[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 187 (Monday, October 25, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5868-H5870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        PROTECTING OUR VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Keller) until 10 p.m.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that each Member 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, my distinguished colleagues and I stand 
here on behalf of America's veterans. The last thing our veterans 
should be burdened with is any delay, let alone a prolonged wait time 
to access the benefits and programs they have earned through their 
service.
  The National Personnel Records Center is responsible for processing 
these records, and at this moment, there is a backlog of more than half 
a million requests, some dating back to February of 2020. Consequently, 
some veterans have been waiting for over a year and a half for copies 
of their service records which are needed to access VA benefits, 
adjudicate disability claims, request campaign service medals, and much 
more.
  We in the United States of America honor the service and sacrifice of 
our veterans and Active Duty military personnel, and any delay for them 
is unacceptable.
  That is why we introduced the RECORDS Act, legislation that would 
compel the National Personnel Records Center to take the necessary 
actions to eliminate the growing backlog of veterans' record requests.
  Dating back more than a year, there has been a broad, bipartisan push 
to deliver for our veterans and work toward addressing the National 
Personnel Records Center's unacceptable backlog. The RECORDS Act is an 
opportunity to achieve this.
  Our veterans fought for us. We must always fight for them. I 
appreciate my colleagues joining me this evening together in support of 
this goal.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Rutherford).
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, 
and I thank my good friend from Pennsylvania for this opportunity.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about one of the fundamental 
roles for a Member of Congress, and that is to help our constituents 
navigate the Federal bureaucracy and get the documents or benefits that 
they need and they deserve. This is especially true for veterans, who 
often run into difficulty at the VA, even when it is not the VA's 
fault.
  Unfortunately, the National Personnel Records Center is still today 
not fully open, and this is after we gave them money in last year's 
appropriations bill to safely reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic. This 
has prevented caseworkers in my office from properly assisting my 
constituents in a timely manner.
  In fact, there is a backlog that was just mentioned of over 500,000 
requests from veterans and their families--over 500,000. To fix this 
problem, I am proud to support the RECORDS Act, and I urge the Speaker 
to bring to this bill to the floor.
  This bill will ensure that the National Personnel Records Center is 
operating full time and at fully-staffed capacity now. American 
veterans deserve better than what they are currently getting from this 
administration. Let's pass the RECORDS Act.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for joining us this 
evening and so very well put about making sure that we help our 
veterans and the fact that the records center had the resources in 
previous legislation. We just need to make sure that they get the job 
done. I thank the gentleman for joining us.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. 
Cammack).
  Mrs. CAMMACK. I rise today, Madam Speaker, to speak in support of the 
RECORDS Act to make urgently needed reforms to the National Personnel 
Records Center which has failed our Nation's veterans through a 
critical time.
  I would like to share a recent story from my district about a 99-
year-old marine who has been suffering from Alzheimer's. Her family has 
been attempting to obtain her DD-214 form to apply for her VA pension. 
This would grant her a placement in a nursing home equipped to handle 
an Alzheimer's patient. However, the National Personnel Records Center 
has put an indefinite delay on sending her records to her and her loved 
ones.
  Their justification in writing: this request does not constitute a 
medical emergency. She is 99 years old. She dedicated her life to 
serving our country as a marine and is suffering from a debilitating 
disease. As if this excuse was not poor enough, the center also 
demanded that the family prove that she has been separated for 60 years 
or more to justify pulling the records. Again, this is a 99-year-old 
marine veteran.
  The National Personnel Records Center can no longer be allowed to 
lean on the crutches of COVID. This is their excuse to justify their 
dereliction of duty. They have an obligation to fulfill these claims 
for our Nation's veterans who have served our country bravely. If the 
National Personnel Records Center does their job and still feels no 
shame in letting veterans' care lapse while their needed records 
requests go unfulfilled to the tune of 500,000-plus nationally, 
hundreds within Florida's Third Congressional District--constituents of 
mine--then it is time for us in Congress to intervene.
  Madam Speaker, I urge the House to immediately take up this 
legislation. Excuses be dammed.

