[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 24, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5944-H5949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                VETERANS' EPILEPSY TREATMENT ACT OF 2008

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2818) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for 
the establishment of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the Veterans 
Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2818

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Epilepsy Treatment 
     Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. EPILEPSY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.

       (a) Requirement for Establishment of Epilepsy Centers of 
     Excellence.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new section:

     ``Sec. 7330A. Epilepsy centers of excellence

       ``(a) Designation of Centers.--Not later than 120 days 
     after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
     shall designate an epilepsy center of excellence at each of 
     the 5 centers designated under section 7327.
       ``(b) Expert Clinical and Research Staff.--Each center 
     designated under subsection (a) shall employ such expert 
     clinical and research staff, including board certified 
     neurologists and neurosurgeons, as may be necessary to ensure 
     that such center is capable of serving as a center of 
     excellence in research, education, and clinical care 
     activities in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, 
     including post-traumatic epilepsy.

[[Page H5945]]

       ``(c) Requirements and Operation of Centers.--Each center 
     designated under subsection (a) shall function as a center 
     for--
       ``(1) research on the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term 
     effects of epilepsy, including epilepsy developed as a result 
     of combat, in order to support the provision of services for 
     such diagnosis and treatment in accordance with the most 
     current information on epilepsy;
       ``(2) the development of evidence-based methodologies for 
     treating individuals with epilepsy;
       ``(3) the continuous and consistent coordination of care 
     from the point of referral throughout the diagnostic and 
     treatment process and ongoing follow-up after return to home 
     and community;
       ``(4) the development of a national system of coordinated 
     care for veterans with epilepsy, including the development 
     and maintenance of a national network of Department health 
     care personnel with an interest and expertise in the care and 
     treatment of epilepsy and the establishment of a referral 
     system and procedure within each Veterans Integrated Service 
     Network;
       ``(5) assist in the expansion, where appropriate, of the 
     utilization of telehealth technology, including exploring the 
     use of such technology to develop, transmit, monitor, and 
     review neurological diagnostic tests and other applicable 
     uses of telehealth technology for the diagnosis, care, and 
     treatment of veterans with epilepsy; and
       ``(6) the dissemination of educational materials and 
     research regarding diagnosis, care, and treatment of 
     epilepsy, throughout the Department.
       ``(d) Administration.--In order to assist the Secretary in 
     carrying out this section, the Secretary shall designate a 
     national coordinator for epilepsy programs who shall report 
     to the official responsible for neurology at the Veterans 
     Health Administration and shall--
       ``(1) supervise the operation of the centers designated 
     under this section;
       ``(2) coordinate and support the national network of 
     Department health care professionals with an interest and 
     expertise in the care and treatment of epilepsy;
       ``(3) ensure that the education and research mission of 
     such centers is being accomplished; and
       ``(4) conduct regular evaluations of such centers to ensure 
     compliance with the requirements of this section.
       ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
     item relating to section 7330 the following new item:

``7330A. Epilepsy centers of excellence.''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) will 
each control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, in this Congress the new Members have taken 
a great leadership role on many matters, and especially those in the 
area of veterans affairs. One of those great new Members is Mr. 
Perlmutter of Colorado, and I yield to him as much time as he might 
consume to explain his bill which is on the floor today and will do so 
much for so many veterans.
  Mr. PERLMUTTER. I thank Mr. Filner for this opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2818, the Veterans' 
Epilepsy Treatment Act, which establishes a national epilepsy network 
within the Veterans Affairs health care system.
  I introduced H.R. 2818 on June 21, 2007, and now, 1 year later, I'm 
pleased it was reported out of the VA Committee by a voice vote.
  The measure has the support and sponsorship of 135 Members of 
Congress. And I want to thank Chairman Filner, Subcommittee Chairman 
Michaud, Ranking Member Buyer, Mr. Miller from Florida, and their staff 
for the work they do on behalf of our Nation's veterans and for their 
work on H.R. 2818.
  I also want to thank Majority Leader Hoyer for the interest he has 
taken in this bill, and Rick Palacio from his office.
  H.R. 2818, the Veterans' Epilepsy Treatment Act, will establish five 
epilepsy treatment centers called Epilepsy Centers of Excellence which 
are going to be co-located at the VA polytrauma centers in Palo Alto, 
Minneapolis, San Antonio, Richmond and Tampa. These centers will care 
for veterans experiencing seizures, and especially those we predict 
will develop epilepsy as a result of suffering traumatic brain injury 
while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a moral obligation to our service men and women 
who are defending our country overseas to help them when they return 
home. Our veterans health care system is the best in the world, and 
H.R. 2818 will make our system even stronger.

