Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act

Floor Speech

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

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 5145, as amended, the Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act.

It would amend title 38 of the United States Code to improve continuing professional education reimbursements provided to health care professionals employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This legislation increases by $600 the continuing professional education reimbursement for VA's health professionals. It would also expand those eligible to receive such reimbursements to include health professionals from a wide range of medical specialties, and it would clarify that reimbursements may only be provided for such continuing education expenses that the VA does not offer, itself.

While we can all be proud of the quality of care provided to veterans at VA facilities, we should always be looking for ways to improve the VA's provision of medical services, ensuring that the VA's health professionals are continually kept on the cutting edge of modern medical advances. It is important to ensure high-quality medical care continues to thrive at the VA. H.R. 5145, as amended, would provide VA employees with more opportunities to improve their knowledge base and skill sets, and it would provide veterans with superiority when it comes to care that they, I believe, deserve.

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Mr. BUYER. I want to thank the gentleman for coming to the floor today. The issue before us deals with increasing the reimbursement on professional education with regard to VA's health professionals.

I understand the gentleman has every reason to be upset with regard to what is occurring in the Gulf with regard to the oil spill. This oil should almost be treated as an invasion of our country. I understand why he is upset.

The legislation before us deals with veterans issues. It deals with making sure that the professionals that work in the VA are able to be reimbursed for their continuing professional education.

I want to thank Chairman Filner right now for his patience. I want to thank you for that. I think we can feel for Mr. Scalise as he just returned from Louisiana, how upset and how high the emotions are in New Orleans and Louisiana, not only from Katrina but also the oil spill, and I can understand where he is coming from. But I want to bring us back to the issue of the bill itself. So I want to thank Mr. Filner for being very patient with our colleague from Louisiana.

One point that we probably haven't talked about with regard to this is the challenge, Chairman Filner, that we have in front of us with regard to nursing and the nursing shortage. So many of the nurses are going to be retiring now over the next 12 years, and as we look at the ability for us to replenish that hole that is going to be created, there is going to be a dynamic shift within our health professions. So a lot of jobs and responsibilities that the nurse corps would be providing today, they are not going to be providing 10 years from now.

Actually, there will be a dynamic shift within health care itself and their profession. Their skill sets are actually going to get higher and even better and more improved, and jobs which they are doing today are going to have to be back-filled by nursing assistants. So for us to step forward and do this type of reimbursement to increase the quality of what they are about to provide, this is extremely important.

I want to thank the majority for bringing this type of bill, because we are going to have to help them increase the standards. It is the only way we are going to be able to actually deal with this hole that we are going to have in our health system and the increased demand that it is going to be placing upon the health system itself, because we don't have all the nursing slots in the education system to be able to do this.

I want to thank you for stepping into the breach. This is the right thing for us to do, especially when I look back at the years in which I served as a legal advisor for a hospital with regard to quality assurance and risk management. These are always extremely important issues. So I want to thank the chairman.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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