[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7716-H7723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2009

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1384 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the further consideration of the bill, 
H.R. 6599.

                              {time}  2016


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of 
the bill (H.R. 6599) making appropriations for military construction, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes, with Mr. 
Pomeroy in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. When the Committee of the Whole rose earlier today, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) had 14\1/2\ minutes remaining and 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) had 30 minutes remaining.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, oftentimes in life it's more important what you do with 
your second chances than what you do the first time around. Neither 
Chairman Edwards, who spoke so eloquently in a comprehensive way about 
this bill and his commitment to our veterans, our men and women in 
harm's way and their families--neither he nor I took advantage in our 
younger years of serving in the uniform of our Armed Forces. However, 
fate has it that we would have a second opportunity to serve by serving 
those who are serving us, past and present, through this bill; making 
sure that those great American patriots, past and present, have what 
they need--and are entitled to and deserve because of their commitment 
to this great Nation.
  It is the highest compliment of my professional life to serve as the 
ranking member of this subcommittee. I want to thank Chairman Lewis--
former Chairman Lewis, now Ranking Member Lewis--for this privilege 
because without him and his support I wouldn't be here. I want to thank 
Mr. Wicker, who was the ranking member of this subcommittee last year, 
and I want to thank whoever helped him become a Senator to open up this 
subcommittee opportunity for me, and for Chairman Edwards, who, as you 
just saw on the House floor, is a class act, with a true commitment to 
the men and women in uniform and a determination to do whatever is 
necessary to honor their commitment.
  And I can report today, as I did at the full committee, that when I 
go home and people ask me in 2008, in my new position, are we honoring 
our Nation's veterans and the men and women in uniform serving in an 
asymmetrical war on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan, with head 
trauma and IED injuries and amputations--double, triple, extraordinary 
injuries--stress from unfair deployments, unsustainable deployments, 
stress on the family, are we honoring our commitment to them? And I 
don't think a few years ago, regardless of party, that the answer to 
that question was yes. We had problems at Walter Reed, we had problems 
at Fort Stewart, we had problems across the board.
  We still have many challenges. The deployment ratios have got to 
continue to improve. But I can tell you in this bill there is a 
bipartisan commitment to honor their commitment. And I believe we are 
making great progress at ensuring our men and women in uniform and 
their families have what they need and deserve, and when they come home 
as veterans, that we take adequate care of them--not adequate, but 
responsible care of them. And I think we're making great progress.
  I want to thank the majority for doing something that people in the 
hinterland wouldn't even understand, but they put the Military 
Construction bill back in with the Veterans bill where it belongs. When 
I served on the subcommittee 10 years ago, this was not the case.
  But when the Military Construction bill funds quality of life needs 
and child care centers and polytrauma centers and housing needs, the 
veterans piece being in with it in the same bill allows the continuum 
of care to come together so that we can look at the whole picture from 
today's men and women in harm's way and what their quality of life 
needs are--which is number one for us--all the way through the end of 
their life as a veteran with our VA system. It needs to all be 
together.
  That was an amazing success, bringing Military Construction and 
Veteran's Care back together--my hat's off to the Speaker for doing 
that, first and foremost, for Chairman Edwards for his leadership, and 
for Chairman Obey for his commitment.
  I do agree that over the 100 hearing hours Chairman Edwards and I had 
a hands-on with these amazing Americans, we produced a work product, 
this bill--at roughly $48 billion for the VA and $25 billion for the 
military construction needs around the world--that is very strong, and 
an encouragement to all those in harm's way today and those that have 
been in harm's way in the past.
  I will say that the President's budget request for veterans was a 
record level. Now, the chairman said that it wasn't enough, and I agree 
with that. And we did increase it by $3 billion, but it was at a record 
level. So today there is an encouraging bipartisan proliferation to see 
who can do more for our Nation's veterans. And that's a good thing for 
our Nation's veterans, that we're in competition to see who can do more 
for the men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and those 
that have served in the past.
  But I was blown away over the last few months with the quality of the 
servicemembers and veterans. First, we hear from the chiefs of the 
respective services, the top enlisted personnel, the commanders from 
around the world, like the Commander of CENTCOM, who is now General 
Petraeus, with two wars under his command in Iraq and Afghanistan, we 
hear from all these leaders about the needs on the ground and what 
investments they need the Congress to make for them to do their job 
successfully. And then from the military families, that talk about the 
stress felt when we had a 15-month in, 1 year out deployment, now it's 
back to 1-1, it's going to 2-1. We need to get to 3-1 to make it 
sustainable, meaning 1 year in theater fighting, 3 years back in a 
noncombat station. This is so important that we work towards these 
objectives and that we honor this commitment.
  Now, on the subcommittee, we've got extraordinary support. Former 
chairman of the full committee, who will speak in a minute, Bill Young 
from Florida, sits with us every hearing, hands on, fully engaged. 
Ander Crenshaw from Jacksonville, Florida, who will also speak, John 
Carter, from Texas, Kay Granger from Texas on the Republican side. I 
want to compliment not just Chairman Edwards, but Sam Farr, the vice 
chairman; who was really engaged, and a man who understands the world; 
he does an outstanding job.
  You mentioned all the staff, I won't repeat their names, but both 
sides of

[[Page H7717]]

