[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4814-S4815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MILCON-VA AND ZIKA VIRUS FUNDING BILL

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, it is the end of June and mosquitos are 
everywhere. That means the danger of the Zika virus is increasing. All 
but five States have at least one reported case of the Zika virus. Just 
today, a baby was born in the United States with microcephaly because 
of the Zika virus. This is a serious crisis that requires serious 
action.
  That is why I was so disappointed to see the majority insert language 
that would limit access to contraception, a key component of a strategy 
to fight Zika, but this bill denies women the ability to get birth 
control services

[[Page S4815]]

from their doctors or from primary care clinics. Limiting access to 
contraception while fighting a disease we know can be transmitted 
sexually is ridiculous, counterintuitive, and downright dangerous. This 
approach unnecessarily endangers women across the country.
  Why on Earth would the Republicans--with a public health crisis 
looming--insert a provision that is not only bad policy, but that they 
knew Democrats could not support? One reason: politics.
  Turning emergency research funding into a political football is 
irresponsible, and I cannot support it. Women, men, and children need 
to be protected against Zika, and this bill undermines those efforts. 
As mosquito season continues and the danger of Zika increases, we need 
serious legislation that addresses this public health crisis, not 
partisan gamesmanship.
  But Zika funding is not the only place this bill falls short. This 
conference report cuts $500 million from the bipartisan Senate VA 
Appropriations bill.
  The Senate bill cleared the Senate 89-8, a truly bipartisan bill. In 
the U.S. Senate, I imagine we couldn't even get 89 people to agree on 
what color the sky is, much less an appropriations bill, but here, we 
have one.
  The Democratic conferees went to conference with open ears and an 
open mind. Things started off okay, but Republican leadership inserted 
themselves into the process, and it quickly became clear that they had 
no interest in crafting a bipartisan deal. Getting a deal requires two 
parties to at least talk to each other.
  But once leadership got involved, Republicans did not even return our 
phone calls after last weekend. This conference report was negotiated 
in private with only Republican Members in the room.
  They took the chainsaw to the Senate's bipartisan proposal that would 
have given the VA the resources it needs to give our vets the care they 
have earned.
  The conference report before the Senate would put the VA $653 million 
below what the VA says it needs to get the job done.
  Veterans across the country and in my home State of Montana are 
waiting for action, and these harmful cuts will leave the VA with just 
enough to try and address veterans' needs. And let's be clear, ``just 
enough'' isn't good enough for our veterans.
  This bill cuts money out of medical service accounts. These are the 
very accounts that are used to pay doctors, nurses, and for medical 
equipment.
  Making it harder for the VA to administer care is irresponsible, and 
this bill would leave VA medical centers scrambling to provide services 
for thousands of veterans.
  Compared to what the Senate passed--with 89 votes earlier this year--
this bill cuts $250 million for facility maintenance of VA hospitals 
and clinics.
  I have toured these clinics. In Missoula, MT, we have a VA clinic 
that is far over capacity. Patients are forced to double and triple-up 
in rooms, ruining any semblance of patient privacy. Doctors and nurses 
are forced to have conversations that should be confidential in front 
of other patients.
  Sixty percent of VHA facilities are more than 50 years old, and they 
have over $10 billion in code deficiencies.
  Our veterans deserve better than being treated in third-rate 
facilities.
  This type of cut is exactly the partisan game playing that shows this 
bill was never meant as a compromise, but rather it is just a catalyst 
for cuts to make the VA less effective.
  These cuts aren't designed to improve care; they are designed to 
balance the budget on the backs of our veterans.
  If Republicans had come to the table willing to play ball, we could 
swallow these cuts if real improvements were made to how the VA is run, 
but these cuts will only compound the problems at the VA and are 
unacceptable without genuine reform.
  This was not how a conference should operate; not a single vote was 
ever taken by the conferees on VA related items. They were simply 
shoved into the bill.
  The unfortunate byproduct of this partisanship was that a bipartisan 
approach to VA funding and policy priorities was abandoned at the end 
and left VA short of what I believe to be responsible funding levels.
  I invite my Republican colleagues in the House--and one in particular 
in the Senate--to look at the Veterans First Act, that cleared 
committee unanimously, that takes a real shot at reforming the VA, and 
is a good example of what bipartisan compromise can look like.
  The VA is struggling, and cutting costs and not addressing real 
issues across the VA is not what our veterans deserve. I cannot support 
this bill because it does not support our veterans.
  We have 3 months before the next fiscal year begins--3 months before 
the VA runs out of money.
  I am ready to work with folks on both sides to see if we can agree on 
a plan that gives our veterans more than ``good enough.'' We have done 
it once this year, and we can do it again, but we need to get moving.

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