[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7735-H7739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIRECTING VA TO DISPLAY A WOMEN VETERANS BILL OF RIGHTS
MR. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5953) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to display
in each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs a Women Veterans
Bill of Rights, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5953
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DISPLAY OF WOMEN VETERANS BILL OF RIGHTS.
(a) Display.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that the Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in
subsection (b) is printed on signs in accessible formats and
displayed prominently and conspicuously in each facility of
the Department of Veterans Affairs and distributed widely to
women veterans.
(b) Women Veterans Bill of Rights.--The Women Veterans Bill
of Rights described in this subsection is a sign stating that
women veterans should have the following rights:
(1) The right to a coordinated, comprehensive, primary
women's health care, at every Department of Veterans Affairs
medical facility, including the recognized models of best
practices, systems, and structures for care delivery that
ensure that every woman veteran has access to a Department of
Veterans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all her
primary care needs, including gender-specific, acute and
chronic illness, preventive, and mental health care.
(2) The right to be treated with dignity and respect at all
Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
(3) The right to innovation in care delivery promoted and
incentivized by the Veterans Health Administration to support
local best practices fitted to the particular configuration
and women veteran population.
(4) The right to request and get treatment by clinicians
with specific training and experience in women's health
issues.
(5) The right to enhanced capabilities of medical
providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and
administrative, to meet the comprehensive health care needs
of women veterans.
(6) The right to request and expect gender equity in
provision of clinical health care services.
(7) The right to equal access to health care services as
that of their male counterparts.
(8) The right to parity to their male veteran counterpart
regarding the outcome of performance measures of health care
services.
(9) The right to be informed, through outreach campaigns,
of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs and to be included in Department outreach
materials for any benefits and service to which they are
entitled.
[[Page H7736]]
(10) The right to be featured proportionately, including by
age and ethnicity, in Department outreach materials,
including electronic and print media that clearly depict them
as being the recipient of the benefits and services provided
by the Department.
(11) The right to be recognized as an important separate
population in new strategic plans for service delivery within
the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(12) The right to equal consideration in hiring and
employment for any job to which they apply.
(13) The right to equal consideration in securing Federal
contracts.
(14) The right to equal access and accommodations in
homeless programs that will meet their unique family needs.
(15) The right to have their claims adjudicated equally,
fairly, and accurately without bias or disparate treatment.
(16) The right to have their military sexual trauma and
other injuries compensated in a way that reflects the level
of trauma sustained.
(17) The right to expect that all veteran service officers,
especially those who are trained by the Department of
Veterans Affairs Training Responsibility Involvement
Preparation program for claims processing, are required to
receive training to be aware of and sensitive to the signs of
military sexual trauma, domestic violence, and personal
assault.
(18) The right to the availability of female personnel to
assist them in the disability claims application and
appellate processes of the Department.
(19) The right to the availability of female compensation
and pension examiners.
(20) The right to expect specialized training be provided
to disability rating personnel regarding military sexual
trauma and gender-specific illnesses so that these claims can
be adjudicated more accurately.
(21) The right to expect the collection of gender-specific
data on disability ratings, for the performance of
longitudinal and trend analyses, and for other applicable
purposes.
(22) The right to a method to identify and track outcomes
for all claims involving personal assault trauma, regardless
of the resulting disability.
(23) The right for women veterans' programs and women
veteran coordinators to be measured and evaluated for
performance, consistency, and accountability.
(24) The right to burial benefits under the laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 2. DISPLAY OF INJURED AND AMPUTEE VETERANS BILL OF
RIGHTS.
(a) Display.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights
described in subsection (b) is printed on signs in accessible
formats and displayed prominently and conspicuously in each
prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights.--The
Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in this
subsection is a statement that injured and amputee veterans
should have the following rights:
(1) The right to access the highest quality prosthetic and
orthotic care, including the right to the most appropriate
technology and best qualified practitioners.
(2) The right to continuity of care in the transition from
the Department of Defense health program to the Department of
Veterans Affairs health care system, including comparable
benefits relating to prosthetic and orthotic services.
(3) The right to select the practitioner that best meets
their orthotic and prosthetic needs, whether or not that
practitioner is an employee of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, a private practitioner who has entered into a
contract with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide
prosthetic and orthotic services, or a private practitioner
with specialized expertise.
