Ryan Kules Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 3504, as amended, the Ryan Kules Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act of 2019.
Our highest calling as a committee is to empower those who have been injured in defense of our country to live independent and productive lives.
The Specially Adapted Housing program, or SAH grant program, is one way we do that, and this bill makes several needed improvements to that program.
SAH grants are awarded to certain severely injured servicemembers and veterans to help them adapt their homes to increase their comfort and independence. It is a quality of life issue, Madam Speaker.
SAH grants can be used to make all kinds of home adaptations, including installing grab bars, wheelchair ramps and lifts, lowering countertops, and widening hallways and doorways.
My bill would make needed improvements to this program and provide prioritization when processing SAH grants for veterans with serious illnesses like ALS.
It would also double the number of times a veteran can use an SAH grant and increase the base amount of funding available to veterans by 15 percent.
Finally, this bill would authorize VA to provide additional funding for veterans 10 years after they use their SAH grants to make additional home improvements as they age. So, of course, they might want to get into a bigger house because their families grow, and they should have that opportunity to do so.
This bill also includes H.R. 3640, the Housing Access for Blind Veterans Act, which was introduced last week by Representative Roe and Representative Elaine Luria from Virginia, the chair of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, to provide additional SAH funding to veterans who are legally blind. It is so important that we do this.
I am proud to have named this bill after my friend Ryan Kules, an Army veteran, and I had the privilege of meeting him today and his wonderful family. It is a beautiful family.
On November 29, 2005, while he was serving in Iraq, Ryan's vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, an IED, and Ryan sustained multiple injuries, including the loss of his leg and arm. He is a true hero, Madam Speaker.
Those injuries made him eligible for the SAH grant program following his separation from service. Many of the ideas in this bill came from Ryan's own experiences with the SAH program.
I am grateful to Ryan for his service, for his continued advocacy, and for allowing us to use his name for this important legislation.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Wounded Warriors Project and the Paralyzed Veterans of America for their help with crafting this bill, as well as my friend and chairman, Representative Mike Levin from California, who is the cosponsor of this bill and who does an outstanding job in committee, where we work in a bipartisan fashion.
Madam Speaker, this bill also includes the text of H.R. 3535, the GI Bill Work Study Improvement Act. This bill was introduced by my friend, Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois, Representative Susie Lee of Nevada, and Ranking Member Roe of Tennessee to improve VA's workstudy program.
The idea for this bill came from the student veterans and school officials who attended a GI Bill forum that Representative Davis had, and Representative Roe was in attendance, of course. He is the ranking member of the full committee.
I commend Representative Davis for taking the concerns of his student veterans' constituents to heart and acting to address them by improving the way that those payments are made to eligible GI beneficiaries. The best ideas come from the people, Madam Speaker, as you know.
This would entail changes to the current process where the student veterans are paid workstudy benefits by VA to a new process where student veterans are paid directly by their school. This makes sense. This will be done by block granting workstudy money to schools allowing them to administer the payments to student veterans. This will improve timeliness and accuracy of payments to student veterans.
Finally, H.R. 3504, as amended, also includes the text of my bill, H.R. 2221, the Fry Scholarship Improvement Act, which would expand eligibility for the Fry Scholarship to certain survivors of members of the National Guard and Reserve. Representative Andy Barr worked on this bill as well, and he was a great advocate. Of course, he is an advocate for the National Guard and Reserve, Madam Speaker. The current Fry Scholarship provides post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to surviving spouses and dependent children of servicemembers who have died while on Active Duty.
I would like to thank the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, for bringing this idea to our attention and again Chairman Levin for being an original cosponsor of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation today.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).
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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.
This is a great bill named after a great American hero. We need to pass this bill. I want to thank the leadership of the chairman and the ranking member for bringing it to the floor.
Again, we have got to get this done for our heroes. We have got to get it to the Senate and pass it as soon as possible because it is so badly needed. I appreciate it very much. I thank the staff for their support.
Madam Speaker, I encourage Members to vote positive on this particular bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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