[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2773-H2774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  VETERANS AND FAMILY INFORMATION ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2093) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make 
all fact sheets of the Department of Veterans Affairs available in 
English, Spanish, and Tagalog, and other commonly spoken languages, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2093

       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 ``Veterans and Family 
     Information Act''.

     SEC. 2. FACT SHEETS.

       (a) Languages.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
     make available versions of all fact sheets of the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs in--
       (1) English;
       (2) Spanish;
       (3) Tagalog; and
       (4) each of the 10 most commonly spoken languages, other 
     than English, in the United States that are not otherwise 
     covered by paragraphs (2) and (3).
       (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 
     labeled 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.
       (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 Illinois (Mr. Bost) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             general Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2093.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, since 2001 the foreign-born share of the veteran 
population has steadily risen. Immigrants have served in the Armed 
Forces since the very beginning of our Nation, and they today make up 
600,000 veterans. 1.9 million veterans are the U.S.-born children of 
immigrants. Together, the 2.5 million veterans of immigrant origin, by 
birth or parentage, account for 13 percent of all veterans living 
today.
  Certain nationals of countries in free association with the United 
States--the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and 
Palau--are eligible to serve the United States, and they do in numbers 
much larger than their counterparts stateside.
  Half a million veterans live in Puerto Rico. There are 6,000 regular 
Philippine Scouts still alive and 15,000 U.S. veterans who live in the 
Philippines, half of whom rely on the VA clinic in Manila for their 
service-connected care.
  Two-thirds of the veteran cohorts I just mentioned do not speak 
English at home. Many of them are aging and have to rely more and more 
on their families for care and to manage health decisions.
  VA has scarce availability of veteran-facing materials in other 
languages, both online and in paper. Facilities are, for the most part, 
on their own to translate material that best serves their patients.
  This extra burden was made clear to me during committee trips to 
Puerto Rico, where we heard from staff about the arduous work it took 
to have to translate everything from administrative staff training 
materials to hurricane brochures. Everything sent from VA Central 
Office in Washington, D.C., to Puerto Rico had to be redone so it could 
be usable and accessible to veterans and the staff who serve them.
  The VA should be fully accessible to all veterans who need it, and 
that includes language accessibility. Mr. Jeffries' bill, H.R. 2093, 
the Veterans and Family Information Act, would require VA to do what it 
should have been doing for years, make its veteran-facing fact sheets 
and websites available in languages veterans and their families speak; 
specifically, the languages of Spanish, Tagalog, and the other top 10 
spoken languages in the United States. It would also require VA to 
create a language access plan for the VA enterprise.
  Now, this is a long overdue correction of VA's posture. If this 
pandemic has taught us anything, it is that clearly communicated public 
health information from our healthcare institutions is essential. VA 
must ensure that language proficiency is never a barrier to a veteran's 
care.
  I therefore ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the Veterans 
and Family Information Act.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2093, the Veterans and 
Family Information Act. This bill would require VA to make fact sheets 
available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and 
Tagalog.
  I appreciate Congressman Jeffries' introduction of this legislation, 
and I am glad to support it today. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Jeffries), my good friend, the chairman of the Democratic 
Caucus and author of H.R. 2093.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and classmate, 
Chairman Takano, for his tremendous leadership as well as the 
leadership of the ranking member and all of the distinguished members 
of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2093, the Veterans and 
Family Information Act, a bipartisan bill that will serve those who 
have served our Nation with distinction. This commonsense legislation 
would improve non-English language accessibility for veterans, their 
families, and caregivers.
  The Veterans Benefits Administration provides critical information to 
all veterans about their benefits that have been hard earned, including 
service-connected disability benefits, home loans, vocational 
rehabilitation, employment information, and how to access assistance 
for trauma.
  For veterans of limited English proficiency, there is no guarantee 
that this critical information is made available in their primary 
language, thereby creating barriers for them and for their families.
  As Chairman Takano indicated, there are over 500,000 foreign-born 
veterans that live in the United States, and additionally 1.9 million 
veterans who are the U.S.-born children of foreign-born parents.
  Not only are our veterans increasingly diverse in terms of country of 
origin, but tens of thousands of veterans have self-identified to the 
VA that they speak English less than well.
  In the most recent survey conducted, the VA also found that 
minorities, people of color, and language minorities comprise 
approximately 24 percent of the total veteran population in the United 
States.
  Every single veteran deserves consistent, clear, and equal access to 
any and all information that the VA offers, regardless of their English 
proficiency. They have all served this country well.
  The Veterans and Family Information Act would direct the Department 
of Veterans Affairs to make versions of 

[[Page H2774]]

all of its fact sheets available in the 10 most commonly spoken 
languages other than English in the United States, including Spanish 
and Tagalog.

  I would like to thank the lead cosponsor of this bill, Representative 
Young Kim, for her extraordinary leadership and partnership in this 
effort, as well as, again, the chair, ranking member, and all of the 
distinguished members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2093.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Kim).
  Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2093, the Veterans and Family Information Act. This is the 
legislation I introduced with my colleague, Representative Jeffries.
  This bipartisan bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
make versions of all fact sheets available in the 10 most commonly 
spoken languages other than English in the United States, including 
Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and Korean.
  My district is home to more than 27,000 veterans from diverse 
backgrounds who faithfully served in the United States military, 
including my own sister, brother-in-law, and my husband, too. With an 
increasingly diverse population of veterans across the country, and 
with United States veterans residing in the Philippines and in Puerto 
Rico, this bill ensures that our veterans and their caretakers whose 
first languages are not English are aware of and understand the VA's 
benefits.
  I want to thank Representative Jeffries for working with me to 
improve language availability and accessibility at the VA. I urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2093.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am 
prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support 
this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I am very, very pleased to recommend to 
all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' This issue affects my own 
constituency where I know that we have veterans that have caregivers 
that may only speak, say, the language of Spanish, and so I am very 
convinced that this legislation will benefit all of our country, but 
especially my own district.
  It is with that spirit that I recommend that we pass this important 
piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 2093.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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