                              {time}  1515

  Today estimates show some 89,000 veterans have epilepsy and 42 
percent of that number is service connected.
  Epilepsy is often defined as two or more seizures, and during 
Vietnam, a number of men and women returned home with head wounds and 
head injuries. Of those who came home with these types of injuries, 
some 53 percent developed epilepsy within 15 years thereafter; 15 
percent of those who developed epilepsy did so 5 years or more after 
their combat injuries.
  For these service-connected injuries, the relative risk for 
developing epilepsy is 25 times higher than in the population as a 
whole. These statistics indicate the number of veterans who will 
develop epilepsy due to the extended combat in Iraq and Afghanistan is 
only going to rise. And with the IED injuries that our men and women 
have suffered, we know that that's going to occur. That is why we need 
expert clinical and research staff to work together to diagnose, care 
for, and research the long-term effects of epilepsy.
  This bill takes those steps by creating a National Epilepsy Program 
through the establishment of five sophisticated centers for epilepsy 
care. In addition, each Veterans Integrated Service Network, or VISN, 
will have an epilepsy referral clinic and the VA's telehealth capacity 
will be expanded to track the neurological diagnostic tests of our 
rural veterans. These centers will develop and administer treatments 
and possibly cures for our veterans, allowing them to live their lives 
to the fullest.
  It establishes a National Coordinator For Epilepsy within the VA 
system, and it will provide educational materials throughout the 
country to assist people in dealing with epilepsy or those who may come 
into contact with people with epilepsy.
  Moreover, the body of knowledge developed through the research 
conducted by the VA will help our society as a whole. And I will admit 
to having a child with epilepsy, and, quite frankly, if, in fact, the 
research that's developed by the VA assists her, I will be very 
thankful for that on a personal basis.
  The bill authorizes expenditures of $5 million per year for the years 
2009-2013. A small price to diagnose, treat, and research epilepsy for 
those who have served us so valiantly all around the globe.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
H.R. 2818, the Veterans Epilepsy Treatment Act. I want to thank the 
Epilepsy Foundation, the Brain Injury Association, the American Academy 
of Neurology, the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed Veterans of 
America, the Blinded Veterans, and the Vietnam Vets of America for 
their support of this bill. Again, I want to thank the VA Committee for 
supporting this bill and voting it out by a voice vote.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 2818, as amended, the Veterans Epilepsy 
Treatment Act of 2008. It's a bill to amend title 38 of the United 
States Code to provide for the establishment of Epilepsy Centers of 
Excellence in the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs.
  I would like to thank the Health Subcommittee chairman, Mike Michaud, 
and Ranking Member Jeff Miller for their work on the bill. They 
determined that existing six new centers spread throughout the country 
without utilizing the clinical and scientific expertise available 
within the VA's polytrauma rehabilitation centers was probably not the 
optimal approach. So working in a bipartisan manner, this legislation 
was amended to ensure that there will soon be five polytrauma 
rehabilitation centers.
  We also need to recognize that we have many of these 89,000 veterans 
who live in rural areas and also will be traveling distances, we need 
to acknowledge, to these rehabilitation centers; so there is an energy 
cost issue, which we are going to address here in a moment.
  The VA has a long history of providing specialized treatment and 
research on epilepsy. In 1972, recognizing that head trauma, whether 
mild or severe, is a risk factor for developing epilepsy, the VA 
created dedicated centers

[[Page H5946]]

