[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H16855-H16857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECT, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 1396) to authorize a major medical facility project to
modernize inpatient wards at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
The text of the Senate bill is as follows:
S. 1396
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF MAJOR MEDICAL FACILITY PROJECT,
ATLANTA, GEORGIA.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out a major
medical facility project for modernization of inpatient wards
at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Atlanta, Georgia, in an amount not to exceed $20,534,000.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
I want to thank all the Congress colleagues from Georgia, especially
my Atlanta colleagues Mr. Johnson and Mr. Lewis, and especially the
Senator from Georgia, Senator Isakson, for making sure this is on the
floor today.
The poor state of a lot of the infrastructure of the Veterans Affairs
is well-known.
Through what we call the CARES process, the Capital Asset Realignment
for Enhanced Services, the department found that the existing inpatient
wards at the Atlanta VA Medical Center are far below community
standards.
This renovation project will go a long way to address the American
with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, the needs of women
veterans, particularly as they relate to privacy issues, and the
improvements in efficient functional design.
These deficiency corrections are long overdue, and we think they will
be met
[[Page H16856]]
here. These infrastructure improvements to utility systems will include
the plumbing, electrical, fire and safety concerns on the inpatient
floors.
With the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is even more
important that the VA is able to provide the best health care available
in the most updated and modern facilities.
In fiscal year 2005, this project received $20.5 million, and S. 1396
provides the reauthorization of this project to move forward.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I want to thank the
ranking member, Mr. Buyer, for his cooperation. I know that he has
great respect for the CARES process and would like to consider all of
the facilities in one construction bill. We are pledged to do that
early next year, but I think this is an obvious need at this moment,
and I look forward to working with the ranking member to make sure we
meet the needs of VA infrastructure across the whole country, and we
intend to work together and do that early next year.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I also want to thank our committee
chairman, Mr. Filner, for working with me in a true bipartisan manner
to expeditiously bring S. 1396 to the floor before we adjourn this
year. I'd also like to thank the leadership of both parties for
bringing this to the floor before we adjourn.
This bill would authorize $20.5 million for the Department of
Veterans Affairs to carry out a major medical facility project to
modernize patient wards at the VA Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
The President's budget submission for VA for fiscal year 2008
identified this project as the Department's number one major
construction authorization request. Without this authorization, the VA
would be unable to move forward with this needed project to update and
improve patient services for veterans at the Atlanta VA Medical Center.
I also want to thank Senator Johnny Isakson for his efforts to pass
this legislation in the Senate, and for the efforts of Senator Saxby
Chambliss, who I've also personally spoken with. Both of these Senators
have an interest in this project. I'd also like to recognize my good
friends, Phil Gingrey and Tom Price, who both introduced a companion
bill earlier this year, and for their work and advocacy on this
legislation, to also include my colleagues Nathan Deal, Jack Kingston,
John Linder and Paul Broun.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Gingrey).
Mr. GINGREY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I
also want to thank Chairman Filner and Mr. Buyer, Senators Isakson and
Chambliss, but also my Democratic colleagues. The chairman mentioned
those, John Lewis, Hank Johnson, David Scott and others, but Tom Price
and I introduced this bill, H.R. 4143, many months ago, but we had
unanimous support of the Georgia delegation on both sides of the aisle,
and as we should, Madam Speaker, because this is the VA's number one
priority for authorization in fiscal year 2008 veterans budget. So I am
very pleased.
I know this is the 11th hour, but thank goodness, because of the
leadership on both sides of the aisle and in both bodies, this is
coming to fruition.
As Chairman Filner pointed out, there are ADA requirement issues.
There are patient privacy issues. There are female veterans issues. So
this is a hugely important project, and I thank my colleagues for
making this happen.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Price).
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding
and for his leadership, and I want to thank the chairman as well for
his leadership, commend my colleagues in the United States Senate,
Senator Isakson and Senator Chambliss, for their assistance on this as
well, and thank my physician colleague from Georgia, Congressman
Gingrey, for assisting in moving this forward, also.
As a physician, I clearly understand and appreciate the need for
facility improvements at the facility in Decatur, in Atlanta, Georgia.
I recognized that during my training, Madam Speaker, when I did some of
my training at the VA hospital in Decatur, and that was nearly 30 years
ago, so it's high time that we finally get around to providing the
resources to improve the infrastructure within the VA facility in
Atlanta, in Decatur.
I had the opportunity, Madam Speaker, to visit the VA hospital last
week and delivered some Christmas cards, holiday cards to our veterans
who were there, had a wonderful tour of the facility, and some of it
had undergone significant refurbishment and improvement. Some of it had
not.
There are many wonderful men and women who are working diligently
there to provide the highest quality care for our veterans. That will
be facilitated by the work that this bill will allow, and so I'm
pleased to stand with my colleagues in support of this bill and urge
its adoption.
