[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 174 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2317-E2318]
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. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2001

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3447, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act 
of 2001. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
measure and I commend the distinguished chairman of the Veterans 
Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Smith.
  This legislation provides a number of significant enhancements to 
veterans health care programs, with the purpose of both expanding those 
services offered to veterans, and improving the manner in which those 
services are delivered.
  Specifically, the bill makes a number of changes in the policies 
governing VA nursing staff. It enhances eligibility and benefits for 
the employee incentive scholarship and education debt reduction 
programs by enabling VA nurses to pursue advanced degrees while 
continuing to care for veterans, in order to improve recruitment and 
retention of nurses within the VA health care system. Furthermore, the 
bill establishes a 12-member National Commission on VA Nursing that 
would assess legislative and organizational policy changes

[[Page E2318]]

to enhance the recruitment and retention of nurses by the department 
and the future of the nursing profession within the department, and 
recommends legislative and organizational policy changes to enhance the 
recruitment and retention of nursing personnel in the department.
  Another issue addressed by the legislation concerns the maintenance 
of proper staffing ratios and the provision of overtime pay. The bill 
mandates that the VA provide Saturday premium pay to title 5/title 38 
hybrid employees. Such hybrid-authority employees include licensed 
vocational nurses, pharmacists, certified or registered respiratory 
therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Moreover, 
it requires the VA to develop a nationwide policy on staffing standards 
to ensure that veterans are provided with safe, high quality care, 
taking into consideration the numbers and skill mix required of staff 
in specific health care settings. It also requires a report on the use 
of mandatory overtime by licensed nursing staff and nursing assistants 
in each VA health care facility, and to include in this report a 
description of the amount of mandatory overtime used by facilities.
  H.R. 3447 offers several improvements in service for those veterans 
who require specialized medical care. It authorizes service dogs to be 
provided by VA to a veteran suffering from spinal cord injuries or 
dysfunction, other diseases causing physical immobility, hearing loss 
or other types of disabilities susceptible to improvement or enhanced 
functioning in activities of daily living through employment of a 
service dog. Additionally, it strengthens the mandate for VA to 
maintain capacity in specialized medical programs for veterans by 
requiring VA and each of its veterans integrated service networks to 
maintain the national capacity in certain specialized health care 
programs for veterans (those with serious mental illness, including 
substance use disorders, and spinal cord, brain injured and blinded 
veterans; veterans who need prosthetics and sensory aids); and extends 
capacity reporting requirement for 3 years.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation makes some important adjustments to 
regulations governing payment for services from non-service connected 
veterans. This is done through modifying the VA's system of determining 
non-service-connected veterans' ``ability to pay'' for VA health care 
services by introducing the ``low income housing limits'' employed by 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), used by HUD to 
determine family income thresholds for housing assistance. This index 
is adjusted for all standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAS), 
and is updated periodically by HUD to reflect economic changes within 
the SMSAS. The bill would retain the current-law means test national 
income threshold, but would reduce co-payments by 80 percent for near-
poor veterans who require acute VA hospital inpatient care. This is 
important for those veterans with low incomes who reside in high-cost-
of-living areas, like New York.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the legislation extends the authority of the VA 
to collect proceeds from veterans health insurance policies for 
services provided as non-service connected care.
  This bill represents the latest step in the longstanding ongoing 
commitment of Congress to oversee and improve the system that provides 
health care to our Nation's veterans. For this reason, I urge my 
colleagues to join in supporting this vital measure.

                          ____________________