to improve the quality of care for veterans who may develop 
posttraumatic epilepsy as a result of military service. Today the VA 
operates seven sites with advanced capabilities to monitor and perform 
epilepsy surgery.
  There are, as I said earlier, approximately 89,000 veterans, many of 
whom also live in rural America, with epilepsy enrolled in the VA 
health care system. And with the prevalence of combat-related traumatic 
brain injury among our returning OEF and OIF servicemembers, it is 
important that the VA is a national leader in the prevention, 
treatment, and research on epilepsy.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me speak to a couple of matters relative here to the House in how 
we manage the House's business. First I will speak with regard to 
process.
  We are bringing eight veterans bills to the floor all as individual 
bills. That is very concerning to me because these could have been 
placed all in one omnibus bill that we would then bring to the floor. 
It would create better management of the floor. So why is this brought 
as eight individual bills on suspension? My guess, Mr. Speaker, is that 
the House is now performing what I would call filling the time. Why are 
we filling time? Well, because this Congress isn't working on some of 
the most important issues facing this country.
  We have about 35 legislative days left in this Congress. This 
Congress has not passed a single appropriations bill to run the 
government. This is a dysfunctional Congress, and we're failing to meet 
our responsibilities. So while we are not doing the responsibilities of 
the country, we have to fill time. So they turn to the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee and other committees and find what are all the bills 
that you've got out there that we can do on suspension, that we can do 
on the calendar? Let's fill the time. And that's what is happening 
here, and it's extremely bothersome to me.
  Here the country is facing tremendous issues, whether it's the 
downturn of the economy, the issues relative to people leaving their 
homes. We have got an energy crisis with the challenge on how we're 
going to reduce our energy dependence on a lot of bad actors around the 
world. We have got the solvency of Medicare issue. We have got the 
Social Security issue. We have got the AMT patch. We have got 
immigration. No, this Congress, we're not going to work on those 
important issues, I guess must be the message that the country is 
receiving from our acts of today, because we're going to take up a lot 
of time here on the legislative calendar on eight individual veterans 
bills. Now, think about that. That's eight bills split up of 40 minutes 
on each bill. This is the House equivalent of dilatory tactics when it 
comes to working on what is important facing the country.
  So I guess on the energy issue, I think my colleagues would 
immediately respond, well, my gosh, Steve, we just voted on price 
gouging. Okay. I think my Democrat colleagues think that to solve the 
energy crisis relative to the country, we are going to, let's see, tax 
the profits of oil companies. We're going to do price gouging 
legislation. Oh, there must be something going on out there in the 
futures market; so let's talk about speculators. Let's do nothing with 
regard to supply.
  Now, I am in favor of these Centers of Excellence to advance and 
coordinate care for veterans with epilepsy. So why am I talking about 
these other issues? I'm talking about them because they are important 
issues also facing the country that this Congress is not addressing. 
And as we continue to work as a Congress to improve the quality of life 
for our veterans, we must examine the added burden that energy costs 
are placing upon those who served their country.
  Americans are coping with increased energy prices, including 
veterans. Congress must act to decrease the energy costs. The energy 
bills we have been voting on in the House are fighting the smoke of the 
energy crisis in America, not fighting the fires. So my Democrat 
colleagues love to work on the demand side of the economic equation. 
Price is fundamental economics. You've got a supply and demand result 
in the increase in price.
  We've got one of my colleagues here that wants a 50 cent consumption 
tax on gasoline. Why would they be proposing things like this? Well, 
you propose things like that because you want to compress demand on 
energy to change the American culture rather than opening up supplies.
  Why is this such an important issue? It's an important issue because 
it impacts veterans. Energy price impacts veterans, and nationwide 
Americans are now spending nearly 4 percent of their aftertax income on 
gasoline.
  So on this bill on epilepsy, we talked about the fact that we have 
got 89,000 veterans with epilepsy enrolled in the VA health care 
system. We now in this bill are saying that we are going to move them 
to the polytrauma centers. There are five polytrauma centers, which 
means that individuals to gain access to the polytrauma care centers 
now have to travel. How do they get there? They either get there 
through the airlines or through surface transportation. In order to do 
that, they're facing increased costs to the access of health care. 
That's why energy is also an important veterans issue.
  We are importing over 60 percent of our oil from foreign countries, 
and as the price of gasoline increases, the cost of food, goods, and 
medical care go up. Veterans are being hit by increased prices at the 
pump, and Congress must make every effort to deal with the heart of the 
energy issue for every citizen and increase our energy supply. If we 
increase our supply, we will then decrease energy prices.
  Many of America's veterans, as I said, live in rural areas, and they 
also then get hit the hardest by the increase in gasoline prices. While 
4 percent may be the average amount Americans are paying, that figure 
has surpassed 13 percent in rural areas. Rural Americans are estimated 
to be paying now over $2,000 for gasoline this year, and this has a 
tremendous impact upon our--