                              {time}  2140

  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for those remarks. 
What an outstanding lady that the gentlewoman represents.
  The gentlewoman mentioned something that really makes me think of 
something when you talk about excuses. I was raised by my grandmother, 
and I can remember her telling me one time, my brother and I, she 
looked at us and said: Boys, people that make excuses are weak.
  It is time that we show strength, and we make them do their job.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), my 
good colleague and friend.
  Mr. CLYDE. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller), my 
good friend and colleague, for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, veterans and their families have made many sacrifices 
for our great Nation. Through their service, these men and women have 
earned numerous benefits, and those benefits are validated by the 
member's individual service record.
  The repository for those records is the National Personnel Records 
Center. The center is behind in its work. With the pandemic, the 
backlog to obtain military records jumped from 56,000 to over 500,000 
requests. That is a tenfold increase.
  That is 500,000 veterans and their families who are waiting on 
documentation that they need to apply for and receive benefits that 
they earned, including the GI Bill education benefits, VA loans, 
medical benefits, disability compensation, life insurance, and even 
burial benefits for their families.
  When these issues were first reported last year, the National 
Personnel Records Center stated that the pandemic prevented their 
employees from being able to process record requests in a safe 
environment. As such, Congress appropriated additional funds to address 
the center's concerns and to help expedite the digitization of records.
  However, the center did not grant its employees the proper technology 
to work from home during the pandemic until early 2021, nearly a year 
after the pandemic began. This choice by the center only compounded the 
worsening backlog.
  Also, the Archivist of the United States, who oversees the NPRC's 
operations, noted in his latest correspondence to Congress that he 
expects the center to eliminate the backlog of veteran requests by the 
end of fiscal year 2022. That means this time next year, a whole year. 
This is simply unacceptable.
  Each Member of this body has at least one veteran in their district 
impacted by this backlog, probably many, many veterans. It is time for 
all of us

[[Page H5869]]

to step up to the plate to demand results. Show us that these record 
requests are being processed in a timely manner.
  I commend Representative Keller for spearheading this tonight to fix 
this issue. Part of that is through the introduction of his bill, the 
RECORDS Act. I appreciate his efforts very much, and I am proud to join 
him in this fight. I thank him for the invitation to participate.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Clyde for his 
remarks and recognizing that there are veterans across our Nation in 
every district we have the privilege to represent.
  The gentleman mentioned the records center not wanting to--worried 
about danger. Well, our veterans didn't worry about danger when they 
went to protect our freedom and our way of life.
  I am glad to be joined by my great friend and colleague from 
Pennsylvania, Representative Kelly.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Kelly).
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, Representative Keller and I 
indeed are very good friends and in complete agreement on what it is we 
are trying to do tonight.
  Madam Speaker, there are 54,511 veterans in Pennsylvania's 16th 
Congressional District. These are men and women that have served in all 
types of activities in the military.
  Nearly 1 in 13 of my constituents are military veterans. Roughly 
520,000 pending VA claims for disability, compensation, and benefits 
are out there right now. And 191,000 of those that are considered to be 
backlogged are older than 3 months old, 4 months old, and they can't 
even get the information that they need.
  Thirty-six percent of these cases this summer were considered 
backlogged. Again, over 4 months, these people are waiting for their 
records to be pulled.
  The National Personnel Records Center is operating at 45 percent of 
its pre-pandemic capacity--45 percent--while almost every other 
business and government entity is operating at full capacity.
  This delay prevents veterans from getting the benefits they deserve 
for months or even years. A lack of digital records prevents staff from 
accessing those records while working remotely during the pandemic.
  Representative Keller's bill would require the National Personnel 
Records Center employees to return to the job at 100 percent of 
capacity and improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the 
operations at the center.
  This is not just a request. This is honoring the service of those who 
have given all to defend this country.
  They are not looking for anything special. They are not looking for 
anything out of the ordinary. They are not looking for anybody to go 
beyond what they were hired to do. All they are asking for is for their 
records to be processed in the right time so they can receive their 
benefits.
  How can this Nation turn its back, and how can this group refuse to 
do this in a timely fashion and prevent this from happening further?
  All we are asking for is people to do their jobs. What an unusual 
concept for somebody to go to work every day and be asked to do their 
job, not doing it from home, but going on the job and actually doing 
the job for those who put their lives on the line for this Nation.
  Incredible that it would take a bill from Congress for people to 
actually do the job they were hired to do and fulfill their 
responsibility to our incredible veterans.

