Milcon-VA Appropriations Bill

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank Senators KIRK and TESTER for their bipartisan leadership on a measure that is vastly improved since the vote we had on a similar measure recently. I know this topic is very close to the heart of the Presiding Officer, and I thank him for his leadership as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. It is truly a tremendous challenge that we are working step by step to address.

About a month ago, I came to the floor to help raise serious concerns about the funding levels in the MILCON-VA appropriations bill that we are now addressing because it contained serious, egregious shortfalls. As a result, I could not support it. Veterans in Connecticut as recently as this weekend asked me how and why I could vote against a measure that provided funding for the VA. My answer is: It wasn't enough. It wasn't good enough. It failed to do the job.

This measure, fortunately, is a profoundly important step toward addressing the needs of our veterans and keeping faith with them, making sure that we leave no veteran behind. This new version provides what many of us have been fighting to achieve--real help for our veterans.

We are about to consider an amendment that would restore much needed funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Kirk-Tester amendment provides a much needed increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, bringing full funding to that agency--$71.2 billion. That amount is $2 billion more--to be precise, $1.97 billion--over the previous reported bill, which will supplement the VA's medical services. This additional funding is not window dressing. It is not a convenience or a luxury. It will allow the VA to more appropriately account for treating hepatitis C, supporting the family caregiver program, and providing care in the community. Demand for care from the VA has continued to grow in recent months, and I will continue with my colleagues and with the Department to ensure that the VA is spending the funds in an appropriate manner, with integrity and responsiveness, to provide high quality, timely health care to our veterans.

This bill also fully funds the operation of the VA Benefits Administration. The VBA has been plagued by problems, some of them attributable to underfunding, and this amount at $2.69 billion will facilitate the transformation from a paper-based claims process to a digital one. It will allow the VA to hire hundreds of new claims processors, speeding and streamlining the system so that veterans receive the benefits they have earned and are spared the rigamarole and redtape that has so often produced a backlog.

Recognizing increased demands, the bill also provides an increase of $20 million for funding VA-State extended care facilities. It provides $20 million in rural health care funding specifically for construction grants, meeting the needs of State extended care homes in rural areas. We are demonstrating here how the VA can partner with States to flexibly and efficiently deliver long-term care to an aging population--like other segments of our population, the VA beneficiaries are aging--sparing them the time and expense of constructing and operating new VA facilities.

I have also filed important amendments to improve the provision of health care and research at the VA, ensuring that the VA is providing gender-specific prostheses, for example--particularly important as we see more and more women serve in combat zones--as well as ensuring that VA research dollars are spent in areas of toxic exposures. These priorities ought to be at the top of the list for all. They are for me.

VA continues to have a significant need for resources and personnel. Secretary McDonald indicated just last Friday that the agency continues to need about 4,300 more physicians and 10,000 nurses. I am working with the VA on legislation to meet this need. I look forward to working with my colleague, the Presiding Officer, as well as the Appropriations Committee to address these priorities and others that are so critically important to final passage of this important bill.

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