(4) The right to consistent and portable health care,
including the right to obtain comparable services and
technology at any medical facility of the Department of
Veterans Affairs across the country.
(5) The right to timely and efficient prosthetic and
orthotic care, including a speedy authorization process with
expedited authorization available for veterans visiting from
another area of the country.
(6) The right to play a meaningful role in rehabilitation
decisions, including the right to receive a second opinion
regarding prosthetic and orthotic treatment options.
(7) The right to receive appropriate treatment, including
the right to receive both a primary prosthesis or orthosis
and a functional spare.
(8) The right to be treated with respect and dignity and
have an optimal quality of life both during and after
rehabilitation.
(9) The right to transition and readjust to civilian life
in an honorable manner, including by having ample access to
vocational rehabilitation, employment programs, and housing
assistance.
(c) Monitoring and Resolution of Complaints.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting
through the veteran liaison at each medical center of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, shall collect information
relating to the alleged mistreatment of injured and amputee
veterans.
(2) Quarterly reports.--For each fiscal quarter, the
veteran liaison at each medical center of the Department
shall submit to the Chief Consultant of Prosthetics and
Sensory Aids of the Department a report on any information
collected under paragraph (1) during that quarter.
(3) Investigation and addressing of complaints.--The Chief
Consultant, in cooperation with appropriate employees of a
medical center of the Department, shall investigate and
address any information collected under paragraph (1) at that
medical center.
SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.
(a) Education of Department Employees.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall ensure that--
(1) all employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
receive training on the Women Veterans Bill of Rights
described in section 1; and
(2) employees of the Department who work at prosthetics and
orthotics clinics and who work as patient advocates with
veterans who receive care at such clinics, including Federal
recovery coordinators and case managers, receive training on
the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in
section 2.
(b) Outreach to Veterans.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall conduct outreach to inform veterans about the
Women Veterans Bill of Rights described in section 1 and the
Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights described in
section 2 by--
(1) ensuring that such Bills of Rights are available on the
Internet website of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(2) conducting other types of outreach targeted at specific
groups of veterans, which may include outreach conducted on
other Internet websites or through veterans service
organizations.
SEC. 4. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SERVICES.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish a right
to any service excluded under 38 C.F.R. 17.38, as in effect
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 5953, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. FILNER. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill before us is an important piece of
legislation, establishing a bill of rights on the one hand for women
veterans, and on the other hand for injured and amputee veterans. This
has been the subject of over a year of discussion in our committee and
around the country with various groups and stakeholders to try and
refine the legislation to one that everyone can support.
Let me just speak on the first half, and that is women veterans.
There are almost 2 million women veterans now, Mr. Speaker, and they
are one of the fastest growing subgroups of veterans in our Nation. It
is estimated that the number of female veterans who use the VA health
care system will double, assuming that the current enrollment rates
remain constant.
The VA health care system, as we know it, was built to accommodate
the war-related illnesses and injuries of male veterans. It's a male
institution as it was created. In fact, many of the VA providers, many
of the VA customers are veterans, have little or no exposure to women
veterans. As women are serving in combat conditions alongside their
male counterparts, it is important that the Department embrace and
recognize the needs of all veterans, both men and women alike.
Through hearings and roundtable discussions that we have held during
this year, women veterans have come forward to share their personal
stories. From their accounts, it is clear that while the VA has made
some strides in caring for women veterans, significant gaps remain. The
veterans testifying before the committee have shared stories of feeling
unwelcomed, alienated, disrespected in some of our VA medical centers
so that they are now reluctant to pursue the benefits and services that
they have earned with service to their country.
We have heard about women veterans walking into the lobby of a
medical center and having catcalls come from all corners of that lobby.
We have
[[Page H7737]]
heard that a woman who had her arm amputated from battle in Fallujah,
when she appeared before a doctor at her VA, the doctor thought she had
cancer. He couldn't imagine her as having lost an arm due to combat
conditions. We have had single women who have had to bring their
children because they could not get child care, and doctors refusing to
see them. We have got to change this institution to meet the needs, the
real needs of the women veterans of our Nation.
The VA must recognize and be equipped to treat the unique medical
concerns that women veterans have. They must respect privacy concerns,
eliminate cultural insensitivity that may otherwise bar women from
accessing the VA health care system. In most of the VA medical centers
they are not even changing in privacy curtains so that women may have
that deserved privacy.