Mr. FILNER. I'm prepared to yield back when the gentleman from
Indiana yields back.
Mr. BUYER. Madam Speaker, I also would like to mention the work of
Lynn Westmoreland, also of Georgia, and once again, I think the clashes
over the years between Mr. Filner and myself are legend.
We had a very good discussion yesterday. So I want all of our
colleagues to know that Mr. Filner and I sat down. We had a good lunch.
We had very good substantive discussions about a way forward, and we've
come to the floor with this bill in a bipartisan manner.
We both recognize as we go into next year that the construction bill
will be one of the top priorities for both of us to work together. It
is very unusual to sever any construction projects out of a bill. I
don't care whether it's the MilCon bill or out of the VA construction
bill; this is highly unusual what we're doing here today.
But Mr. Filner and I are going to work together in a bipartisan
manner for the greater interests of veterans in this country, and we're
going to use this bill as a springboard to greater things.
In the end, I also want to reiterate my comments. Senators Chambliss
and Isakson are strong supporters of our men and women in uniform and
our Nation's veterans during their distinguished careers both in the
House and the Senate.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
General Leave
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 1396.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, again, I thank Mr. Buyer for his comments.
Putting this bill on the floor as quickly as we did shows what can
happen when we work together. I'm looking forward to that mutual
discussion of priorities. We are pledged to deal with this aging
infrastructure of the VA. It has got to be remedied as quickly as
possible, and we're both committed to working to do that.
So I urge my colleagues to support S. 1396.
Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Speaker, as a young man, I came to
believe that it was simply my duty as a citizen to serve in our
Nation's Armed Forces. So, it was just a natural thing for me to
volunteer for service back in the early 60s. I joined the Marines,
later also served as a medical officer in the Navy, and finally took a
billet in the Georgia Air National Guard.
My military experiences, I believe, helped make me a better man. It
certainly gave me an understanding of military life, and first-hand
knowledge of the needs facing military personnel, military families,
and our veterans. Those insights guide me as the Congressman for
Georgia's 10th Congressional District.
The Federal Government must fulfill its promises to our veterans. We
must give them the very best quality health care that is available
anywhere in this country. It's important not only to the current
veterans but also to the troops that are on active duty today, as well
as the volunteers that we need to recruit to serve their country in the
military.
As a medical student in Augusta, GA, and during my residency
training, I worked in a number of VA hospitals. This experience gives
me a unique perspective toward the veterans' needs, which most Members
of Congress are not privileged to have. Consequently I have a
tremendous desire to get the Federal Government to fulfill the promises
it has broken to our
[[Page H16857]]
national heroes, the veterans. This bill is a step in that direction.
It is critical that the VA facilities in our Nation are modern, best
equipped, and able to give the kind of care that our veterans deserve.
This bill will help to do that by giving veterans in Georgia and the
Southeast a modem, up-to-date facility.
I am very sure that keeping the United States the freest Nation in
the history of the world means that we must maintain the most powerful
military on Earth.
As a member of Congress my priorities regarding military issues are
these:
1. Provide our troops with the best training and the best technology.
2. Provide adequate compensation and benefits.
3. Do everything I can to help promote high morale and espirit de
corps.
4. Support the spouses and children of military personnel.
5. Improve medical care for our wounded warriors and our veterans.
6. Keep the commitments made to our veterans regarding benefits.
I want to take just a moment of your time to provide you with an
update on what I have done since I won the Special Election and was
sworn into office last July:
1. Co-sponsored H.R. 3793 Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act of 2007
requiring the secretary of Defense to continue to pay to a member of
the armed forces who is retired or separated from the armed forces due
to a combat-related injury certain bonuses that the member was entitled
to before the retirement or separation and would continue to be
entitled to if the member was not retired or separated.
2. Co-sponsored H.R. 1110 amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to allow federal civilian and military retirees to pay health insurance
premiums on a pretax basis and to allow a deduction for TRICARE
supplemental premiums.
3. Co-sponsored H. Res. 111 establishing a Select POW and MIA Affairs
Committee.
4. Co-sponsored H.J. Res. 67 supporting a base defense budget that at
the very minimum matches four percent of gross domestic product.
5. Co-sponsored H. Res. 784 recognizing and honoring, in community
post offices, the service of men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces
deployed overseas.
6. Co-sponsored H.R. 1808 designating the Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center in Augusta, GA, as the `Charlie Norwood
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.'
7. Supported and spoke in favor of this bill S. 1396 to authorize a
major medical facility project to modernize inpatient wards at the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia
I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill as well as any
future bills that will give veterans the kind of health care they
deserve.
Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the Senate bill, S. 1396.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________