[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1247-H1248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          VETERANS LEGISLATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
three veterans' bills the House considered this week and passed. I 
would like my constituents to know how the House is working to better 
serve our veterans, and I want to specifically focus on the WINGMAN 
Act, which we passed.
  Mr. Speaker, enabling caseworkers to more efficiently handle the 
casework that we receive from veterans is critically important. Right 
now, my office, much like most Members in Congress, is experiencing a 
tremendously high volume of phone calls and office visits about a 
multitude of issues; and I welcome that continued energy and interest 
from my constituents.
  I also want to remind everyone that a central function of 
congressional district offices--perhaps its most important day-to-day 
function--is to be a clearinghouse for solving a variety of problems 
for our constituents and a resource to help them. And the caseworkers 
in our district offices do an exceptional job. That is why enhancing 
the tools available to caseworkers to more efficiently serve veterans 
can result in more cases being effectively administered and answers 
provided to veterans.
  This week we took an important step in streamlining this process by 
passing the WINGMAN Act. This bill would allow caseworkers to access 
read-only versions of veterans' records without having to first contact 
the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is if a veteran grants their 
congressional office this access.
  It is important to note that casework staff is already trained to 
handle this sensitive information as part of their work to serve 
constituents who are veterans. I was pleased to support this bill and 
believe it will have a positive result for veterans seeking assistance 
from my office in Pennsylvania and veterans across the country.
  In fact, I did ask for some comments from caseworkers in my office in 
Wyomissing and West Chester; and I especially want to thank them for 
the above-and-beyond, 110 percent effort that they are giving day in 
and day out. Particularly, at this point in time, with such a high 
volume of phone calls and office visits, they are still getting their 
casework done.
  This bill that we passed in the House will help them further in 
helping veterans. Jason, my constituent services director, had this to 
say about the bill:

       The accountability piece is extremely important. This will 
     allow us to see a more complete picture rather than just 
     relying on what we are told by the VA. This should also help 
     us triage the inquiries, thereby reducing the number of 
     contacts we have to make to our VA liaisons, something they 
     would probably welcome as well.

  Lisa from my West Chester office indicated that she also believes it 
is a great initiative.

       It is important to note the claims process is a lengthy 
     one. It would be beneficial to be able to periodically check 
     in on the record to monitor its progress. Most times veterans 
     say they would just like the VA to let them know that the 
     claim is still being worked on rather than forgotten. It 
     would let our office provide that information without the 
     added steps of contacting VA employees.

  Patrick, from my Wyomissing office, a veteran himself, said that:

       In my view, it is an interesting concept which would allow 
     us to move more swiftly from information gatherer to advocate 
     for cases that legitimately warrant it. Oftentimes, there is 
     a significant lag time between placing the inquiry and 
     receiving substantive feedback, at which time we will then 
     have to make the judgment if further action is justified. It 
     would also appear to hold the VA more accountable as well to 
     outside eyes, which is also very much needed. So it sounds 
     good to me.

  Mr. Speaker, it also sounds good to me, and I believe it will do good 
for veterans across this country. I am pleased to see it pass the 
House, and I encourage the Senate to move swiftly on it.


     Tredyffrin/Easttown Wins Mathcounts Competition for Third Year

  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak 
about MATHCOUNTS, a national program designed to improve math skills 
among U.S. students. The 2017 MATHCOUNTS competition series will 
consist of approximately 40,000 students.
  Twenty-three schools with 182 students competed in the 32nd Chester

[[Page H1248]]

County MATHCOUNTS competition at Great Valley Middle School recently. I 
want to commend Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, specifically 
Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School and also the Valley Forge Middle 
School of the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District for placing in the 
top six schools, as well as the following other schools in my 
congressional district: Great Valley Middle School, Lionville Middle 
School of the Downingtown Area School District, and J.R. Fugett Middle 
School of the West Chester Area School District.
  Congratulations to all schools involved, all students participating.
  I want to thank all the teachers, staff, and administrators who 
helped make MATHCOUNTS an enjoyable, enriching experience for all the 
students.

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