                             Point of Order

  Mr. FILNER. Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Indiana will suspend.
  The gentleman from California will please state his point of order.
  Mr. BUYER. I have the time, Mr. Speaker. I have not yielded for a 
point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is not necessary that the Member under 
recognition yield for a point of order. The Chair may recognize another 
who seeks recognition for a point of order.
  The gentleman from California will please state his point of order.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, clause 1 of rule XVII says: ``A member is 
required to confine himself or herself to the question under debate,'' 
which is the establishment of epilepsy centers in this country, ``and 
may not stray from the subject under discussion. If so, a Member may be 
subject to a point of order that his or her remarks are not relevant to 
the debate.''
  And I raise that as a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. BUYER. May I speak to the point of order?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may speak to the point of 
order.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us creates these epileptic 
centers to be associated with the five polytrauma centers. In order for 
veterans to gain access to them, they have to be able to travel to get 
there. The increased price of energy is very important for veterans to 
be able to gain access to these centers.
  It is pertinent, it is relevant, and it is material to this debate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is requested to continue the 
nexus to the subject at hand.
  The gentleman may proceed.
  Mr. BUYER. So have you overruled the chairman's point of order?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has simply acknowledged the need 
to maintain the nexus to the subject at hand. The gentleman may 
proceed.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, if I may say one more thing in support of my 
point of order.
  Before I withdraw my point of order, I would like to point out that 
the definition of ``filling the time'' has just been shown by the 
ranking member.

[[Page H5947]]

  Mr. BUYER. I ask for a ruling from the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may proceed.
  Mr. BUYER. I ask for a ruling from the Chair on the point of order.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask to withdraw my point of order.
  Mr. BUYER. I object.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The point of order is withdrawn.
  Mr. BUYER. I object.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Unanimous consent is not required to 
withdraw a point of order.
  The gentleman from Indiana is recognized.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, what I object to is the fact that the 
chairman of the committee must not care about the increased cost of 
energy prices on veterans in America. He must not care, Mr. Speaker, 
because he's so concerned that he wants to raise a point of order 
against me to silence the issue of the impact of energy prices at the 
VA on health care, on medical research?
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very, very pertinent and important issue. The 
increased prices to the VA, a few years back we had an emergency 
supplemental, and part of that was because of the increase in energy 
costs to the VA. This is a pretty important issue.
  So let me now embrace your counsel, Mr. Speaker, to me.

