[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OUR VETERANS DESERVE BETTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, last month, we celebrated Veterans Day, a day 
where we rightly single out the members of our military, past and 
present, and pay tribute to their service and sacrifice.
  When you stop to think about it, it is amazing that men and women 
choose to serve in our Armed Forces, knowing full well that their 
sacrifice could be tremendous and even require their life. But, still, 
they volunteer. They do so because America--her ideals, her people, and 
her way of life--are worth defending.
  The entire Nation owes our military personnel and veterans a huge 
debt of gratitude, and ensuring that debt is properly repaid is one of 
my top priorities in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, as I travel North Carolina's Fifth District, I hear a 
similar refrain. No matter where I go, constituents tell me horror 
stories of their experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  Veterans from my district and across the country are frustrated with 
the lack of service they are receiving. They are angry because they 
can't get an appointment or a phone call returned. And they are 
outraged, as I am, that the Obama administration is doing nothing to 
solve the multitude of problems that have been revealed.
  My heart is always touched when veterans and their families describe 
their efforts to get service through the VA and how the VA wouldn't 
help them until my office intervened. These stories affect me more than 
words can say.
  I am always happy to know that my office has helped, and my staff is 
encouraged when we get a problem solved. However, these veterans 
shouldn't have to contact their congressional office to access the 
benefits they have earned.
  To say I am fed up with this administration's treatment of veterans 
is an understatement. How they can turn their backs on the veterans the 
way they do is unconscionable to me.
  It is past time to put an end to the agency-wide pattern of 
mismanagement at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bureaucratic 
incompetence is abominable, and there needs to be a shakeup at all 
levels. The agency needs to be led and staffed by people who believe 
America has a duty and an obligation to help our veterans.
  Right now, it seems there is no sense of responsibility or concern 
from the Obama administration with the disgraceful way our veterans are 
being treated. It is time for President Obama to truly commit to 
reforming the VA and give America's veterans a meaningful, decisive 
plan to right the many wrongs.
  Regardless of the outcome, my office will continue to leave no stone 
unturned when it comes to serving our veterans.

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