Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. I thank the gentleman.

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

As you all know, this bill has a strong reputation for finding bipartisan common ground as members work together to fund the construction of military facilities and strive to improve the quality of life and the care afforded to our veterans and our military families. Once again, Chairman Culberson has continued this tradition. The bill before us provides funding levels that, I think, most Members on both sides of the aisle agree are appropriate while avoiding the contentious legislative riders that complicate passage.

I am pleased to join Chairman Culberson as the House takes up the fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies. The MilCon-VA bill is critically important to the strength and well-being of our military, our veterans, and the families who sacrifice so much to defend our country.

In working with Chairman Culberson and the members of the subcommittee, we have crafted a bill that will address the funding needs for military construction and family housing for our troops and their families as well as other quality-of-life construction projects. In addition, it will provide funding for many important VA programs as well as for agencies like the Veterans Court of Appeals and the American Battle Monuments Commission. The bill before us today touches every soldier, sailor, marine, and airman. In addition, this bill will also impact military spouses, their children, and every veteran who participates in VA programs.

I want to commend the chairman for his work. Together, we sat through hearings and gained valuable insight to the workings of all agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. I also want to thank all of our subcommittee members and recognize them for their hard work in crafting this bill. I believe that the minority was treated fairly during this process, and I want to thank Chairman Culberson for ensuring this bipartisan result.

Chairman Culberson has already provided the funding highlights in the bill, so I won't repeat them all, but I will say this: In my opinion, the FY '15 bill adequately provides for the Department's priorities in military construction for each of the services. If the Department needed something, it is in the bill, and if it didn't need it, it is not in the bill. The Department of Veterans Affairs is funded at $64.7 billion, which is $1.8 billion above the '14 enacted level. Overall, the bill meets the discretionary budget request in all areas of administrative expenses, research, and facilities. In addition, the bill includes $58.7 billion in advances, which is the same as the budget request.

While I am pleased with the healthy funding increase for the VA, many constituents from my district are still extremely frustrated with the claims backlog. Frankly, I would have to agree. Now, while the VA has made some progress on lessening the backlog, there are still over 300,000 claims considered as backlogged, so I was pleased that an additional $20 million was included in the bill to assist the VA in making even more progress on the backlog. In addition, Mr. Chairman, it is my hope that coupling the Veterans Claims Intake Program with continued rigorous reporting requirements, while fully funding the Veterans Benefit Management System, will help the VA reach its goal to end this backlog in 2015.

On the issue of electronic medical records, you all know my frustration, and I could spend all of the time yielded to me just on this one topic, but I will say this: We have finally gotten the two Departments' attention, and I expect to see some real progress on this soon. The bill continues the practice of fencing money for this endeavor to make sure that when it is completed we have a system that works, and works well.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that we have a strong bipartisan bill that supports our military, their families, and our veterans, and I would hate to see the hard work of our committee upended by contentious, partisan riders intended to serve in scoring political points instead of those that serve our Nation. I also believe the most important things of this bill are the resources and accountability provided to assist the VA in tackling the claims backlog. So I say to my colleagues that our committee strongly shares the deep commitment of this body in fixing the claims backlog issue. We have looked at numerous approaches and firmly believe our bill has found the optimal approach in dealing with this pressing concern for our veterans.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill, and it is a bill that, I think, meets the needs of our services for their military construction, as well as for our veterans and our military families.

As far as our military construction, if our services needed it, it is in the bill. If they didn't need it, it is not in the bill.

I am so happy that we have taken very strong steps to address the claims backlog at the Veterans Administration. We have taken strong steps to ensure that we will soon have coordinated, interoperable electronic health records between the Veterans Affairs Department and the Department of Defense; and I am happy that in this bill, together, we will assure accountability for our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Chairman, when our men and women took the oath to serve our country as part of our Nation's military, they took an oath to serve and defend; and when they completed that service, our Nation has, in fact, figuratively, written a check assuring that they will have the benefits that they need when they come back following their service.

It is our duty as a Nation, our duty as a Congress, and certainly our duty as a part of this committee, to make sure that that check that we figuratively wrote to those veterans never, ever comes back marked ``insufficient funds'' and to make sure that that check--the benefits of that check don't come back redeemed in a delayed fashion.