We made a lot of progress this Congress in addressing the women
veterans with the enactment of S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans
Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010. This bill, H.R. 5953, would bring
the VA another step closer to providing equal care for women to their
male counterparts.
My bill would require the VA to display in all of its facilities the
24 fundamental principles governing the treatment of women veterans, as
well as require VA to widely distribute the bill of rights to women
veterans.
Among the key principles of this bill of rights is the right to
coordinated, comprehensive primary women's health care at every VA
medical center, the right to receive care from clinicians who have
special training and experience in women's health issues, and gender
equity in accessing all clinical services. My hope is that this
legislation will lead to bold changes that will effectively tackle the
needs of our brave and honored women veterans.
This bill, as amended, mandates also another bill of rights. Let me
just say one last thing, though, on the women's bill of rights. There
was some concern raised in recent days about the relationship to this
bill and the rights conferred on women veterans, and therefore the
bringing of abortion services into the VA medical facilities. This bill
did not do that. It made no reference to all the laws on the books that
prevent Federal facilities from doing that. But in a discussion with
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who previously chaired this
VA Committee, who is a leader of the so-called pro-life forces in this
Congress, he said we can fix that for you. All you have to do is add a
line that he gave us and we have put in this bill.
So nobody need be concerned that this bill somehow overrides all
previous laws and mandates abortion services in the VA clinics. It says
and is included in this bill by manager's amendment that nothing in
this act shall be construed to establish a right to any service
excluded under 38 Code of Federal Regulations 17.38, as in effect on
the date of the enactment of this act.
{time} 2010
Those are the regulations that ban abortions in Federal facilities.
So just to make sure that people feel that they can vote for this
without violating some other principles, this sentence is in there, and
the gentleman from New Jersey feels that that adequately and
definitively eliminates that problem that had been brought up in recent
days.
Let me if I may, Mr. Speaker, go on to the Injured and Amputee Bill
of Rights. There are not many of us who have not heard of the horrific
battleground stories experienced by our young men and women who have
served in Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom. These
stories reveal a gruesome and difficult war in which servicemembers
often sustain long-lasting emotional and physical injuries. Of these
none is more disheartening than the amputations undergone by
servicemembers as a direct result of the widespread use of roadside
bombs, otherwise known as IEDs, Improvised Explosive Devices.
This class of injuries, which has spiked significantly since the
onset of Operation New Dawn, requires special consideration within the
Department of Veterans Affairs. After returning home, these individuals
must embark upon a long road to recovery that includes extensive
rehabilitation and specialized treatment.
This bill instructs the VA to inform veterans and educate employees
at each VA prosthetics and orthotics clinic that there is an Injured
and Amputee Veterans' Bill of Rights. The bill requires the VA to
monitor and resolve complaints from injured and amputee veterans
alleging mistreatment.
I believe that this bill will do much to protect the rights of our
injured and amputee veterans, as well as bolster the consistency of
prosthetic and orthotic care throughout the VA health care system.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. We have
been working on these bills for a long, long time, and I am pleased
that we have been allowed to bring these bills even in this lame duck
session to allow the VA to move into the 21st century in terms of
treatment of our women veterans and in treatment of our veterans who
have undergone amputations.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I
may consume.
H.R. 5953, as amended, would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to display in each VA facility a Women Veterans' Bill of Rights.
Included as part of the manager's amendment is H.R. 5428, a bill to
direct VA to create, educate, and inform staff and veterans about an
Injured and Amputee Veterans' Bill of Rights.
The intent of the bill is laudable. The sacrifices of women, injured
and amputee veterans should be recognized and respected. And,
unquestionably, they have unique needs that require specialized care
and services. But H.R. 5953 is a flawed bill that has been brought to
the floor under a flawed process.
In Congress, certain procedures are put in place to ensure that
policy is done correctly. Under regular order, once a bill has been
introduced, it's referred to a committee of jurisdiction. Once in
committee, it may be referred to a particular subcommittee or held in
full committee, where hearings and markups--and that for the public
would be votes--are held and Members and interested stakeholders are
given the opportunity to examine legislation for sound policy and
unintended consequences. If Members desire, they may offer amendments
to improve a bill before it's voted out of committee and brought to the
House floor for further debate before being voted on by the full House.