                              {time}  1530

  H.R. 2818, as amended, will improve the VA's research. Now why do I 
mention research? Well, because what we're doing here, we recognize the 
VA has a long history of providing specialized treatment and research 
on epilepsy. So now let's talk about the impact on energy prices on 
research. It's a proper nexus, would the Speaker not agree? The Speaker 
is stoic.
  H.R. 2818, as amended, I believe it improves VA's research, but as we 
look at this, the research activities consume high amounts of energy, 
and these activities include using CT scans, MRIs, other medical 
imaging technology. We use medical testing and other laboratory 
devices. Research laboratories require high amounts of security to 
protect personal medical information on research subjects. Laboratory 
data may examine heating and cooling systems to control specimen 
temperatures to ensure viability in our research activities. All that 
requires energy and in fact energy prices will impact the delivery of 
care that we do at our epileptic centers.
  Facility energy consumption also involves power to run computers, 
printers, scanners, copiers, shredders. Some of these research, medical 
research projects require specialized lighting and may occur after 
hours when VA physicians have time to work in their labs and analyze 
data when these systems would then be shut down.
  From 2005 to 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs' energy costs 
have increased by 20 percent. The VA's energy costs have increased 65 
percent since the 2003 baseline set by Federal mandates in the OMB 
energy scorecard.
  May I ask the Speaker how much time I have remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has approximately 10 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. BUYER. The increasing cost of energy is affecting every sector of 
American life, including the services provided by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, which we are not immune to the effects of high fuel 
prices. Yet, our colleagues, it appears the chairman of the Veterans' 
Affairs committee, that is so upset now that I am talking about the 
increase in energy and its impact on the quality of care we can deliver 
in health care, are not providing the relief on energy costs. We should 
be looking at ways to reduce the energy burden on the VA.
  So when I look at the energy baseline in 2003 in the VA on energy 
costs and its impact on how we can provide quality health care to our 
veterans, that baseline was $287.7 million. Today, that energy 
baseline--actually, my numbers are of 2007--was $475.5 billion. That is 
a 65 percent increase in VA utility expenses.
  So with regard to the Speaker's counsel to me that I can talk about 
energy prices in the VA so long as there is a proper nexus, well, I 
think if we are talking about a 65 percent increase in fuel prices and 
its impact upon the VA and how we will be able to deliver not only 
quality research but also quality health care at our epileptic centers, 
I think is a pretty important issue.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Before I yield to my colleague on the committee, I just 
want to point out to the 25 million veterans of our Nation, 100 million 
people who constitute their families, all of this Nation who cares 
about health care for our veterans, the benefits for our veterans, all 
of those who understand that this war is costing us enormous personal 
tragedies, brain injuries, amputations, psychological wounds, that we 
have millions of veterans from earlier wars who are suffering, need 
help from the VA. All of that health care, all of that concern for the 
VA has been called by my colleague, the ranking member from Indiana, 
``filling the time.'' I am happy to fill the time with bills that refer 
to the health and well-being of all our veterans, whether from this war 
or from earlier wars.
  I would yield such time as she may consume to a very important member 
of our committee for 16 years, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Corrine Brown).
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for 
your leadership on the committee and your leadership for these veterans 
in this country. And to the ranking member, I know that he did not mean 
that the leadership of this House, that have devoted a block of time to 
talk about the veterans and their service to this country, is filling 
the time.
  I want to thank the leadership, I want to thank the chairman, and I 
want to thank the Republicans on the committee because we have some 
issues that we want to talk about honoring veterans that have served 
this country. So I know he did not mean that talking about veterans, 
other than Memorial Day or Veterans Day, is filling our time. He didn't 
mean that, I know that.
  So I want to rise in support of veterans-related bills being 
considered today, and I support all eight of them.
  I am pleased to be a cosponsor of House Resolution 1231, supporting 
Vietnam Veterans Day. In my State of Florida, we have close to 600,000 
thousand veterans in Florida, and I am pleased to be given the chance 
to serve their interests as a member for 16 years on the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee.
  The Vietnam War was a very divisive time in our Nation's history, and 
I hope that all Americans, through this resolution, will be able to 
continue to help heal this Nation, and that the Vietnam vets, who so 
bravely served our country, will finally get the respect they have 
earned. Let me just say: Vietnam veterans bravely served this country 
finally get the respect they helped earn.
  I am also pleased recently to visit Puerto Rico recently and tour the 
VA Medical Center in San Juan. I was very impressed with the people who 
work at that facility and with the people in the territory as a whole. 
The employees were very professional, and it is a credit to both Puerto 
Rico and to the VA.
  I was also in Ponce, admiring the port there, in my other role as a 
member on the Transportation Committee, and was very impressed by the 
city and very pleased that the veterans there have access to the VA 
clinic.
  I support H.R. 4289, to name the VA clinic in Ponce after Captain 
Rubio, who earned the Medal of Honor for his service protecting his 
comrades above and beyond the call of duty.
  I also rise in support of H.R. 4918, to rename the Miami Veterans 
Medical Center after one of Florida's bravest servicemen, Private Bruce 
Wayne Carter, of the United States Marine Corps. His mother still lives 
in Jacksonville. Private First Class Carter was ordered to Vietnam in 
April, 1969, and served as a radio operator. When he was 19, and in an 
act of incredible altruism, he threw himself on an enemy grenade, 
absorbing the full extent of the blast to protect his fellow marines.
  He gave his life in service to our country and to his fellow marines 
and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I am pleased to join 
the entire Florida delegation in support of this legislation in honor 
of Bruce Carter.
  Again, I want to thank the chairman, and I urge all of my colleagues 
to support all eight bills honoring veterans

[[Page H5948]]