the aisle, just outstanding work. Members of the subcommittee--Mr. 
Mollohan, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Bishop--everyone's engaged on your 
side; and contributed to great bipartisan cooperation. And the quality 
of these people that are serving in uniform and their families is just 
extraordinary.
  What we heard this year is that the value of the dollar is really 
hurting us around the world. Our money that we're investing won't buy 
what it used to buy all over the world, and that's a big problem. And 
we've known that it was getting worse, but it's really causing a budget 
pinch for our military construction around the world.
  We heard, as we've continued to hear--which has held up the 
appropriation process--that energy costs are unsustainable. That's a 
huge burden on this budget. We're trying to help with those needs.
  Most importantly, though, we heard about the stress of the 
deployments from the families, that they're unsustainable, that they 
put a huge burden on the servicemembers and families. That's why these 
child care centers and these housing issues are so important and we 
have prioritized in this bill.
  I want to say one word of caution, because whether it's a $3 billion 
increase in VA or $13 billion increase in VA, the Veterans 
Administration is a long-standing bureaucracy. It is very large. And I 
have traveled, I've been to the sites, I've worked with the VA for a 
number of years, and they're not as efficient as they can be or must 
be. Money is not the only issue. I'm grateful that we came together to 
give them more money, but I want to make sure, and so does Chairman 
Edwards, that each and every year we hold them more accountable, and 
the subcommittee takes a greater hands-on role at looking for 
efficiencies. We worked with Ranking Member Buyer this year on the 
Authorization Committee on ways for the VA to recapture more third-
party payments that they're entitled to to help with their bottom line; 
things like that we must do because the VA has to be more efficient and 
more accountable because they are a government bureaucracy. So it's not 
just money, it's oversight. And I believe we share that commitment.
  I think Secretary Peake is doing a very good job as the Secretary. 
Sometimes these positions are political; I don't think he is, I think 
he's hands on. He understands the VA system from a health care 
perspective, which is possibly the most important piece of it. I just 
want to thank everyone. Again, the staff has really produced a great 
bill.
  Member projects in this bill mirror those included in the House Armed 
Services Committee's bill. The projects all are authorized. We married 
them up, so there's no Member-advanced initiatives here that don't meet 
all the tests of authorization. That's important. So that makes this 
bill special.
  It is special, too; we're the only Appropriations bill that's going 
to move off the House floor before we go home. I wish they all would 
have. But we're closing on a positive note because this bill is 
positive for our men and women in uniform. And they're out there facing 
the threats that are out there. And it's like never before. It's 
asymmetrical.
  I don't know what's next, but I hope and pray we can bring them all 
home very soon. But as long as they're in harm's way and as long as 
they're willing to volunteer to serve, Chairman Edwards, you and I are 
going to work together, in this second chance of ours, to serve those 
who serve us. And we're going to honor their commitment fully. That's 
what this bill is about.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy), who has been a powerful 
voice on our subcommittee on behalf of our veterans, our troops and 
their families.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I want to thank Chairman Chet Edwards and Ranking Member 
Zach Wamp for their incredible leadership on this legislation. And I'd 
like to take a moment, Mr. Chairman, to particularly say what an honor 
it is to serve under Chairman Edwards. And his particular leadership is 
due a great deal of appreciation, especially for what he does to 
champion the cause of veterans in this country. And I want to say what 
an honor it is to serve under his leadership in this committee.
  I want to say, as Mr. Wamp did, that it is an honor, for those of us 
who never served in uniform, to be here and serving in a different 
uniform, in coat and tie, to be there to serve those who did go out 
there and put their lives on the line to serve our country, in a sense 
that we owe it to them and can have an opportunity to serve those 
veterans who have served our country so proudly. I take great pride in 
that.
  I feel that this is an historic place in the Congress of the United 
States. I mean, this floor of the House is where Franklin Roosevelt 
announced that we would be declaring war, World War II. And we all read 
about the history of this country, when the country came together to 
fight wars on two sides of the world. And we read about those times in 
American history when all of America was joined together and 
sacrificing.
  And the only difference between those times and now is that there 
seems to be a battle that's being fought by our men and women in 
uniform, but the sacrifice seems to be borne principally by those who 
are wearing the uniform, but not by the rest of America. It seems as 
though there is a bubble going on here where the rest of America is 
supposed to go on with their lives and the military is supposed to do 
the job, and yet the two should never meet. And I don't think that's 
the way America is supposed to work. I think, as a country, we're 
supposed to be there every step of the way with our troops.
  And what I think this bill does is it begins to acknowledge that the 
rest of America needs to step up to the plate and make sure when our 
troops come home, that we know that they aren't forgotten, and that 
we're going to remember them long after they've come home and make sure 
that they get the homecoming that they deserve.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in enthusiastic support of the Military 
Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriation Bill. It has been my great 
privileged to serve under the leadership of Chairman Chet Edwards and 
Ranking Member Zack Wamp as we have worked in a bipartisan way to 
support our military and honor America's commitment to our veterans.
  I would like to take a moment, Mr. Chairman to honor the great 
service of the Chairman of the Military Construction Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations Subcommittee, Chet Edwards. There is no better champion 
for the veterans of our country and no better advocate for the needs of 
our service members than Chet Edwards. I applaud the Chairman for his 
earnest stewardship of our subcommittee.
  Mr. Chairman, over the past year, I had the opportunity to travel the 
country to see with my own eyes the capabilities of our VA Hospitals, 
Medical Centers, Polytrauma Centers and Inpatient facilities and get a 
better perspective of the needs of patients, doctors, nurses, and 
hospital administrators. I met with many of our brave veterans who have 
made those enormous sacrifices for our nation. Needless to say, I was 
inspired by the courage of our wounded warriors.
  The high degree of professionalism with which the Hospital staff 
conducted patient care was quite impressive and I have great confidence 
in the doctors and nurses who are doing their part in taking care of 
America's veterans.
  Unfortunately, many of these great public servants are performing 
their jobs in antiquated facilities with substandard staffing 
requirements that make life difficult for doctors, but more 
importantly, diminish care for patients!
  It was crystal clear to me that our VA Facilities need to do more to 
adapt to a new generation of American veterans who have come home from 
Iraq and Afghanistan. Specifically, the needs of our female veterans 
need immediate attention.
  During my visit, I observed that our Veterans' Hospitals, many of 
which were built in the 1950s and 60s, were not built to accommodate 
the large number of female vets expected to enter the system. They lack 
the most rudimentary amenities like adequate female restrooms and 
hospital rooms to meet privacy needs.
  Sadly, the VA is always playing a big game of ``catchup'' with 
respect to female vets. Instead of implementing a long term strategy 
designed to meet the needs of these service members, the VA would 
rather wait for another Walter Reed before changing the status-quo.
  In mental health services, I was alarmed by the lack of full-time 
mental health professional at VA Hospitals.
  For example, my visit to the Hines VA in Chicago last fall revealed 
that all of its psychiatrists were part-time employees. Frankly, I find 
that unacceptable.