This is a time-tested democratic process, and I have seen numerous
bills made better when we follow regular order. Instead, this bill is
being brought to the floor in a closed process. It bypasses regular
order in spite of numerous and serious objections, including those of
our ranking member, Congressman Buyer.
We were supposed to have debated and voted on H.R. 5953 yesterday,
but it was pulled from consideration at the very last minute after
grave concerns were raised by the Pro-Life Caucus, the National Right
to Life Committee, the Concerned Women for America, and the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops, among others, over language that
could have created a legal basis to require government-funded abortions
at VA medical centers. I am pleased that a new section was added to the
bill we will consider today that is intended to address these
particular concerns.
However, H.R. 5953, as amended, still continues to raise significant
policy questions, including whether rights are consistent with current
veterans' health care eligibility under title 38 of the United States
Code.
Among these rights in question are the right to equal consideration
in hiring and employment. This right seems to create an unfounded
expectation regarding employment in both public and private sectors but
leaves the meaning of equal consideration unknown. Equal to whom or
what? Do existing employment laws and regulations meet this new
undefined standard or will additional regulations be required?
The right for female veterans to have female personnel assist them in
their disability claims process. It is unclear whether this provision
refers to VA employees, to veterans service organizations, to others
who may assist a veteran in filing or appealing a claim, or to all of
the above groups. But VA has no control over the gender of third
parties who represent claimants before VA.
[[Page H7738]]
Similarly, the right for female compensation and pension examiners to
be made available to women veterans is problematic. There are several
locations where a female examiner may not be present, which could place
the female veteran at a disadvantage for a timely exam.
Correcting issues like these are why we have a hearing process. Good
government is worth taking our time.
The Committee on Veterans' Affairs has never held a hearing on H.R.
5953. Consequently, Members have not been provided the opportunity to
examine or amend the legislation to rectify any unintended consequences
the bill could have or to improve it. Even the VA has not been provided
the opportunity to present their official views, and none of the
veterans service organizations or other interested stakeholders have
been provided the opportunity to comment on the bill, which could
directly impact so many of their daily lives.
Additionally, we are going to vote on the bill without knowing what
it will cost because the Congressional Budget Office was not given the
opportunity to prepare a cost estimate.
Yesterday, a last-minute fix was needed to ensure this bill would not
provide a basis for federally funded abortions. What else is in the
bill that may require a fix? We don't know because we weren't able to
properly vet it before it was brought to the floor.
How would this Bill of Rights be enforced? What would happen if VA
personnel didn't comply? We don't know.
What we do know is the VA already has a comprehensive list of
patients' rights displayed in each facility. The existing Bill of
Rights applies to each and every veteran and includes the right to be
treated with dignity, compassion, and respect, and the right to
information about VA benefits to which you may be entitled and other
important rights for veteran patients cared for in a VA medical
facility, including women veterans and veterans with amputations.
I and my Republican colleagues are strongly committed to meaningful
oversight for the benefits and services we provide for our veterans. I
would have appreciated the opportunity to have a voice in the process
of bringing H.R. 5953 to the floor today. That is why the voters of
Tennessee sent me to Congress, and I fully intend as a member of the VA
Committee to ask for hearings on these issues in the 112th Congress.
I just want to say, the chairman and I have worked on many things
together during this past year, many good things. And I, as a veteran,
I am a veteran, and I am an Ob/Gyn physician who has treated veteran
patients for over 30 years in my community, which has a veterans
hospital, so I am very well aware of these issues.
I certainly agree with a Bill of Rights. The problem is we had no way
and no process in which to look through this.
I understand what the chairman--as I said, it's laudable what he
wants to do. I agree with many of the issues here. I have no problem
with that. I am here discussing basically the process of how we got
here to the floor.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I do want to assure the gentleman that, as
he knows, we have had several roundtables. We call them roundtables
rather than hearings, because we literally sit around the table and
have discussions rather than just have people questioned. And we have
had people from all over the country testify on this bill.
We have sent the bill to every single veterans service organization,
to everyone who has ever asked or complained about treatment as women
veterans. We have had enormous input from around the country on this,
probably more than any other bill that we have done. The bill has
undergone a whole lot of changes and has responded to a lot of the
input that we had, including from Members of the opposite party who
have been at some of the roundtable discussions.