on the floor of the House of Representatives today. And once again I 
want to thank the leadership for bringing these veterans bills up 
today.
  Mr. BUYER. The gentlelady knows quite well, having been here a very 
long time, that the best way to utilize the floor time, which is 
extremely important on the important issues facing the country, is that 
we could have taken these eight veterans bills and consolidated them 
and brought them to the floor. That is not what we have done.
  Half of the bills that we are talking about here today, Mr. Speaker, 
I say to the gentlelady, is that they are naming bills. They are naming 
bills. We could have managed the time of the floor much better.
  So the gentlelady was absolutely correct. No one here should try to 
attempt to spin my remarks about filling time as if somehow veterans 
substantive legislation is not important. The fact that the time on the 
floor is what is extremely important.
  We have 35 legislative days, approximately, to go. I know you're 
praising leadership, Ms. Brown, but this Congress, we have not done one 
appropriations bill to run this country. Mr. Speaker, I think that is 
correct. I think there are 12 legislative bills. We haven't done any of 
them. None of them have come to the House floor.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Will you yield?
  Mr. BUYER. I yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Sir, I understand what you're saying, 
but I don't know that it was any different when the Republicans were in 
charge. The appropriations bills, they are going through the process, 
they are going through the different hearings and the discussion. But 
today we have an opportunity to honor the veterans.
  Mr. BUYER. I reclaim my time. When the gentlelady brought up with 
regard to what you did when you were in charge--I will just share this 
with the gentlelady--the bills that have been brought to the floor here 
under suspension, in the past, for years now you and I have work 
together and served on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Any time the 
bill would actually come to the floor, it was always by agreement 
between the ranking and the chairman and other members of interest, 
always by consensus and by agreement.
  That is not what happened here today. That is not. We did that with 
regard to seven bills. At the last moment, another bill gets added. We 
had some general concerns with regard to the language in the bill. But, 
no, the chairman is going to have his way.
  So I just share with the gentlelady that he wanted to roll the 
minority, no differently than how the Speaker has rolled the committee 
with regard to the GI Bill and others.
  Mr. FILNER. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BUYER. I wanted the gentlelady to know when you brought up the 
issue about, Well, here's what occurred when you were in charge, we had 
great deference to the Speaker and the access to the floor.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BUYER. My point is that because this Congress has now chosen not 
to work on these very important issues facing the country, whether it's 
decreasing the energy prices, on immigration, solvency of Social 
Security, Medicare, all of these list of issues, we are not doing right 
now. So we need to be able to say, Okay, what are we going to do with 
our time. So we take the eight veterans bills that we have and split 
them each up individually, with 40 minutes on each bill.
  I yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Buyer, I think it is appropriate to 
take proper time to honor the veterans, and I am very happy that we are 
doing this today. The appropriation bills, as you know, will be coming 
up. These are the ``must'' bills that we have to pass. And so often, as 
you well know, we take them and we wrap them in a continuing 
resolution. Hopefully, we will pass several of those bills, but today 
it is time for us to honor the veterans.
  We have passed, working together, the largest VA budget in the 
history of the United States.
  Mr. BUYER. I reclaim my time. If you want to honor the veteran, then 
help me help this Congress and the American people reduce energy prices 
that impact upon the VA and other departments of government, but in 
particular, our veterans today, this bill before us deals with the 
epilepsy centers. And in order for these patients to gain access to 
these epileptic centers, they are either going to have to fly or they 
have got to drive great distances to get there, and there is going to 
be a cost increase to do that.
  So if we are facing now from 2003 to today a 65 percent increase in 
energy baseline at the Department of Veterans Affairs, carry that 
across all government. So, today we are going to honor the veterans? We 
can't do things in a vacuum, I would say, Mr. Speaker. We have to be 
holistic with regard to how we apply our policies that we do here in 
Congress.
  So with regard to caring for the Nation's veterans, for which we all 
embrace, we can only do that if we can increase the quality of our 
health care; at the same time, increasing the access. If we don't work 
on the increase in energy prices, then it has a depression then upon 
the access to quality health care.
  So we can invest all the moneys we like on improving the quality of 
care, but if we can't also get them access, then have we achieved the 
goal for which we desire?
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BUYER. I yield to the gentlelady.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Last week, just last week we passed the 
Amtrak bill, which is an opportunity that we can take people out of 
their cars and move them forward. I went from downtown Brussels to 
downtown Paris, 200 miles, 1 hour and 15 minutes. That is the future of 
this country. We are moving forward. And I know you voted for my Amtrak 
bill. That is a great step forward.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. BUYER. Reclaiming my time, I appreciate that your own chairman 
did not object to your words. I voted for your Amtrak bill and I 
support the increase in our transportation, and I appreciate the 
deference of the chairman for not objecting to your words being outside 
of the nexus of the bill. I think they were inclusive of the nexus of 
the bill, Mr. Speaker, because it is about transportation and how our 
veterans gain access to the health care system. So I also appreciate 
the indulgence of the Chair by permitting the gentlewoman to speak and 
not silencing an individual Member's words on the House floor.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the gentleman from 
Colorado, I heard the gentleman from Indiana object to the naming 
bills. I guess that would be a unanimous consent request to tell Mr. 
Hastings from Washington, Mr. Miller from Florida, Mr. Fortuno from 
Puerto Rico and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen from Florida that he doesn't want to 
hear their bills. That is what I heard.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado 
(Mr. Salazar).
  Mr. SALAZAR. I want to thank the chairman for bringing up these bills 
today.
  It is actually a little disappointing to stand here and listen to the 
dialogue, when I know my Republican colleagues on the House Veterans' 
Committee actually voted unanimously to get these bills to the floor. 
You know, veterans issues to me are not a partisan issue. We are all 
Americans. I think all of us support veterans, and we are all doing the 
best we can to move this thing forward.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 2818, the Veterans' 
Epilepsy Treatment Act of 2008. I want to especially thank my fellow 
Coloradan, Congressman Ed Perlmutter, who introduced this bill. He 
continues to be a champion for Colorado, for Colorado veterans and 
veterans across the Nation who suffer from epilepsy.
  According to the VA, there are currently 89,000 veterans enrolled in 
the VA who have been diagnosed with epilepsy. This bill creates a 
national system of care to treat our veterans, co-located at existing 
polytrauma centers. This is very important to rural districts like 
mine, where making health care accessible is a constant challenge.

