[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4486, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND 
  VETERANS AFFAIRS AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2015; AND 
     PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4487, LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the Rule for 
H.R. 4486, the ``Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015,'' which supports our 
military and their families and provides the benefits and medical care 
that our veterans have earned for their service.
  H.R. 4486 provides the facilities and infrastructure needed to house, 
train, and equip our military personnel to defend this Nation, both in 
the United States and abroad, provides the housing and military 
community infrastructure that supports a good quality of life for them 
and their families, and allows the military to maintain an efficient 
and effective base structure.
  The bill also funds programs to ensure that all veterans receive the 
benefits and medical care that they have earned as a result of their 
sacrifices in the service to our Nation.
  Just as our military pledges to leave no one behind on the 
battlefield, Democrats in Congress have pledged to leave no veteran 
behind when they come home.
  The bill provides a total of $165 billion in FY 2015 to fund military 
construction projects and programs of the Veterans Affairs Department, 
an increase of $7 billion (4%) over current funding levels. This total 
includes $93.5 billion in mandatory spending for VA benefits and $71.5 
billion in discretionary funding.
  The bill provides a total of $64.7 billion in discretionary funding 
for the VA in FY 2015, a 2% increase over current funding and I am 
pleased that it increases mandatory funding for veterans' compensation 
and benefits by almost 10 percent.
  Mr. Speaker, although there is much in this bill that I support, I 
wish to note two major concerns.
  First, I disagree with the funding level for VA Medical Care in the 
bill, which is $368 million below the President's request and the 
amount I support. This underfunding for VA Medical Care could delay the 
timely delivery of health care services to veterans and impede our 
efforts to end veterans' homelessness in 2015.
  Second, the bill provides $50 million less than the President's 
request for Information Technology operations and maintenance programs. 
The result is likely to be a delay in making the necessary improvements 
to technology infrastructure that ensure continuity of operations for 
services that support all of VA's services and benefit delivery.
  Third, I do not support section 411 of the bill, which would prohibit 
the use of funds to construct, renovate, or expand any facility in the 
United States to house individuals held in the detention facility at 
Guantanamo Bay. I do not support this rider because it unduly 
constrains the flexibility that the our Armed Forces and 
counterterrorism professionals need to best protect U.S. national 
security.
  Mr. Speaker, the VA serves nearly 48.5 million people: 22 million 
veterans and 26.5 million family members of living veterans or 
survivors of deceased veterans, so in in my remaining time let me 
highlight some of the positive aspects of the bill:
  $1.2 billion for family and military personnel housing--equal to the 
administration's request;
  The bill contains an advance appropriation for FY 2016 of $58.7 
billion, continuing the trend started in the Democratic-led 111th 
Congress of providing advance appropriations to the VA for the medical 
services, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities 
accounts.
  This is a significant benefit to the veterans served by the VA at the 
152 hospitals, 107 domiciliary residential rehabilitation treatment 
programs, 133 nursing homes, 300 Vet Centers, 70 mobile Vet Centers and 
821 outpatient clinics, which include independent, satellite, 
community-based and rural outreach clinics.
  $589 million is provided for for medical, rehabilitative, health 
services and prosthetic research--$3.3 million above current levels and 
recommends that a proportionate amount of funding for prosthetics 
should be focused on prosthetics for females, who outnumber male 
amputees by 3 percent.
  In addition to veterans medical benefits, the bill provides $93.7 
billion, an increase of $8.84 billion, in mandatory funding for other 
veterans benefits--primarily veterans compensation and pensions, and 
readjustment benefits.
  $78.7 billion for veterans service-connected compensation benefits 
and pensions, an increase of $7.2 billion (10%) over current funding 
levels.
  These funds are used for service-connected compensation payments to 
an estimated 4.6 million veterans, survivors and dependents and pension 
payments to 519,000 veterans and survivors.
  $14.8 billion for veterans readjustment benefits, an increase of $1.6 
billion (12%) over current funding levels. These funds include 
education and training assistance to veterans and service personnel; 
vocational rehabilitation; special housing and transportation grants to 
certain disabled veterans; and educational assistance to eligible 
dependents of deceased and seriously disabled veterans, as well as 
dependents of servicemembers who were captured or are missing in 
action.
  This is not a perfect bill but this piece of legislations addresses 
the most critical needs of our service members, military families, and 
veterans.

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