[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7204-H7206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING BENEFITS INFORMATION IN SPANISH AND TAGALOG FOR VETERANS AND 
                              FAMILIES ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2943) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make 
all fact sheets of the Department of Veterans Affairs in English and 
Spanish, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2943

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Providing Benefits 
     Information in Spanish and Tagalog for Veterans and Families 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FACT SHEETS.

       (a) Languages.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
     make versions of all fact sheets of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.
       (b) Website.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
     establish and maintain a publicly available website of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs that contains links to all 
     fact sheets of the Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans 
     Health Administration, and of the National Cemetery 
     Administration. The website shall be accessible by a clearly 
     labelled hyperlink on the homepage of the Department.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall submit a report to Congress regarding fact sheets 
     described in subsection (a) and details of the Language 
     Access Plan of the Department of Veteran Affairs. The report 
     shall include the following:
       (1) What the Secretary determines constitutes a fact sheet 
     of the Department for purposes of this Act.
       (2) How such fact sheets are utilized and distributed other 
     than on and through the website of the Department.
       (3) How such Language Access Plan is communicated to 
     veterans, family members of veterans, and caregivers.
       (4) The roles and responsibilities of patient advocates in 
     the coordination of care for veterans with limited English 
     proficiency, family members of such veterans, and caregivers.

[[Page H7205]]

       (5) Other demographic information that the Secretary 
     determines appropriate regarding veterans with limited 
     English proficiency.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2943, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Mr. Cisneros' bill, H.R. 
2943, as amended, which would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to provide all VA fact sheets in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.
  One of my chief priorities as chair of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs is to remove barriers that stand between veterans and their 
benefits. A language barrier should not prevent veterans from accessing 
the benefits they earned, and the burden should not be placed on 
veterans to request and wait for the VA to provide a translator.
  Mandating that fact sheets be provided in Spanish and Tagalog will 
break down a significant barrier that stands in between Latinx and 
Filipino veterans and their VA benefits.
  Mr. Cisneros' bill, H.R. 2943, as amended, mandates that all fact 
sheets be available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. Our veterans 
answered the call to serve from places around the world, including the 
Philippines and Puerto Rico, where English is not the predominant 
language. There are communities across the U.S., including in my 
district, where Spanish is commonly spoken and understood. This fix is 
easy; it does not come at an increased cost; and it is the right thing 
to do.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs produces fact sheets that explain 
many VA programs and benefits. The VA fact sheets provide key facts, 
such as eligibility criteria, documents needed to help support claims, 
and links to appropriate application forms. These fact sheets explain 
the process for getting a VA-guaranteed home loan, applying for 
disability compensation, using GI Bill benefits, and obtaining burial 
benefits for veterans and their surviving family members.
  Brochures and fact sheets explain VA healthcare benefits to veterans 
and caregivers. These fact sheets also advise veterans on the 
supporting documentation they need to help them apply for benefits so 
they are correctly identified as eligible or their claims are 
successfully adjudicated.
  During the codel I led to Puerto Rico this past weekend, I met with 
veterans who told me they are not receiving information on VA programs, 
and when they do receive information, it is in English, not Spanish. 
The one veteran who received a brochure on the MISSION Act in Spanish 
said it was incomplete compared to the English materials.
  This disparity should not exist. Veterans, regardless of the language 
they speak or where they live, should be able to understand how to 
access their benefits easily.
  I ask my colleagues to help our veterans who have done so much to 
serve our country and join me in supporting H.R. 2943, as amended.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I commend the chairman for bringing these bills 
forward in committee. I also commend the Speaker of the House for 
putting these bills on the agenda today, as well as the majority leader 
and the minority leader. These are very important bills.
  I rise today to support H.R. 2943, as amended.
  This bill, which is sponsored by Representative Gil Cisneros of 
California, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to make 
all fact sheets available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.
  During the markup of this bill, the committee adopted an amendment 
that Ranking Member Roe offered to further require the VA to post all 
fact sheets on a clearly identifiable, easily accessible location on 
the VA's website and require the VA to report to Congress on the 
Department's language-access plan to assist veterans with limited 
English proficiency.
  This would ensure that the entirety of our veteran population, as 
well as their families and caregivers, are able to access and 
comprehend important information about VA benefits easily. It would 
also ensure that any barriers to care that might exist for veterans 
with limited English skills, Madam Speaker, are identified and broken 
down.
  I am grateful to Representative Cisneros for introducing this bill, 
and I am proud to support it today.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cisneros), my good friend and a member of the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee who is also a veteran himself, the author of this 
legislation.
  Mr. CISNEROS. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano for his 
leadership on this issue and for working with me to ensure this bill 
passed out of committee on a bipartisan basis. I also thank the 
gentleman from Florida for his support on this bill.
  Madam Speaker, it is an honor to rise today to ask my colleagues for 
their support on my bill, H.R. 2943, the Providing Benefits Information 
in Spanish and Tagalog for Veterans and Families Act.
  So many veterans have come from Puerto Rico, as well as the 
Philippines. The VA actually does have a hospital both in Puerto Rico 
and in the Philippines. This legislation would direct the VA Secretary 
to make all Department of Veterans Affairs fact sheets available in 
English, Spanish, and Tagalog.
  According to the U.S. Census, as of July 1, 2017, the U.S. Hispanic 
population is approximately 59 million people, making up 18 percent of 
the Nation's total population, making people of Hispanic origin the 
Nation's largest ethnic or racial minority. The U.S. Census has also 
reported that Filipino Americans make up the third-largest AAPI 
subgroup, with an estimated 4 million people living in the United 
States.
  With those changing demographics trending toward a more racially and 
ethnically diverse majority, the veteran population is diversifying at 
similar rates. The share of veterans who are Hispanic is expected to 
nearly double.

