[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H992-H993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RURAL HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gerlach). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I am proud tonight to stand and take these 
5 minutes in support of the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act of 2003 
introduced by my good friend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). 
I am just happy to say I am glad to be in his line-up tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an issue that is very 
important to me, the health care of rural veterans and the challenges 
that these patriotic Americans who have so proudly served our Nation in 
times of war today face. I am proud to address their concerns about 
access to health care and the unique obstacles they face for medical 
treatment.
  Why is this so important? The answer is very simple. We owe these 
brave men and women who fought for our freedom and defended our 
liberty, including those who are doing so tonight as I speak. Today's 
soldiers are tomorrow's veterans, and we have those in Iraq and 
Afghanistan doing once again their duty in order that we might remain 
this free and proud Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I come from a very rural district. To say that my 
district is rural is an understatement. The 17th District of Texas is 
33,836 square miles, in fact larger, than six States.
  This talk about the size of my district can also give my colleagues 
an idea of how far it is to drive for a veteran to receive health care, 
in fact how far it is to get anywhere. In the 17th District, there is 
no subway to take a person from one end to another. A taxi ride would 
take a few hours and be outrageously expensive, and bus lines do not 
run from the bedroom community of Ft. Worth to the outskirts of 
Lubbock.
  So what does all of this size and magnitude have to do with rural 
veterans? Well, it has a lot to do with them. If anyone here has been 
to my district, they know how long it takes to get from point A to 
point B, but to veterans in need of health care in West Texas, a 2-hour 
drive is not just a jaunt down the road or a time to think and reflect. 
For these folks, a long drive is a very big challenge.
  I am proud to stand by the veterans of my district, and again I say, 
stand as a cosponsor of the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act of 2003.
  The gentleman from Nebraska's (Mr. Osborne) bill goes a long way to 
helping to alleviate some of the difficulties faced by rural veterans. 
I am glad he is stepping onto the field to fight for rural veterans, 
and I am proud to be standing with him.
  I endorse his idea that no less than 5 percent of appropriations to 
VA health care should be used to improve access to medical services for 
highly rural or geographically remote veterans.
  Last year, I was deeply disappointed by the leadership's implicit 
acceptance of using veterans' resources for political expediency. The 
VA appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004 broke a promise made to our 
veterans. The measure contained $1.8 billion less in veterans' health 
care than was promised last year by the Republican leadership in the 
budget resolution. We all know that the leadership's first priority 
during the budget negotiations last year was achieving large tax cuts.
  Along with several of my colleagues, we warned that the commitments 
made for increasing funding for veterans' health care, along with large 
tax cuts, could not be kept. For this reason, I supported a smaller tax 
cut that would allow the promise to be honored. We were later informed 
that the commitment would be honored, but when it came time to act, the 
leadership found they could not keep this promise, along with the large 
tax cut after all, but that was last year.
  I am hopeful that 2004 will bring greater sense to those in power. I 
pray that 2004 will bring greater loyalty to those who were told that 
they will be remembered.

[[Page H993]]

  I think it is important to remember that today's fighting men and 
women are tomorrow's veterans.
  A recent issue that highlights the challenges facing rural veterans 
is the CARES Commission's recommendation recently that the West Texas 
VA health system, the VA hospital in Big Spring, Texas, should be 
closed.
  I represented Big Spring up until the redistricting in 2001 removed 
it from my district, but now my interest in this issue is just as 
strong today as it was when I represented Big Spring. Most of the 
population that uses the Big Spring VA center is to the east, 
specifically in the population areas around Abilene and San Angelo 
where two Air Force bases fuel the veteran and retiree residents.
  Given this fact, it only takes plain common sense to see that the Big 
Spring VA is well-positioned to keep the promise made to our veterans 
and military retirees for health care.
  I have had some folks ask me why we are in such the forefront of this 
challenge. My answer to them was threefold: So many of the veterans in 
my district are treated in the Big Spring VA hospital; all the veterans 
and military retirees of this country deserve the best health care and 
benefits we can give them; and that we are in very much dedicated to 
seeing that just that happens.
  I was pleased to participate in a meeting with VA Secretary Anthony 
Principi that was called by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. The meeting 
was very productive and allowed me to assert my belief that the Big 
Spring VA needs to be both kept opened and strengthened for rural 
veterans of West Texas.
  I understand the need for our government agencies to periodically 
review missions, goals and facilities, but such reviews need to be 
deeper than number crunching.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand in support of the bill. I believe it 
goes a long way to getting more people to recognize the importance of 
health care for rural veterans, as well as all veterans.

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