[[Page H7718]]

  In this subcommittee, we have taken steps to bolster funding for 
mental health services in the VA and built upon our great success in 
last year's MILCON/VA appropriations bill which saw the greatest 
increase in veterans health funding in the 77-year history of the VA.
  We have also dedicated $24.8 billion for Military Construction to 
fully fund BRAC and increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
  In Military Construction, this bill also includes:
  --$336 million, which was not in the President's request, will go 
towards quality of life initiatives.
  --$200 million for the Army and Marine Corps to improve their 
barracks so that our service members have decent places to call home.
  The Veterans Health Administration estimates that in 2009 more than 
5.8 million patients, including 333,275 veterans of the Iraq and 
Afghanistan wars. This is why we have funded the VHA at $40.8 billion, 
$1.6 billion over the request of President Bush and a 9 percent 
increase over 2008 levels.
  According to a study by the Rand Corporation, more than 1 in 5 
service men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from 
a stress related mental illness. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the 
signature wound of this war and I applaud my colleagues on this 
subcommittee for recognizing the seriousness of this issue and for 
their willingness to devote significant funding towards mental health 
care and research.
  $3.8 billion in this bill is dedicated to specialty mental health 
services and $584 million to substance abuse programs in this bill.
  In a time of great need for our veterans, this subcommittee came 
together to write a bipartisan bill. We solicited views from the other 
side of the aisle to put together a responsible, non-partisan bill that 
has only one objective: to most effectively meet the needs of our 
veterans and military families.
  This is why I was appalled yesterday when I heard that President Bush 
announced that he would veto this legislation. The administration says 
we must spare no expense for our soldiers and Marines in the field, but 
when those servicemembers come home, this same President tells them 
that $3 billion for health care, family housing and medical research is 
too much.
  To shortchange our veterans and military families, in a time of war, 
is morally wrong. We have no right to put fiscal responsibility on the 
backs of our Nation's veterans.
  I would hope that we can quickly pass the Military Construction 
Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill so that the veterans I met across 
America can rest assured knowing the help is on the way.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the ranking member of 
the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, 
who has a tremendous record with our Nation's veterans.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.
  Mr. Chairman, as a member of the subcommittee presenting this 
appropriations bill tonight, I rise to strongly support the bill and to 
compliment and pay a special tribute to Chairman Edwards and Ranking 
Member Zach Wamp, who have done such a great job in leading this good 
subcommittee to present this exceptional bill.
  I am particularly pleased that the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Hospital at Bay Pines, which is in my district that serves the veterans 
of Florida, will be able to expand the type and quality of care that it 
can provide through this bill. Work will begin next year on a major 
$17.4 million expansion of the Bay Pines Hospital that will provide 
enhanced mental health and posttraumatic stress syndrome services with 
funds included in this bill. The new facility responds to an urgent 
need for additional space and resources to provide mental health and 
posttraumatic stress counseling and services which are so badly needed.
  So, Mr. Chairman, I do rise in support of this bill. There are so 
many other parts of the bill that have already been discussed and that 
will be reported in the written legislation, but I just want to say 
that I believe that it meets the needs of today's military, the members 
of our military. It meets many of the needs of yesterday's military, 
and it meets many of the needs of tomorrow's military. It's a good 
bill. I hope we can expedite its passage and get it to the President, 
get this bill signed so that the money can start to flow to care for 
our veterans and to provide necessary facilities for the members of 
today's military.
  Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill and it is needed now. While 
conducting a foreign war, our military continues to realign to meet 
current requirements around the globe and continues to aggressively 
work the base realignment and closure plan. I am glad that it has 
finally been brought to the floor of the House.
  In total, this bill authorizes a total appropriation of $24.8 billion 
for needed military construction efforts around the world. This total 
is $400 million over the President's requested budget.
  In addition, the bill appropriates a total of $3.2 billion for 
military and family housing projects for the families of our service 
members who are bearing the bulk of the sacrifices of this Nation's 
ongoing military actions around the world. This is an increase of $300 
million over the fiscal year 2008 level.
  The bill authorizes $336 million to continue a quality of life 
initiative that was begun in the 2008 Supplemental. This sum includes 
$200 million for new trainee and recruit housing, and $136 million for 
medical military construction and upgrades to certain medical treatment 
facilities. The President did not request this funding in his budget.
  Equally as important are the funds supplied in this bill for our 
continually increasing veterans population. This bill includes a total 
funding level of $47.7 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
This total is $2.9 billion over the President's request. We owe our 
past, our present and our future veterans the finest care possible.


                               bay pines

  I am particularly pleased that the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Hospital at Bay Pines which serves veterans in Florida will be able to 
expand the type and quality of care that it can provide through this 
bill.
  Work will begin next year on a major $17.4 million expansion of the 
Bay Pines hospital that will provide enhanced mental health and Post 
Traumatic Syndrome Disorder, PTSD, services with funds included in this 
bill. This new facility responds to an urgent need for additional space 
and resources to provide mental health and post traumatic stress 
counseling and services.
  The three story, 156,00 square foot addition to the main hospital 
building will include an Outpatient Mental Health Center of Excellence 
and a Post Traumatic Center of Excellence on the main level and 
replacement Inpatient Psychiatric and Geriatric Psychiatric bed wings 
on the 2nd and 3rd levels.
  The addition of new space will allow for the renovation of 189,000 
square feet of existing patient care space in out years, which will be 
used for medical and surgical nursing wards and a modern psychiatric 
domiciliary.
  The bill also includes $4.5 million for the hiring of an additional 
20 inspectors for the VA Office of Inspector General, 10 of which will 
go to the newly established Inspector General facility at Bay Pines. 
Each dollar spent on the IG will be returned many times over as fraud, 
waste and abuse are uncovered.
  It was through an initiative that I sponsored that the VA opened a 
major new VA IG office at Bay Pines in May 2007 to expand oversight and 
investigation operations in Florida to ensure that veterans receive the 
finest in care and the best use of limited tax dollars. Three years ago 
I learned that the VA Inspector General had only five personnel to 
monitor VA operations throughout the entire state of Florida. Soon 
thereafter I provided funding to enable the Inspector General to expand 
its operations in Florida to more than 50 investigators, auditors and 
agents to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse within the VA system, 
monitor the quality of care veterans receive, and apprehend those who 
seek to violate the public trust by stealing federal funds or abusing 
the trust of veterans. The Inspector General has said that the 
operation at Bay Pines is a flagship for the entire VA system.


