District of Wisconsin for introducing this most appropriate legislation. He is a strong supporter of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces and was chosen by the Speaker of the House delegation to lead a delegation to Afghanistan to report on the progress of the war there.

I also might note that he was instrumental in placing the new veterans outpatient clinic in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is a strong supporter of the men and women we now call veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green).

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

I thank the gentleman from Texas for his support of this legislation and once again for his fine work on the Veterans' Committee.

This bill before us will name the VA outpatient clinic in Appleton, Wisconsin, as the ``John H. Bradley Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.''

In the State of Wisconsin, they have a council; and this council is made up of many veterans organizations. They met on October 21 of 2005 to discuss H.R. 1691. The council had a discussion, a motion was made and was seconded and carried a unanimous vote, no objections, to support the bill that is before us today.

The veterans organizations that were in support of this legislation in the State of Wisconsin and offer this under the American people are the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV, the Navy Club of the USA, the Army Navy Union, the Catholic War Veterans, Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans, American Ex-Prisoners of War, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II, the United Women Veterans, Polish Legion of American Veterans, Wisconsin Association of Concerned Veterans Organizations, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the County Veterans Service Officers Association, AMVETS, the Jewish War Veterans, and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. These are 24 of the veterans organizations that supported the gentleman from Wisconsin's legislation.

In closing, I believe we can tell a lot about a nation by the individuals whom we choose to honor, and this is a very appropriate means and manner to honor one of America's true heroes. With that, I ask that all Members support H.R. 1691.

Mr. Speaker, 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 within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous matter on H.R. 1691.

Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing legislation, along with Ranking Member Evans and other distinguished Members of the Committee, will introduce legislation that will mandate the Department of Veterans' Affairs to empower the Department's Chief Information Officer with authority over resources, budget and personnel related to information technology for the Department.

Since coming to Congress in 1993, I have witnessed this Committee struggle with VA's inability to adequately manage its IT funding and IT modernization efforts.

While there have been significant improvements in VA's IT modernization efforts, the improvements have come at significant cost to our Veterans: $600 million plus for a decade of VETSNET--the automated compensation and pension claims processing system that still has not been implemented in 10 years. $342 million for CoreFLS--the failed financial management system. $300 million for the HR Links--the failed automated personnel system. $485 million annually to maintain VISTA, VA's 25-year-old medical information system.

This legislation, the ``Department of Veterans Affairs Information Technology Management Improvement Act'' will ensure accountability in VA IT spending, and reorganize VA's IT infrastructure to better serve our nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments, the speaker before me, because what he has really laid out is sort of the complaints that we hear from the Democrat side of the aisle, the complaints for years when they controlled Congress and laid out policies and rules and regulations that prevented, really, people to bring capital at risk to build refineries. So we hear a lot of complaints, but we do not hear of ideas and actions to help an industry that will help America.

This is a good bill. I support the bill. I want to compliment the chairman for his good work.

I also believe that Hurricane Katrina did reveal a weakness in our energy supply systems, highlighting the reliance this country has on the gulf coast for our energy resources. Approximately 47 percent of the U.S. refining capacity and 28 percent of oil production are located in the hurricane-prone region. So I think it is time for America to take steps to build more refineries and protect this country in time of natural disaster.

This is a good bill. It will address our growing need for gasoline, heating oil, and other fuels and will bring more supply to the market and for the American people. So despite the noise that we maybe hear on the floor, for the American people this is a good bill.

I am concerned, though, that a section of the bill was removed that dealt with the interchange rates, and what we wanted to do was to address the channels of trade to bring more transparency to how credit card companies actually apply these interchange rate fees and how the consumer then picks it up. I am pleased, in a conversation with the chairman and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns), they are going to consider having a hearing on the issue; and I think that is a good thing.

I strongly support the Bush Administration's clean diesel rules, which will reduce air pollution from diesel engines by more than 90 percent, and reduce the sulfur content of diesel fuel by more than 95 percent. These rules will not only help clean the air, but they will also encourage greater use of highly fuel-efficient clean diesel engines. The use of highly fuel-efficient clean diesel engines is a mandates free way of making our existing domestic refining and oil production go further. In fact, according to the Department of Energy, if diesel vehicles made up 20 percent of our fleet in 15 years, we would save 350,000 barrels of oil a day.

I understand the challenges that so-called ``boutique fuels'' present. Section 108 takes steps towards addressing these challenges. However, I want to make it clear that I have been assured by the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Gentleman from Texas, that Section 108 of the legislation does not intend to alter or delay--in any way--the Bush Administration's on- and off-road diesel rules.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased we are considering this bill today. As my colleagues are aware, Public Law 109-13, the Emergency Supplemental, included provisions which made changes to VA's insurance program for active duty servicemembers and veterans. However, these changes expire on September 30, 2005.

H.R. 3200, as amended, would: Repeal section 1012 of the Supplemental, the section dealing with the insurance changes, and replace it with the text of H.R. 3200, as amended; make permanent the increase from $250,000 to $400,000 in maximum Servicemembers' Group and Veterans' Group Life Insurance coverage; make permanent the increments of SGLI coverage from $10,000 to $50,000; and require the military service Secretary concerned to notify a servicemember's spouse, in writing, if the servicemember declines SGLI or chooses an amount less than the maximum, as well as notify the spouse if someone other than the spouse or child is designated as the policyholders' beneficiary.

Similar language was included in H.R. 2046, which passed the House on May 23rd of this year.

The spousal notification language does not apply to the Veterans' Group Life Insurance program.

There were no public hearings prior to House and Senate passage of the defense emergency supplemental. In June, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, chaired by Jeff Miller of Florida, held a hearing on the provisions included in today's bill, and it is supported by the Administration and veterans groups.

H.R. 3200, as amended, will ensure the current $400,000 maximum level of insurance coverage is available to millions of active duty servicemembers, Reservists, and veterans, as well as commissioned members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service. I cannot underestimate the impact of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud Chairman Miller and Ms. Berkley, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, for their hard work and active participation in crafting this bill, as well as the subcommittee vice chairman, Jeb Bradley. This has indeed been a team effort.

I also want to thank the subcommittee staffs on both sides of the aisle--Paige McManus, Chris McNamee, and Mary Ellen McCarthy.

Mr. Speaker, as the original increase in SGLI and VGLI expire at midnight this Friday, I urge my colleagues to support the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Enhancement Act.