[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 174 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2312-E2313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 
                                  2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JERRY MORAN

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2001

  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Chris 
Smith for his leadership this year. Our new Chairman of the Veterans 
Affairs Committee has served our Veterans well.
  I am proud of the bill now before the House, H.R. 3447. It is a 
compromise that was achieved over several months by the House and 
Senate Veterans Affairs Committees. It contains measures from the 
health care bill that I introduced earlier this year, H.R. 2792, as 
well as proposals from a number of Senate bills. This bill will provide 
veterans greater confidence in their health care system, along with 
higher accountability for the VA.
  Important Provisions of this bill:
  Enables VA nurses to pursue advanced degrees while continuing to care 
for veterans. This aids recruitment and retention of nurses within the 
VA health care system, and promotes higher quality of care for 
veterans.
  Mandates Saturday premium pay to certain VA patient care staff, such 
as licensed vocational nurses, pharmacists, and respiratory, physical, 
and occupational therapists. This provision will ensure that the VA 
remains competitive with other providers.
  Requires the VA to develop a nationwide policy on health care 
staffing to promote safe and high quality care for veterans.
  Establishes a 12-member National Commission on VA Nursing that would 
enhance the recruitment and retention of VA nurses and strengthen the 
nursing profession in the VA and nationwide.
  Authorizes service dogs to be provided to severely disabled veterans 
suffering from spinal cord injuries, other mobility diseases, hearing 
loss or other types of disabilities that having a trained service dog 
would assist.
  Modifies VA's system of determining ``ability to pay'' for VA health 
care services by introducing an index used by the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development to determine family income thresholds. This would 
reduce hospital co-payments by 80 percent compared to current law, for 
near-poor veterans who require acute hospital inpatient care.
  Strengthens the mandate for the VA to maintain capacity in 
specialized medical programs for veterans by requiring each network of 
VA facilities to maintain a proportional share of national capacity in 
specialized health care

[[Page E2313]]

programs, guaranteeing that these programs will be there if disabled 
veterans need them.
  I am pleased to report that the bill establishes a program of 
chiropractic services in each network of VA facilities. It authorizes 
the VA to employ chiropractors as federal employees as well as to 
contract for these services. Also, it creates a VA advisory committee 
on chiropractic health care.
  Thank you Chairman Rockefeller, Senator Specter and Senator Daschle, 
as well as Mr. Filner and Mr. Evans, who worked with me to achieve this 
compromise for an effective new program of VA chiropractic health care.
  Requires VA Secretary to assess special telephone services made 
available to veterans, such as ``help lines'' and ``hotlines,'' with a 
report to Congress.
  Provides authority for Secretary to study, then if found feasible, 
obtain a personal emergency-notification and response system for 
service--disabled veterans.
  Authorizes critically necessary construction project at the Miami, 
Florida VA Medical Center.
  In summary, Mr. Speaker, this bill will improve veterans' health care 
programs as well as assist the VA's health care personnel to provide 
quality care to our nation's veterans, especially those most seriously 
disabled and least able to help themselves.
  Veterans of our armed forces deserve a dependable and innovative 
system of health care and benefits. This bill increases our ability to 
meet the needs of veterans, who have sacrificed to meet ours.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Health Care Enhancement Act of 2001, and I want to thank the 
other Members and staff who have worked hard to finish this bill in the 
first session of this Congress. I particularly want to recognize my 
friend, Mr. Filner of California, and Susan Edgerton and John Bradley, 
our Staff Directors of the Health Subcommittee, as well as Bill Cahill 
and Kim Lipsky, professional staff members of the Senate Committee on 
Veterans Affairs. These and other staff have worked closely with us to 
achieve this legislation on behalf of America's veterans.

                          ____________________