  I thank Representative Keller for bringing this forward, and I would 
urge this body to take a look at what we are doing right now and 
somehow come to an agreement that there is not--this shouldn't be a 
request. This is a responsibility to those who have served us so well.
  I thank Representative Keller for including me tonight and all the 
rest of my colleagues.
  Again, this is not just a request. This is a responsibility.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for making a very 
valid point, that the rest of America is going back to work and doing 
what they need to do at full capacity, working at 100 percent. To have 
a government agency working at 45 percent, as the gentleman pointed 
out, for those who have done so much for us is unacceptable. I 
appreciate his help with this.
  I also look forward to hearing what my great colleague and friend 
from Wisconsin has to say.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman).
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I would also like to speak on behalf of 
Congressman Keller's bill.
  One of the things we do as Congressmen back in our district is 
constituent work. Probably one of the areas which we are busiest is in 
the areas of helping our veterans. Whether it is getting burial 
benefits, veteran benefits, or lost military awards, we have to contact 
the National Personnel Records Center.
  Unfortunately, as has been mentioned, for over a year now, the 
National Personnel Records Center has been operating at well under 
capacity. This is an insult to our veterans.
  Their excuse for not operating is, of course, the COVID. My staff has 
toured the National Personnel Records Center, and it is a large 
warehouse, very spread out. Unlike where most Americans have had to 
work the last 2 years, you are not squeezed up in a cubicle next to 
somebody else.
  Unfortunately--and this maybe is an indication of the overall caring 
of the Federal Government. Unfortunately, they have not been open at a 
time when not only our veterans have given so much, but a time when so 
many taxpayers have been working around the clock.
  Every night I go home, I go by a couple of cheese factories. I can 
drive by there at 1 in the morning. They are packed with people. They 
never stopped working.
  Here we have a massive warehouse with lots of space between people, 
and we are told it is too dangerous to go to work. That is 
preposterous. It is an insult to our veterans. It is an insult to our 
taxpayers.
  I urge this body to pass Congressman Keller's bill as soon as 
possible.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, so 
very well put, that we have people for which we work that are veterans 
that go to work every day, that maybe aren't veterans but taxpayers 
that go to work every day and expect our government to work. That is 
all we are asking for.
  People every day in America go to work, and they produce goods, they 
provide services. The Americans that have served, our veterans, and 
those that are serving deserve a government that is responsive to the 
needs that they have because of what they have earned.
  They are not asking for anything special. They are saying: Look, we 
have earned these benefits, and to gain access to them, we need you to 
do your job.
  Who would have thought it would have taken an act of Congress to try 
and get them to do their work. It is time that we make sure that the 
National Personnel Records Center does its job for our veterans and to 
make sure that they have a plan that this never happens again.
  We cannot let down our veterans because of some bureaucracy, because 
somebody doesn't want to make sure that it runs efficiently and 
effectively.

                              {time}  2150

  It needs to be done. It needs to be done now.
  Madam Speaker, just let me say, we must first and always remember our 
veterans and Active Duty military personnel.
  Also, I would like to thank my colleagues for their participation 
this evening. This is an important issue. It is widespread, and it 
transcends party lines.
  These are veterans. They are Americans. They are not Republicans; 
they are not Democrats. They are Americans, and they are an outstanding 
group of Americans.
  I notice I was just joined here by a colleague of mine. So before I 
close, I will recognize a gentleman I have known for quite some time, 
actually a member of the military. When I knew him, he was still a 
member of the military, so a veteran then, a good friend of mine, a 
great American from Pennsylvania.

[[Page H5870]]

  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Perry).
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, for bringing up the subject and offering me the 
opportunity to stand in support of his legislation, the RECORDS Act, to 
let you know, what you have probably heard, that literally hundreds of 
thousands--500,000 to 600,000 veterans are awaiting their care based on 
the inability of the VA to get to their records.
  They can't prove that they are due the care, that they have earned 
the care, without the records. The VA has this backlog, which takes 
them a year, maybe two, where they can't access their records to get 
the care that they have earned. So I commend the gentleman for his 
efforts with the RECORDS Act.
  I have a similar bill, the WINGMAN Act, which allows congressional 
staffers, given the appropriate approvals, to go in and help the 
veteran do the same thing, get through the backlog.
  Mr. Keller has a response. He has a solution. I am working on a 
solution. Who is not working on a solution? The VA. It is not the 
people down in the trenches, down doing the hard work. As usual, it is 
the administration, the upper staff, that has failed in this endeavor.
  If we can do anything in the United States of America--of all the 
billions we spend, here and across the globe, anywhere, and all the 
different programs that we have--the least we can do is take care of 
those who have safeguarded our freedoms and have earned the care that 
they deserve to get. The only thing that stands between them and that 
care is accessing their records. They cannot right now because of this 
backlog.
  The good gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller) has legislation 
that will fix that, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I urge 
everybody that is a veteran or a family member supportive of a veteran 
to write, to contact their Congressman, their Member of Congress, and 
urge them to support this legislation.
  Let's see if we can fix the circumstances at the VA for these 
veterans.
  Mr. KELLER. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Perry, who 
said it so very well. These people earned their benefits. Our veterans 
earned these benefits. They protected our freedom and way of life. They 
didn't question was it too dangerous to go do that job. They went and 
did it. They have earned benefits.
  What we need to do is we need to make sure that the bureaucrats that 
are running this--as he said, it is not the people that get the work 
done every day, but it is the managers of the National Personnel 
Records Center that need to make sure they do their job and put 
together a plan to address the issues, to get our veterans the 
necessary records, in a timely fashion, that they need to gain access 
to the benefits they have earned.
  As I mentioned before, this is an issue that is not a Republican or 
Democrat issue. It is an American issue, and it is about helping 
Americans. It is about helping Americans who have helped humanity from 
around the globe, stood up for freedom, stood on that wall and made 
sure we were safe. Now, it is our time to stand up for them and make 
sure they get the benefits they have earned.
  We all urge the National Archives and Records Administration to 
immediately take all steps to address this problem and prevent it from 
ever happening again.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________