{time} 2020
It is time, Mr. Speaker, to move into the 21st century on this. The
VA has been a male institution. We cannot keep waiting for change. It
has to come. Women are performing an incredible, incredible role in the
conflicts that we have ongoing. We should not say ``thank you'' by an
unwelcome response to their coming to a VA facility. It's time that we
had a Bill of Rights for women veterans.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, again, this bill, 5953, did not
come in from the full Veterans' Affairs Committee like other bills that
I've seen. Again, I'm new, as you are. I have been here 2 years. But
what I've seen is these bills come up. We have a markup, and a markup
means just a vote on the bill, and then the chairman will ask, Are
there any amendments at the table? We will discuss those amendments and
vote them up or down. We didn't have a chance to vet that with this
process.
And I think it's a laudable thing, as I have said, to do. I certainly
see many things in here, and I've got the Bill of Rights right here
that the VA has posted on the wall, and I certainly would have liked to
have had the opportunity to go over this Bill of Rights. This
particular bill was introduced July 29, 2010. I was at all the
Veterans' markups. I certainly didn't miss this one, and it didn't come
through the regular order. That's my complaint, not the content so
much.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, every American has a duty to
respect, honor and support our veterans.
Congress has the responsibility to ensure that the profound respect
owed to our veterans is translated into meaningful and tangible action.
For generations, Members on both sides of the aisle have sought world
class medical care for wounded and ill veterans, compensation for the
service connected disabled, funding for higher education and housing,
and programs to rescue and re- enfranchise the homeless.
And as Lincoln said so eloquently, the Federal Government should care
for ``his widow and orphan.''
I am the prime sponsor of numerous veterans laws, including the
Homeless Veterans Assistance Act, the Veterans Education and Benefits
Expansion Act, Veterans Survivor Benefits Improvement Act and numerous
health care laws including the Veterans Health Program Improvement Act
which, among scores of provisions, made permanent the authority of the
Secretary to provide sexual trauma counseling to veterans--especially
women.
Women who serve in our nation's Armed Forces deserve special
gratitude and recognition in law. As veterans, they face unique
challenges that both the Executive and Legislative Branch has and is
attempting to address.
In September, the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans made ten
recommendations to improve the quality of care provided to women
veterans--to help ensure that the services and benefits we provide keep
pace with the fastest growing segment of the veterans' population. They
stated that we must bulk up the VA's gender-specific workforce and
train and equip qualified staff to handle the unique challenges women
face when transitioning to civilian life. They confirmed what many of
us know and have been working on for years--that homelessness among
veterans, and women in particular, is a plague we must work harder to
eliminate. Improvements in outreach and childcare services would allow
more women to take advantage of the health care, and mental health care
in particular, that are available for them.
Today, the House considers a bill to establish a Bill of Rights for
women veterans as well as those men and women who have lost limbs to
further ensure prompt, comprehensive and effective treatment within the
VA.
I am especially pleased that Chairman Filner's bill--H.R. 5953--makes
absolutely clear that abortion is not health care under this bill and
so-called abortion rights are not implied by any of the rights
specified in the legislation. In addition to eliminating any legal
grounds for implying a right to abortion access, abortion funding or
any other abortion-related activity, the newly added Section 4 also
neutralizes any legal effort to use the Women Veterans Bill of Rights
as a basis to infer a right to other controversial services such as
abortion counseling, IVF and gender alteration as well as spa or gym
memberships, care for veterans in prison and unapproved drugs and
devices.
Section 4 of H.R. 5953 states: ``Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to establish a right to any service excluded under 38 CFR
17.18, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.''
Specifically the services listed as exclusions under 38 CFR 17.38 as
of the date of enactment of H.R. 5953:
(1) Abortions and abortion counseling.
(2) In vitro fertilization.
(3) Drugs, biologicals, and medical devices not approved by the Food
and Drug Administration unless the treating medical facility is
[[Page H7739]]
conducting formal clinical trials under an Investigational Device
Exemption, IDE, or an Investigational New Drug, IND, application, or
the drugs, biologicals, or medical devices are prescribed under a
compassionate use exemption.
(4) Gender alterations.
(5) Hospital and outpatient care for a veteran who is either a
patient or inmate in an institution of another government agency if
that agency has a duty to give the care or services.