                                 tampa

  The legislation also includes $21 million for a new headquarters for 
the special operations element of United States Central Command at 
MacDill Air Force Base. The new 66,000 square foot building will 
provide a secure facility for command and control, to train an 
increasing number of personnel, and store operational equipment. The 
unit currently operates out of a Cold War era alert bombing facility 
that is too small to accommodate existing and future manpower 
requirements and equipment storage.
  Another $10.5 million is included in the bill for construction of a 
headquarters for the United States Special Operations Command's Global 
Network Control Center. The unit is currently scattered about MacDill 
in trailers and temporary facilities. Construction of this 32,000 
square foot building would begin in February 2009 with completion in 
May 2010.
  These two projects are part of a major base-wide construction program 
at MacDill that I have championed since 2006.
  Our men and women who serve in uniform deserve the finest possible 
facilities to train and prepare for missions throughout the world. It 
is time that we move these special operations units out of trailers and 
50-year-old

[[Page H7719]]

make-shift facilities and into state-of-the-art buildings.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, now it's my privilege to yield 
for 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd), a decorated 
Vietnam veteran and a valued member of this subcommittee.
  Mr. BOYD of Florida. Let me thank my chairman, Mr. Edwards, for 
yielding.
  Ladies and gentlemen, when our men and women are committed into 
combat, that has very long and costly consequences. Sometimes I think 
people in this town don't recognize this. But I can tell you there are 
some people in this Chamber, particularly Chairman Chet Edwards, 
Ranking Member Zach Wamp, who do understand that commitment into combat 
has very long and costly consequences.
  Mr. Chairman, I see a lot of ``Support Our Troops'' slogans around. I 
see a lot of yellow bumper stickers and those great things. I see 
people going to churches and preparing care boxes to send overseas.
  But that's not enough. That's not enough. We must make a commitment 
to take care of the families of those who put on the uniform when those 
in uniform are deployed. We must make a solemn commitment to provide 
for the health care and education benefits for those who come home 
after wearing the uniform. Many of them come home injured.
  Mr. Chairman, there are some folks in this Chamber that understand 
that. Congressman Dave Obey clearly understands that. Congressman Bill 
Young, whom you just heard from. I saw Congressman Steve Buyer earlier, 
Bob Filner from California. Those are the folks who were involved in 
the writing of this legislation which provides the benefits and the 
commitment that we have made to our men and women.
  We have got a whole new generation of veterans who need our support. 
Those are veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, obviously, 
it's our moral duty to provide them with the care and benefits that 
they need.
  You've heard in detail about the details of what's in this bill. Mr. 
Wamp and Mr. Edwards have explained that. But it's important that we do 
this, ladies and gentlemen. This is a promise we've made, and it's 
simply the right thing to do.
  If not for those who answered the call of duty, we would not be the 
great Nation we are today. For their service and sacrifice, we as 
Americans are eternally grateful, and I encourage this Congress to 
honor them by supporting this bill.
  And, again, I want to thank the bipartisan work of Chairman Chet 
Edwards and Ranking Member Zach Wamp, our committee leaders, for what 
they have done.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I recognize for 2 minutes the gentleman from 
Jacksonville, Florida, an extremely active member of the subcommittee, 
Ander Crenshaw.
  Mr. CRENSHAW. Thank you, Mr. Wamp, for yielding the time and thank 
you for your leadership on the subcommittee. And I certainly want to 
commend Chairman Edwards for all the hard work that he puts in.
  Mr. Chairman, I have served on this subcommittee for as long as I 
have been on the Appropriations Committee, and I can tell you that 
there is never a time that I am more proud than when I am working with 
the young men and women in uniform.
  I think we ought to note tonight that this is the first 
appropriations bill that we're taking up, and I think that speaks 
volumes about the priority and the commitment that we have in this 
Chamber to the men and women that wear the uniform. And this bill 
touches literally everyone, whether they are active duty today, as we 
provide money for new barracks, new training facilities, new hangars 
and airfields, and we improve our port facilities for the ships and the 
planes. It touches those that have served us in the past as veterans, 
building new facilities, veterans clinics, hospitals, even providing a 
suicide prevention line to help those troubled veterans as they come 
back and save, literally save, their lives.
  And it also touches the people that are no longer with us because we 
have money in this bill to maintain and construct national cemeteries 
to give a final resting place for those who have served us, provide 
money for the monuments around the world to pay tribute to our fallen 
heroes.
  But it also touches the lives of the family members of our men and 
women in uniform, day care centers we have talked about, quality of 
life issues.
  So I would say this is a very important bill. It's a good bill. It 
serves those who serve us the most, and it deserves our support. So I 
urge my colleagues to join us in passing this legislation.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), who has been a strong member not 
only of this committee but the Defense appropriations committee.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to rise in full support of the fiscal 
year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and related 
agencies appropriations bill. I am extremely proud of the work of the 
subcommittee, on both sides of the aisle, as we have crafted a bill 
that truly supports America's servicemen and -women as well as their 
families.
  Today I am especially pleased that we are ensuring better housing, 
health care, and day care facilities for our servicemen and -women by 
providing $24.8 billion for military construction, family housing, and 
fully funding BRAC.
  Military facilities such as Fort Benning, located in my district, 
need this funding as they experience significant numbers of new 
personnel as a result of BRAC and the global repositioning of our 
forces around the world. In the Columbus area, we still have concerns 
with respect to the impact that BRAC may have on our local school 
system. But I'm encouraged by the interest and support shown by my 
colleagues on the subcommittee, in particular Mr. Edwards, our 
chairman; and our ranking member, Mr. Wamp.
  But that's not all. Our bill includes nearly $200 million in 
additional housing for Army and Marine Corps trainees, an additional 
$136 million for medical facilities, $1.6 billion for Veterans Health 
Administration, and $3.8 billion for specialty mental health services, 
and $584 million for substance abuse programs.
  But I don't think listing figures does justice to saying how 
important this bill is because with those resources, we are filling 
some gaping holes in veterans services and upgrading military 
facilities that are currently underfunded and overextended.
  We are fully meeting and addressing the very same kinds of needs that 
arose at the barracks at Fort Bragg and the hospital at Walter Reed. 
We're keeping our commitment to veterans and giving the VA the funds 
they need to hire caseworkers to process the current backlog of claims. 
We are making sure that our veterans traveling long distances for 
medical care don't have to empty their wallets in order to get there. 
And we are upping funding for medical technology and giving our 
veterans access to a new generation of prosthetics so they may live as 
normal a life as possible.
  Mr. Chairman, in short, this is a good bill.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN (Mr. Lynch). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield an additional 15 seconds 
to the gentleman.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Thank you.
  I would like to recognize and thank the staff of the subcommittee: 
Carol Murphy, Mary Arnold, Walter Hearne, Tim Bishop, and Donna Shabaz 
of the majority staff; and Martin Delgado and Liz Dawson of the 
minority staff; and, of course, Michael Reed and Ed Larkin of my staff.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the ranking member of 
the Legislative Branch appropriations subcommittee, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Latham).
  Mr. LATHAM. I thank Mr. Wamp for the time.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise today to voice my support for this important 
measure, and I want to commend Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp 
for their good work on this most important bill. I urge the Members to 
support the bill. It is so important to all of our veterans of this 
country.
  I only talk about this to express real frustration that I have. I 
want to note that in my hand I have an amendment which I had hoped to 
offer today, but

