[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 48 (Thursday, March 19, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         VETERANS' HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I oppose a policy proposal by the 
Obama administration that would break with our country's obligation to 
its veterans. As we know, our veterans have sacrificed to protect our 
way of life and deserve the promises that we made to them being kept.
  Yesterday, I joined my fellow Republican members of the House 
Committee on Veterans Affairs and House Republican leaders in sending 
communications to President Obama in strong opposition to an ill-
conceived plan. The administration's plan would bill veterans' private 
insurance for care related to service-connected injuries. It would 
permit the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA, to ignore its core 
responsibility ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and 
for his widow and his orphan.'' Our country has a binding obligation to 
provide this care, particularly to those who have become disabled as a 
result of their service.
  It is wrong to shift this responsibility to private insurers--which 
actually the veterans will pay for in premiums--and to our disabled 
veterans themselves. Additionally, billing veterans' private insurance 
could result in higher premiums for the veterans to cover the cost of 
treating the service-connected injuries. Some disabled veterans may 
expend their insurance benefits on treatment of service-connected 
conditions, leaving no benefits for their family. This policy may also 
discourage employers from hiring disabled veterans.
  I encourage, in the strongest possible terms, the administration to 
shelve this proposal permanently. While we must look for ways to save 
taxpayer dollars and tackle our runaway budget deficit, we should not 
ask those who have already sacrificed so much to pay the bill.
  We must never forget that our country has a responsibility to its 
veterans. Congress should honor this obligation by providing the 
funding necessary for the VA to maintain health care services to our 
men and women who have served us in uniform.

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