[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 106 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  2008 MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                          APPROPRIATIONS BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2007

  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased the House has acted on this 
important legislation.
  I want to compliment my colleague, the chairman of this subcommittee, 
Mr. Edwards of Texas, for the work he and his colleagues put into this 
bill. The priorities in this bill send a strong message to our military 
servicemembers and our veterans that we are serious about honoring our 
obligations to them.
  To help deal with the constant problem of medical inflation and the 
rising costs of health care, this bill provides $37,122,000,000 for the 
Veterans' Health Administration--an increase of $4,442,265,000 or 13.6 
percent over the FY 2007 level and $2,509,329,000 more than the 
President requested. This increase is long overdue and vitally needed.
  Since the attacks on 9/11, more than 1.5 million American military 
personnel have been deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom 
and Iraqi Freedom. When those men and women eventually separate from 
the service, a large number of them will require ongoing medical care 
for the wounds and injuries they've suffered in service to our country, 
particularly for mental health needs and traumatic brain injuries, TBI. 
This bill provides $604,325,858 to increase funding for treatment in 
these areas.
  We all know that TBI has, tragically, become the signature injury of 
the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to providing an 
overall higher level of funding for medical care for all veterans, this 
bill directs that all future budget requests include TBI as a Select 
Program--in other words, as a dedicated line item. That designation 
will help ensure that TBI treatment and rehabilitation programs receive 
the funding and focus required to meet the needs of veterans who are 
living with this life-altering injury.
  This bill also recognizes that substance abuse and post-traumatic 
stress disorder, PTSD, are plaguing record numbers of veterans. The 
National Center for PTSD has reported that 58 percent of veterans who 
have substance abuse problems also have lifetime PTSD and are three 
times more likely to have PTSD than veterans who do not suffer from 
substance abuse disorders. To deal with this challenge, the bill 
provides $428,873,754 for the Substance Abuse Program, an increase of 
$70,880,754 over the President's request.
  Finally, this bill contains an important accountability provision 
that the Bush administration opposed.
  Specifically, the committee mandates in this bill that the Department 
of Veterans Affairs provide quarterly reports on the financial status 
and service level status of the VHA and each of its Veterans Integrated 
Service Networks, VISNs. The reports must contain the time required for 
new patients to get their first appointment, the time required for 
established patients to get their next appointment, the number of 
patients on wait lists for inpatient services or any mental health or 
substance abuse program, the number of staff shortages for mental 
health services, the planned and actual expenditure rates for 
contracted mental health care, and the number of unique veterans and 
patients being served. Specific reports on the blind rehabilitation 
service, OIF/OEF veterans, prosthetics, and substance abuse programs 
are also mandated in this bill.

  I am pleased that Chairman Edwards and his colleagues are taking this 
approach to auditing the VA's programs. We all know that veterans are 
waiting longer to get their first or follow up appointments with their 
primary care providers. These provisions will help us establish just 
how serious the problem is and whether inadequate resources, poor 
management, or both are contributing to these delays in the delivery of 
vital health care services to our veterans. For these and the other 
reasons I've cited, I look forward to this bill's final passage by the 
Congress.

                          ____________________