[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 81 (Friday, June 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E966-E967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 31, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5854) making 
     appropriations for military construction, the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Chair, I rise today to express my qualified 
support for H.R. 5854, the FY13 Military Construction and Veterans 
Affairs Appropriations bill. While I commend Chairmen Rogers and 
Culberson and Ranking Members Smith and Bishop for their efforts to 
craft bipartisan legislation dedicated to addressing the needs of 
current and former servicemembers and their families, I support this 
bill with strong reservations about how the measure treats the very 
civilian employees who will be asked to provide the services and carry 
out the instructions outlined in the bill.
  H.R. 5854 contains a number of important provisions designed to serve 
our military with an eye toward trimming spending, eliminating waste 
and directing taxpayer dollars more effectively.
  The MilCon-VA bill, as it is called, funds construction by the 
Department of Defense for hospitals, clinics, schools, family housing 
and other facilities in order to deliver timely and vital medical care 
to our Nation's veterans, active military members and their families. 
The measure also provides funding for disability care, educational 
benefits and other resources to help advance U.S. missions abroad.
  Specifically, I applaud the committee for funding support for medical 
services and facilities; for veteran's compensation, pension and burial 
benefits for former servicemembers, survivors and their dependents; and 
for the important family housing here and abroad that helps ease some 
of the financial burden faced by our men and women in uniform.
  Despite providing necessary support for these and other important 
projects and programs, this bill also continues a troubling new 
Republican pattern in the Congress of balancing our fiscal accounts on 
the backs of our Federal employees. It seems like every time the 
Republicans bring a bill to the floor, they use it as a vehicle to 
attack public servants by cutting their pensions, or pay, or benefits 
to pay for other spending items. Federal employees have already given 
up $60 billion of salary over 10 years as part of the two-year pay 
freeze. Starting in January 2013, new Federal employees will contribute 
more to their pensions to offset the $15 billion cost of Unemployment 
Insurance Extension legislation. And with this MilCon bill, Federal 
employees are asked to give up the very small .5% partial COLA allotted 
in the President's FY13 budget request.
  Nurses and rehabilitation specialists, weapons systems mechanics and 
border guards are among the many dedicated Federal employees that serve 
our country. They sometimes serve shoulder-to-shoulder on the 
battlefield with our uniformed servicemembers.

[[Page E967]]

They should not be a piggy-bank that Republicans turn to whenever they 
need a source of funds.

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