[[Page H7720]]

because of the nature of the rule, I can't. And I wanted to offer this 
amendment in the interest of people from Iowa and throughout the 
Midwest who are struggling to put their lives together in the wake of 
the 500-year Midwest floods.
  This amendment would have provided emergency money for economic 
development assistance for restoration of infrastructure, Army Corps of 
Engineers money to repair levies, SBA disaster loan assistance, 
Community Planning and Development funds for infrastructure, and 
additional FEMA disaster relief moneys. Unfortunately, we can't, and I 
don't want to delay this process. But this bill should be passed before 
we leave for break.
  Mr. Chairman, last week I wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House 
and asked that we finally address, after 7 weeks, the flood disaster 
throughout the Midwest. I have not heard a response; so obviously we're 
being ignored.
  I asked some folks at home to tell me some of their stories, and they 
have e-mailed me and sent me their messages, and I would like to read a 
couple of those.
  The first one actually is a copy I received of an e-mail to Speaker 
Pelosi, and it reads:
  ``I cannot believe that you will not bring flood relief legislation 
to a vote. Now you are going on vacation. Twenty-five thousand homes 
were lost in the June floods in Iowa alone, and Congress votes to 
recognize the National Day of the Cowboy instead of passing legislation 
to help Iowans.
  ``After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Congress passed emergency 
supplemental bills nearly immediately, and here we are 7 weeks after 
the Iowa floods and no additional help! It is no wonder Congress's 
approval rating is at an all-time low.
  ``While you're on vacation, please remember the thousands of Iowans 
who have no homes.''
  An e-mail received from a resident of Cedar Rapids. She said:
  ``My husband volunteers on the weekends and 1 day a week (bless his 
employer for letting him work 4 10-hour days so he can do flood relief) 
as a flood site coordinator, which means he moves around from team to 
team and are sent by our church to help the residents `muck' out their 
basements, and tear out the walls, insulation, trim, carpet, and get 
rid of the furnaces and water heaters (and, unfortunately, throw out 
their life with every personal item that goes on the curbs) . . .
  ``What are the elected officials in Washington going to do to help? I 
must be the most naive U.S. citizen who can hardly believe that it 
takes an act of Congress to have a National Cowboy Day but can go on a 
recess with clear consciences before coming up with some plan of action 
for this area and the people . . .
  ``The Red Cross has moved on and the Salvation Army has come off the 
streets. FEMA sent trailers, people settled into them, and then they 
were displaced again when mold was found in the trailers . . .
  ``These people are not asking for more than what they had, just help 
putting their lives, families, and homes back together. They need help 
and support from those they have put their trust in.''
  And another e-mail from a lady in Mason City. It says:
  ``Please continue your fight to have Congress address the disaster 
needs of the Midwest! The rest of the world seems to have forgotten 
about our disaster. However, for those of us still fighting it, it's as 
painful today as it was the day our houses were filled with water.
  ``My family is just one of many here in Mason City who are homeless . 
. .
  ``Our house is significantly damaged; so we can't move back into it. 
We thought we could, and then 2 weeks ago we discovered the amount of 
damage was too much.

                              {time}  2045

  ``We have to elevate it, move it, or destroy it. Our house is a 
trilevel house where the floors are not on top of each other. The cost 
of elevating or moving would be more than the value of our home. The 
only option is to destroy it.
  ``The house we are currently renting is a house for sale. On any 
given day, we are 30 to 45 days away from being homeless again. The 
house has been shown to prospective buyers at least six times since the 
flood. We are trying to find a house we can rent for a year. It's 
almost impossible to find something we can afford that's in a safe area 
and somewhat decent.''
  I would hope that the House tomorrow, since we are going to be in 
session, will finally pass disaster relief for people who are really 
hurting.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, may I first inquire as to how 
much time we have remaining on our side.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Texas has 7\1/4\ minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 3 minutes to the 
chairman of the full House Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I had not intended to speak in general debate 
on this bill, but in light of some of the comments made by the previous 
speaker, I feel obligated to.
  The gentleman said that it was the nature of the rule under which 
this bill is being considered that prevented him from offering an 
amendment. The fact is that the only thing this rule did was to require 
that people publish their amendments 1 day ahead of time so that we 
were not legislating by ambush. The rules of the House always provide 
for germaneness. And, as the gentleman knows, his amendment is not 
germane to this bill.
  Secondly, I would point out that we put $2.65 billion in the 
supplemental for Midwest disaster funding and for other disasters 
around the country. And I would point out that we did that even though 
the White House never sent to this Congress an official budget request 
to deal with the disasters not just in Iowa, but Wisconsin as well, my 
own State.
  Thirdly, I would point out that the Speaker met today with a number 
of Members from the Iowa delegation and we made clear that as soon as 
we get official numbers from the administration that are at all 
coherent, we will act, and that this Congress will not adjourn for the 
year without providing needed disaster relief.
  I just want to make clear there was nothing done in the rule.
  Mr. LATHAM. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. Yes. I'd be happy to.
  Mr. LATHAM. I appreciate the chairman's work. I sincerely do. We all 
know that it would not be germane in this bill. That is not the issue.
  I would ask, would the gentleman entertain a unanimous consent to 
have this amendment considered today?
  Mr. OBEY. As the gentleman knows, we have been criticized up and down 
the river by your own leadership for trying to add what they described 
as nongermane or unrelated items to these bills. As you well know, this 
bill is probably not going to become law before any supplemental that 
is passed in September, as the gentleman knows. So there is no rational 
reason for me to accede to that request.
  We have dealt with the gentleman above the table, honorably, and 
fairly. You offered an amendment in the full committee to the energy 
and water bill, adding money for disaster funding. We accepted the 
amendment. I would suggest that the gentleman owes the Speaker of the 
House an apology.
  Mr. LATHAM. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. Not further at this time.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I will reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, at this time I'd like to yield 2 
minutes to a member of the Armed Services Committee who has worked day 
and night for the troops and veterans in her district and this country, 
the gentlelady from Kansas (Mrs. Boyda).
  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Thank you very much to my good friend from 
Texas, Mr. Chet Edwards, for yielding. We have worked quite diligently 
on many of the issues going on right in Kansas at the military bases, 
Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley, that I have the honor to represent.
  I would just like to say that as a new Member of Congress, when I 
came, I had heard many, many promises made to veterans, and I had to 
wonder if they were going to be met. Many people said, Yes. Trust us. 
They will be met. And you can imagine as a new Member of Congress, and 
as a freshman, to have those promises to our veterans actually met 
meant so much to me, for