So we have done what is necessary to make sure that they get their benefits, that they get them in a timely manner, that the claims backlog is eliminated, and that we facilitate whatever it takes to make sure that they are rewarded for their service to our country because the price of freedom, it is not free.

Somebody had to pay that price, and the people who paid the price are the men and women who served our Nation in uniform and are now veterans and their families who also sacrificed as the servicemembers went to war.

I urge the adoption of this bill and ask my colleagues to support it.

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

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would just like to commend the gentlelady for raising a very, very important issue to the health, safety, and welfare of airmen and those who go to MacDill; and I want to assure the gentlelady that the chairman and I will work very closely to make sure that that issue is addressed.

It is our hope that the gentlelady will withdraw her amendment and that we can work on it together, but I assure the gentlelady that we will work together to make sure that that is a safe environment, a healthy environment, so that no one will be exposed to the consequences of black mold.

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

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, when I learned of the allegations of intentional misrepresentation of wait times, which may have caused some 40 deaths at the Phoenix VA, I was deeply disappointed and downright disgusted.

I am pleased to see a bipartisan approach, and I believe this amendment will provide additional resources to the VA Office of Inspector General to improve oversight and accountability at the VA.

I agree with my colleagues from Arizona that this situation requires answers and a thorough investigation. I believe Congress should allow the VA IG to complete its investigation, so the Congress can take appropriate action, if needed. The last thing I want is a knee-jerk reaction that could cause additional problems.

I believe this amendment is the right approach, and I fully support it, and I urge all Members to do the same. I believe that a thorough investigation of the matter is the only way to restore our veterans' trust and the public trust in the VA health care system.

We owe it to our veterans to ensure that the VA is providing the best possible care and that care is timely and accessible. I think this amendment will help achieve that goal.

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

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

I believe we need to set the conditions for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo. It is in the United States' national security interest to do so.

Guantanamo has become a rallying cry. It serves as a recruitment tool for terrorists and increases the will of our enemies to fight, while reducing the will of others to work with America.

Part of the rationale for establishing Guantanamo in the first place was the misplaced idea that the facility would be beyond the law--a proposition that has been soundly rejected by the Supreme Court. As a result, continued operation of this facility creates the impression in the eyes of our allies and our enemies that the United States selectively observes the rule of law.

There is no reason that we should impose on ourselves the legal and moral problems arising from the prospects of indefinite detentions at Guantanamo.

Working through civil courts since 9/11, hundreds of individuals have been convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related offenses and are now serving long sentences in Federal prison. Not one single person has ever escaped custody.

For these reasons, I believe that the time has come to take the actions needed to initiate closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo. I think this amendment sends that strong message.

I support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, we are all outraged in regards to the claims backlog and the incidences of poor quality health services and safety. The current claims backlog is, indeed, unacceptable.

There is no question that the VA has struggled to successfully deliver one of its key missions: to provide timely ratings of disability. However, the VA has reduced the backlog by 44 percent. Should we ignore that?

It is also clear that some VA health facilities have had serious issues that put the health, safety, and well-being of our veterans at risk. This too is unacceptable. Where have these failures occurred?

It is hard to imagine how the VA leaders of these facilities could have received high performance ratings and substantial bonuses.

However, this amendment will not provide any solution in the short term and, in fact, may have the long-term consequences and compound the very problems that it attempts to address.

This amendment would make the VA a less attractive option than other agencies when it comes to recruiting and retaining quality executive leaders, and it will not have the very talent it needs to solve the problems it faces today, like the claims backlog and the health care deficiencies.

Furthermore, SES pay and bonuses are governed by title 5 of the United States Code and administered by the Office of Personnel Management. Any change to title 5 to address the VA would then also apply to all other Federal agencies.

Attempting an across-the-board, one-size-fits-all fix will penalize those who are dedicated VA executives who are working hard and doing a good job to find solutions to the VA problems.

I urge all Members to vote ``no'' on this amendment. We are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. This is not a good amendment, and I urge this House to defeat it.

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

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