(6) Membership in spas and health clubs.
Mr. Speaker, VA hospitals and Community Based Outpatient Clinics are
today extraordinary places of healing, recovery, and recuperation.
Abortion is not health care.
Because abortion methods dismember, decapitate, crush, poison, starve
to death and induce premature labor, pro-life Members of Congress, and
according to every reputable poll, significant majorities of Americans
want no complicity whatsoever in this violence.
Abortion hurts women's health and puts future children subsequently
born to women who aborted at significant risk. At least 102 studies
show significant psychological harm, major depression and elevated
suicide risk in women who abort.
Recently, the Times of London reported that, ``[S]enior . . .
psychiatrists say that new evidence has uncovered a clear link between
abortion and mental illness in women with no previous history of
psychological problems.'' They found, ``that women who have had
abortions have twice the level of psychological problems and three
times the level of depression as women who have given birth or who have
never been pregnant. . .''
In 2006, a comprehensive New Zealand study found that 78.6 percent of
the 15-18 year-olds who had abortions displayed symptoms of major
depression as compared to 31 percent of their peers. The study also
found that 27 percent of the 21-25 year-old women who had abortions had
suicidal idealizations compared to 8 percent of those who did not have
an abortion.
At least 28 studies--including three in 2009--show that abortion
increases the risk of breast cancer by some 30-40 percent or more yet
the abortion industry has largely succeeded in suppressing these facts.
Abortion isn't safe for subsequent children born to women who have
had an abortion. At least 113 studies show a significant association
between abortion and subsequent premature births. For example a study
by researchers Shah and Zoe showed a 36 percent increased risk for
preterm birth after one abortion and a staggering 93 percent increased
risk after two.
Similarly, the risk of subsequent children being born with low birth
weight increases by 35 percent after one and 72 percent after two or
more abortions. Another study shows the risk increases 9 times after a
woman has had three abortions.
What does this mean for her children? Preterm birth is the leading
cause of infant mortality in the industrialized world after congenital
anomalies. Preterm infants have a greater risk of suffering from
chronic lung disease, sensory deficits, cerebral palsy, cognitive
impairments and behavior problems. Low birth weight is similarly
associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you in support
of H.R. 5953, ``to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to display
in each facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs a Women Veterans
Bill of Rights.'' I would like to begin by thanking my colleague,
Representative Filner for introducing H.R. 5953 in the House. I urge my
colleagues to also support this noble resolution as it reaffirms the
importance of gender equality within the Department of Veterans
Affairs. This bill recognizes the absolute importance of equity between
men and women veterans, as they have both equally sacrificed for our
great Nation. As patriotic Americans, in return, we must honor and
respect these heroes.
Women's contribution to our armed forces has a long tradition, which
began during World War II. This contribution included not only the
women who courageously served in our Armed Forces at a time in our
Nation's history where women did not possess the rights we have today,
but also the six million women who manned the manufacturing plants
which produced munitions and material during World War II while the men
who traditionally performed this work were off fighting the war.
Today, there are 1.8 million women veterans throughout the United
States, that still deserve the same acknowledgement of rights that
other veterans have received. This is an important resolution which
recognizes the Women Veterans Bill of Rights within each facility of
the Department of Veterans Affairs. This resolution upholds a strong
standard of respect and dignity for equality within the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Our commitment to veterans is to both men and women
veterans who have courageously dedicated their lives to serve their
Nation.
The Women Veterans Bill of Rights enumerates a number of non-
controversial, necessary rights for female veterans of the United
States Armed Forces. The Bill of Rights includes the right to be
treated with dignity, the rights to primary health care, and the right
to treatment by those clinicians with training and experience in
women's health issues among others.
This is an important bill that advocates the equal treatment of women
veterans. It encourages the fair treatment of anyone that has served
this country by defending the United States, and establishes that no
one should be treated any differently based on their gender. This bill
is truly American and represents an undivided Nation that respects both
men and women equally and fairly. I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
5953 and support the rights of women veterans throughout the United
States.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5953,
as amended.
I have no further requests for time, and 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. 5953, 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 direct the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to display in each facility of the Department of
Veterans Affairs a Women Veterans Bill of Rights and to display in each
prosthetics and orthotics clinic of the Department an Injured and
Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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