[[Page H5949]]

  The Veterans Health Subcommittee has heard about the increasing rates 
of TBI among our returning veterans. A DOD study after Vietnam found 
that 53 percent of soldiers with brain injuries suffered from a 
penetrating TBI, the most severe type of TBI. About 15 percent of these 
also developed epilepsy soon after their injury.
  Longer deployments put our heroes at greater risk for these injuries 
and mental health conditions. At the same time, advancements in 
medicine have saved many soldiers from injuries that only a few years 
ago would have been fatal. The result is a greater number of vets in 
the VA health care system with these types of injuries.
  As a veteran myself, I was proud to serve my country at the end of 
the Vietnam War. Vietnam veterans returned home with head injuries, TBI 
and PTSD, but were not properly diagnosed. This bill honors their 
service by improving access to health care for current and future 
veterans. H.R. 2818 will go a long way in helping change our health 
care system to one that is prepared for tomorrow's challenges.
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
legislation, as we did in the Veterans Affairs Committee, and I want to 
especially once again thank our Congressman from Colorado, who has a 
special interest for his leadership in making sure that our veterans 
have the health care that they deserve.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado. He is a very valuable 
member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. He and I have traveled part 
of the world together and I have tremendous respect for him. He also 
knows the Veterans' Affairs Committee works best when it works in a 
bipartisan fashion. So I turn to my good friend and ask for that help 
and assistance and best counsel that he can give to the chairman to 
stop the divisiveness that occurs on the committee by the actions he 
has been taking.
  With that, I embrace the gentleman from Colorado. The gentleman 
should also know if the House is not going to address the big energy 
issues that also face America, and in particular your State with regard 
to oil shale and being able to access important sources of oil for this 
country, then I have to be able to create the nexus, Mr. Chairman, 
where I can, to talk about the impact of energy on this country and the 
impact upon veterans in this country.
  With that, I reserve my time.
  Mr. FILNER. I am the closing speaker on our side, Mr. Speaker, so I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2818, as 
amended, and, with that, I yield back.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, with all the huffing and puffing, I am glad the minority 
ranking member supports the bill. Let me remind people what this bill 
is all about. It is about our veterans. It is about our veterans.
  A DOD study after Vietnam found in fact that 15 percent of veterans 
with severe traumatic brain injury, TBI, developed epilepsy soon after 
their injury. We know how many TBI victims we have from Iraq and 
Afghanistan. So as more and more veterans move from DOD health care to 
the VA health care system, the VA must be prepared to treat TBI and 
epilepsy.
  The Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in this bill by Mr. Perlmutter of 
Colorado would function as centers of research on the diagnosis, 
treatment and long-term effects of epilepsy. It gives the VA the tools 
to provide to veterans with epilepsy the quality of care that they 
deserve.
  I join my ranking member in urging my colleagues to support H.R. 
2818, as amended.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I would ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2818, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. 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 bill, H.R. 2818, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend title 38, 
United States Code, to provide for the establishment of epilepsy 
centers of excellence in the Veterans Health Administration of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________