[[Page H7721]]

somebody who came to Washington to try to make a difference and, in 
fact, for the second year in a row we are really righting some of the 
real problems that we have seen with our Veterans Administration and we 
are proposing record funding for the second year in a row, and I am 
deeply proud and honored to be part of this Congress.
  I understand that this is a bipartisan bill, and for that I am very 
grateful. We have plenty of floods in Kansas as well. There's a right 
time and a wrong time to bring that up. I believe that the Members on 
this side of the aisle have been very, very diligent to make sure that 
that is taken care of. I would like to see this committee particularly 
keep that same bipartisan air that has served this country so well.
  Some of the things that are highlighting that are so important to the 
good people of Kansas and our veterans across the United States, an 
initial $4 billion for mental health, for TBI, for PTSD, for the drug 
abuse that we see way too often, for the suicides that are hitting our 
soldiers. That $4 billion of extra funding will make a huge difference 
in these soldiers' lives.
  Mileage reimbursement. I come from the State of Kansas. It's a huge 
issue. The 41.5 cents a mile is a significant increase. I still would 
love to see it come up to be the full standard, but this is a 
significant increase that will mean a great deal to veterans from 
Kansas who have to travel a great deal.
  Thank you, and congratulations on this wonderful and bipartisan bill.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to a great patriot, the 
gentleman from the State of Arizona (Mr. Franks).
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentlemen very much for yielding.
  Mr. Chairman, I will vote ``yes'' on this bill, but I am really 
astonished that the Democrats have gutted the European Missile Defense 
site. We don't seem to understand that the coincidence of jihadist 
terrorism and nuclear proliferation represents the greatest existential 
threat to human peace in the world today. Unfortunately, they seem to 
think that if they kill it for this year and put it in the next 
administration, somehow it will be of some political benefit to them. 
Barack Obama has said that he will cut missile defense spending, and he 
simply does not understand the gravity of a nuclear Iran, Mr. Chairman.
  Every day we are in this body, Iran enriches more uranium. They come 
closer and closer to having a nuclear capability. When they gain that, 
Mr. Chairman, it won't be long before al Qaeda will have that 
capability as well.
  It may not be long that Iran will be able to actually field a weapon 
that could create an electromagnetic pulse across this country that 
would be the ultimate asymmetric weapon for terrorists in the world 
today. And I find it astonishing that when our first purpose in this 
body is to protect the lives and constitutional rights of the American 
people, that for some ridiculous political motivation that we would 
strip the ability for us to be able to intercept missiles coming from 
Iran that would either hit our allies in Europe or our forward-deployed 
troops or people here at home, that somehow we think that we have done 
our job.
  I would remind us all that Osama bin Laden said these words. He said, 
It is our religious duty to gain nuclear weapons.
  Mr. Chairman, if they succeed, if Iran succeeds, al Qaeda will 
succeed in gaining those nuclear weapons. If that happens, we will 
revisit this subject on a day in the future and we will have to explain 
to our children why we let such a profound threat to human peace exist 
when it was in our power to change it.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time I have 
remaining.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman has 2\1/4\ minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Let me first yield myself 15 seconds, if I 
could respond.
  Mr. Chairman, the last speaker was simply wrong. He suggested this 
bill kills the European Missile Defense plan. It does not do that. He 
suggested there were political motivations. That is not correct. I hate 
to see that partisanship injected in a bill that has been put together 
on a bipartisan basis. We fund $140 million for that project. The 
project hasn't even been authorized by the parliaments in the Czech 
Republic or Poland. We allow the program to continue despite that fact.
  With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire).
  Mr. ALTMIRE. I thank the gentleman. I could not be more proud of this 
bill that we are debating here today and that we are going to pass 
tonight.
  Last year, we provided $12 billion in increased funding for the VA 
health care system, the largest single year increase in the 77-year 
history of the VA. Today, we follow up with a $4.6 billion funding 
increase, representing an 11 percent increase over that high bar that 
we set last year.
  We are proving once again tonight in this Congress no group will 
stand ahead of our Nation's veterans when it comes time to make funding 
decisions.
  The increased funding allows for enrollment of Priority 8 veterans. 
Priority 8 veterans have not been enrolled since 2003, as part of the 
Bush administration's cost-cutting efforts, and approximately 50 
percent of all uninsured veterans today are Priority 8 veterans.
  This bill will allow us to hire over 2,000 more claims processors to 
decrease that backlog that we have, which is now almost 400,000 cases, 
with 2,000 new claims processors.
  In western Pennsylvania, where I'm from, there's a 6,000-case 
backlog. Those claims remain unanswered. So we are going to clear that 
up with this funding today.
  In February, I testified before the House Budget Committee about the 
importance of increasing funding for our veterans' programs. I was 
pleased to vote on the floor of this House this year and last in favor 
of a budget resolution that met and exceeded the commitment that we 
have made to our Nation's veterans.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. I congratulate 
Chairman Edwards on his work on this. It's a bipartisan bill. We are 
all on this together.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume for 
the purpose to close briefly by saying that Chairman Obey said 
something at the full committee that I want to paraphrase and restate 
in the context that we all know that those who do not learn from 
history, are destined to repeat it.
  One of the lessons of Vietnam is that regardless of how you feel, 
especially as a policymaker, but even as a citizen, about the war in 
Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, or any war, it's so important to 
appreciate fully the men and women who are engaged in that war on our 
behalf. Regardless of how you feel about the mission, it is so 
important for our Nation to appreciate and support and fund and 
resource the needs of our men and women in uniform and our veterans.
  I want to say tonight I grew up a Democrat. I am a Republican today. 
But we should, and are, meeting at the water's edge on this issue of 
resourcing the men and women in harm's way and supporting the veterans 
when they come home for the balance of their life.
  This is a lesson of history, of modern history. We saw it and we are 
making that right. So even though many of them do not support what we 
are doing in Iraq, or maybe even Afghanistan, this bill supports those 
who are fighting, and their families. And that is important.
  In closing, I do want to recognize by name again the extraordinary 
staff. They call these people the front office staff. Rob Nabors and 
Jeff Shockey at the highest level. This committee staff is bipartisan. 
There happens to be a majority staff, Carol Murphy, Donna Shahbaz, 
Walter Hearne; the minority staff, Martin Delgado, Liz Dawson, and 
Kelly Shea. Mr. Edwards has John Conger, I have Amanda Schoch. They 
have done a remarkable job day in day in day out to bring us to this 
today because this is a great work product. Not all bills that come to 
this floor are, but this is. And it's right. I urge its passage.
  I thank you for the time on the general debate. We have got 37 
amendments. The hour is getting late. Let's get on with it.
  I yield back the balance of our time.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 6599, a bill 
to fund U.S. military construction and maintenance and the operations 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill appropriates a 
total of $118.7 billion