  During my time in service, many of my proud brothers and sisters in 
arms were of Filipino descent.
  With Spanish and Tagalog as the first language of an increasing 
number of veterans and their families, and our significant strategic 
national security footprint in Puerto Rico and the Philippines, it is 
important that fact sheets offered by the VA are made available to 
everyone.
  This bill would serve as an initial step in ensuring veterans and 
their families with limited English proficiency have full access and 
information on VA services, without burden or barriers.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of my bill 
to ensure we do not overlook veterans and their families who may need 
these important fact sheets.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, this is a very important bill. We were just overseas 
and met with the troops, and we had quite a few servicemembers from 
Puerto Rico. I would like to say that most of them spoke perfect 
English, but they may not. They should have access to all the 
information in their first language.
  Madam Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I am also prepared to close, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time to render my final comments.

[[Page H7206]]

  Our veterans and their survivors deserve the best care possible. The 
VA benefits application process can be confusing. Congress has taken 
action to reduce confusion and ease the application process.
  I remember when, only a few years ago, initial claims were taking 
more than a year. Today, initial disability claims are being completed 
in less than 160 days. This is, in part, due to streamlining the 
application process and providing more information to veterans.
  As I learned during the codel to Puerto Rico, in emergencies like 
Hurricane Maria, veterans need to know how the VA can help them prepare 
for the next storm. They need to know that they can get additional 
supplies of medication. Veterans need to know where to go in an 
emergency when communications are disrupted. They also need to know how 
to apply for assistance and emergency benefits after a disaster like 
Hurricane Maria because these disasters will happen again.
  The VA fact sheet on natural disasters, which tells veterans and 
their families which website to go to and where to call when their 
benefits are interrupted due to natural disasters, is only available in 
English. Yet, both the Philippines and Puerto Rico experience natural 
disasters like hurricanes, typhoons, and earthquakes.
  Mandating that VA fact sheets are made available in more than one 
language is yet another example of ways we can eliminate barriers for 
our veterans, streamline the application process, and help them get to 
the right resources when there is an emergency. Providing fact sheets 
in Tagalog and Spanish could even save lives.
  Madam Speaker, I wholeheartedly support H.R. 2943, as amended, and, 
again, I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Castor of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2943, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make all fact sheets of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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