Military Construction And Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the Fiscal Year 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill and thank Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp for their work in crafting this legislation.

As someone who represents thousands of military veterans and their families, I believe that we have an obligation to provide them with the benefits and treatment they deserve for their years of faithful service. This legislation accomplishes that by providing $108.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a $14.5 billion increase over Fiscal Year 2009, when not factoring in stimulus or supplemental funding.

It is estimated that the VA will treat more than 6.1 million patients in 2010, including more than 419,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. To meet this demand, the bill provides important funding for mental health programs, assistance to homeless veterans, and to improve access for veterans in rural areas. The bill also provides vital funding to hire additional claims processors to support the Department's continued effort to reduce the backlog of benefit claims.

I was also pleased to see that the committee included a provision to provide advanced budget authority and funding for fiscal year 2011 for medical related accounts. This is a step to ensure that the VA healthcare system continues to receive a timely and predictable stream of funding without subjecting it to the delays that can arise due to the larger annual budget debates.

In addition to the funds provided for our nation's veterans, I also applaud the committee's work in providing the necessary funding to meet the construction needs of our military. The bill provides $24.6 billion for construction, facility modernization, and environmental cleanup. Among other construction projects at Ft. Lewis and McChord, I was specifically pleased to see funds included in the bill for the construction of a Joint Access Road between Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, a project that I specifically requested funding for. These funds will help provide a link between the two installations, alleviate congestion, and provide a deployment route for the air transportation of Army vehicles and equipment.

Again, I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for their work on this legislation and urge my colleagues to support its passage.

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