[[Page H7722]]

for military construction and veterans' programs, $10.3 billion more 
than the current level and $3.4 billion more than the President's 
request. This funding will provide compensation payments to millions of 
veterans and their survivors, pension payments and financial assistance 
to their widows and children, and is the primary support for their 
military related medical care.
  The Veterans Department oversees the largest Federal medical care 
delivery system in the country, with 153 hospitals, 50 residential 
rehabilitation treatment centers, 135 nursing homes, and 1,089 
outpatient clinics. The almost $94 billion set aside in this bill is a 
significant increase over the Administration's request and will help 
fund medical administration, operations and maintenance of medical 
facilities such as Walter Reed, and important medical, trauma and 
mental health research. This bill also provides the funding for the 
BRAC.
  We all know there is a massive military base closure and realignment 
underway in this country. The potential for increased traffic 
congestion at these new military facilities, such as the one being 
constructed in my district in Bethesda, MD, can be disruptive for the 
citizens who currently live in these communities. I want to thank the 
Committee for working with me to insert language in this bill directing 
the Department of Defense to aggressively plan and budget for the 
Defense Access Roads programs that should help alleviate some of the 
pressure on the communities that are dealing with BRAC.
  This nation has 23,500,000 veterans and 35,900,000 family members of 
living veterans and survivors of deceased veterans. That means close to 
20 percent of this county's total population are potential recipients 
of veterans benefits. We have a responsibility to support the past and 
present servicemembers and their families who have served and 
sacrificed for us. Providing quality healthcare and decent living 
conditions for them and their families is the least we can do for these 
brave men and women. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting 
this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I, Mark Souder, am submitting the following 
information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding 
earmarks I received as part of H.R. 6599--The Military Construction and 
Veterans Affairs FY09 Appropriations bill.
  Included in H.R. 6599 is a $5,600,000 earmark that I submitted for 
the construction of Aircraft Ready Shelters and Fuel Fill Stands for 
the 122nd Fighter Wing located at 3005 Ferguson Road, Fort Wayne 
International Airport, IN 46809.
  The funding will be used to construct a two aircraft bay parking 
shelter addition to the existing two aircraft bay parking shelter 
providing a total of four parking spots under shelter as required for a 
base A/C Readiness Shelter. Project consists of the following: 
Construct reinforced concrete foundation and painted floor slab with 
grounding points; masonry and metal siding walls; steel frame; and 
standing seam metal roof; include a high expansion fire suppression 
system and overhead infrared heating; provide hangar style doors for 
drive through capability; remove existing asphalt and provide new 
concrete taxiway entry and exit; provide asphalt transition to the 
south apron area; construct stainless steel underground piping, 
reinforced concrete for curbed access pavement, and refueler fill 
stands. The base requires adequately sized, appropriately configured, 
and functional aircraft readiness shelters with supporting taxiway 
system to support four-ship F-16 aircraft mission requirements. Due to 
previous funding restraints the current shelter facility was 
constructed with two parking spots with a plan to add two more at a 
later date. Readiness shelters are necessary for mission support, 
operations safety, and protection of aircraft and flightline personnel 
from inclement weather. The project will also provide a refueler 
vehicle fill stand on the operational side of the railroad tracks to 
support the flying mission.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, Fort Campbell, one of the Army's 
largest posts and home to the 101st Airborne Division, is in the 
seventh district of Tennessee, which I am honored to represent.
  Currently, over 700 Tennessee National Guardsmen and the bulk of the 
101st Airborne are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
  With this in mind, I'm particularly gratified that this House is 
finally discussing an appropriations bill today. Funding for Military 
Construction and Veterans Affairs certainly warrants our attention.
  The brave members of our military, and the families that support them 
at home, are fulfilling the commitment they made to our Nation by 
fighting and serving to help protect it.
  The federal government must in turn fulfill its commitment to provide 
top-quality equipment, facilities, and training for these heroes, and 
the best possible care upon their return.
  On behalf of the men and women in uniform, veterans, and military 
families in Tennessee's 7th district, I urge my colleagues to support 
today's measure for MILCON-VA appropriations.

                              {time}  2100

  The Acting CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment 
under the 5-minute rule.
  No amendment to the bill may be offered except those printed in the 
portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in a 
daily issue dated July 30, 2008, or earlier, and pro forma amendments 
for the purpose of debate. Each amendment may be offered only by the 
Member who caused it to be printed, or his designee, and shall be 
considered read.
  The Clerk will read.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 6599

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
     following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the 
     Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for military 
     construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and 
     for other purposes, namely:

                                TITLE I

                         DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

                      Military Construction, Army

                    (including rescissions of funds)

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, military 
     installations, facilities, and real property for the Army as 
     currently authorized by law, including personnel in the Army 
     Corps of Engineers and other personal services necessary for 
     the purposes of this appropriation, and for construction and 
     operation of facilities in support of the functions of the 
     Commander in Chief, $4,801,536,000, to remain available until 
     September 30, 2013: Provided, That of this amount, not to 
     exceed $175,823,000 shall be available for study, planning, 
     design, architect and engineer services, and host nation 
     support, as authorized by law, unless the Secretary of 
     Defense determines that additional obligations are necessary 
     for such purposes and notifies the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further, 
     That the amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for 
     the projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified 
     under the headings ``Army'' in the table entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill: Provided further, That of the funds appropriated 
     for ``Military Construction, Army'' under Public Law 110-5, 
     $34,720,000 are hereby rescinded: Provided further, That of 
     the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction, Army'' 
     under Public Law 110-161, $16,600,000 are hereby rescinded.

              Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, naval installations, 
     facilities, and real property for the Navy and Marine Corps 
     as currently authorized by law, including personnel in the 
     Naval Facilities Engineering Command and other personal 
     services necessary for the purposes of this appropriation, 
     $3,280,809,000, to remain available until September 30, 2013: 
     Provided, That of this amount, not to exceed $247,128,000 
     shall be available for study, planning, design, and architect 
     and engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the 
     Secretary of Defense determines that additional obligations 
     are necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees 
     on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor:  Provided further, 
     That the amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for 
     the projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified 
     under the headings ``Navy'' in the table entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last 
word and engage in a colloquy with Chairman Edwards, Congressman 
Rehberg and myself.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield to 
the gentleman from Montana.
  Mr. REHBERG. Thank you, and I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Texas for all his hard work in drafting this important piece of 
legislation.
  Beginning in 1962, the Department of Defense commenced a number of 
chemical and biological tests involving nearly 6,000 American military 
personnel. These tests, known as Project 112 and Project SHAD, exposed 
servicemembers to toxic agents such as Vx nerve gas, sarin nerve gas 
and E. Coli.

[[Page H7723]]

  Not surprising, many of the veterans unknowingly exposed to deadly 
agents are suffering from serious medical conditions. Yet for over 40 
years the Department of Defense denied the existence of these tests. 
All the while, these veterans continued to suffer. Finally, in 2001, 
DOD admitted to conducting Project 112 and Project SHAD, but they still 
refused to take responsibility for their care.
  Enough is enough. As we approach the end of this Congress, we can do 
our part to care for these veterans by extending an expiring provision 
which allows for Project 112 and Project SHAD veterans to receive care 
at VA facilities without proving service connection.
  My constituent, John Olson, a veteran of Project SHAD, spent all day 
Tuesday undergoing tests for a possible aneurysm. This is the latest in 
a long line of medical problems since leaving the service. Yet, as my 
friend from California will state, the VA is approving claims at an 
embarrassingly low rate. We can and should do everything we can to care 
for these veterans.
  I want to thank Mr. Thompson of California for keeping this issue in 
front of the press, keeping this issue in front of the Congress, and 
keeping this issue in front of the American people.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for all your 
work on this bill and all that you have done over the years for both 
veterans and those currently serving in the military. I value greatly 
all the work that you have done. But as Mr. Rehberg said, 45 years ago, 
the Department of Defense began more than 50 chemical and biological 
weapons tests on U.S. servicemen without their knowledge. The 
government called these top secret tests Project SHAD. For the next 40 
years, the Department of Defense denied Project SHAD even took place.
  Ten years ago, I was able to prove that in fact they did take place, 
and the DOD said they only used simulants and at no time were these 
veterans exposed to anything harmful. Finally, after 3 more years of 
work, the DOD admitted they used live and extremely dangerous agents, 
such as Vx nerve gas and sarin.
  More alarming than the lies and the coverup, we are not giving these 
veterans the care they need and deserve today. A recent Associated 
Press article revealed that only 6 percent of claims made by Project 
SHAD veterans and other veterans involved in these secret government 
tests have been accepted by the VA. That is only 39 out of 641 claims. 
These brave men served our country and they served it with distinction, 
and in return they were unknowingly used as human guinea pigs by their 
own government. Now they are denied care.
  The extension of treatment authority would go a long way towards 
increasing the VA's dismal record in helping our veterans exposed to 
these harmful agents, a record that the veterans service associations 
in this country have called shocking, disgraceful and disappointing.
  I hope that the chairman can assure me that he will work together 
with us to find the appropriate vehicle to extend this important 
provision.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Let me thank Mr. Rehberg of Montana and Mr. 
Thompson, a distinguished Vietnam veteran, for raising this important 
issue. I am glad the House has taken action on this issue in another 
measure. I am disappointed the other body has not. Given that fact, we 
could not add this provision to this bill under the rules of the House, 
but I will make a good faith effort to work with both of the gentleman 
to address what is a serious problem.
  These great Americans should be honored by our actions. I hope at the 
end of the day we can look them in the eye and say we have served them, 
just as they have served our country so honorably.
  Mr. REHBERG. We thank the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Edwards. I 
would just remind everybody that these veterans are sick today, they 
are dying, they need the medical care that they deserve and the medical 
care that they earned. I appreciate your willingness to work with us on 
this.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Indiana is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to engage the gentleman from 
Texas, my good friend Chairman Edwards, in a colloquy, and I would like 
to thank the chairman for agreeing to engage in this. I also want to 
thank Mr. Stupak for his continued support and dedication on the issue 
of steel safety, and look forward to working with both gentlemen on 
requiring that all iron and steel purchased by the Federal Government 
be made in the United States. This will keep Americans safe and help 
our country prosper.
  Mr. Chairman, I understand that there is a provision in this measure 
that requires American steel producers, fabricators and manufacturers 
to have the opportunity to compete for steel funded through the 
Department of Defense under this act. While I am encouraged and 
grateful for this provision and believe that it is a critically 
important aspect for all government procurements, frankly, I do not 
believe it is enough.
  China disobeys international trading rules, for example, and the 
playing field is not level. Therefore, it is not possible for our steel 
producers to compete fairly.
  This last April, the Congressional Steel Caucus held a hearing on 
substandard steel from China. We learned from U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection about how our government does not have an established 
process to monitor the safety of steel imports. We also heard from 
representatives of the domestic steel industry about how some Chinese 
steel companies do not adhere to international standards and guidelines 
when they manufacture steel, and that the steel may be used in our 
military barracks, veterans hospitals, and other vital infrastructure.
  I also would mention that this last October it was reported that 
substandard Chinese steel was used in the construction of a gymnasium 
at San Pedro High School in California, prompting the California 
Department of General Services to post an alert on defective Chinese 
steel tubing fabricated for school construction projects.
  Last year, China had a major earthquake and we saw pictures of how 
their schools and hospitals survived. We cannot wait to take action on 
this issue until a hospital or school collapses in the United States. 
Does it cost too much to require the use of American steel if it saves 
lives? The government that we fund must set an example and make sure 
that the buildings we build use American steel that can stand the test 
of time.
  When considering the construction of facilities that hospitalize, 
house and take care of our veterans, we owe them every possibility to 
ensure their health and safety. We owe them the requirement that safe 
American steel is used, and that is why Representative Stupak and I 
have raised this issue.
  Again, I thank the chairman for engaging in this colloquy and for his 
good work on this bill.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I would like to thank Chairman Visclosky for 
his leadership on this issue and Mr. Stupak as well. We all know that a 
healthy steel industry in the United States is not only terribly 
important for our economy, but it is critical to our Nation's defense. 
It is an industry we must have.
  So I look forward to working with the gentleman in good faith to see 
if we can take the language in this bill that already is supportive of 
the use of U.S. steel and see if we can't improve that language as we 
go forward.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. I thank the gentleman very much, and would yield back 
my time.
  The Acting CHAIRMAN. The Committee will rise informally.
  The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Filner) assumed the chair.

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