[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 178 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1167-E1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       VA INFRASTRUCTURE POWERS EXCEPTIONAL RESEARCH ACT OF 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 14, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5721 the ``VA 
Infrastructure Powers Exceptional Research Act of 2021'' or ``VIPER 
Act.''
  As a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland 
Security, I care deeply about our veterans.
  I offer my deepest gratitude to our nation's troops and reservists, 
their families, and the 21.6 million veterans, including 29,126 in the 
18th Congressional District of Texas that I proudly represent.
  In Congress, I have sponsored many legislative proposals and co-
sponsored well over 50 pieces of legislation that will positively 
benefit our veterans and their families.
  Of all veterans, 50 percent use at least one VA benefit or service. 
Majority of those using health care benefits.
  H.R. 5721 addresses the misguided legal reinterpretation that 
eliminated a 75-year long allowance of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) to accept grant money through private universities.
  Over the past 75 years, the VA has developed the most sophisticated 
and powerful research enterprises in the United States.
  It is extremely important that we pass this bill because it would 
give critical resources and tools to better serve our nation's veterans 
by further improving its groundbreaking research program.
  The VIPER Act would:
  Ensure program continuity by authorizing the VA's Office of Research 
and Development;
  Eliminate burdensome paperwork requirements for VA scientists and 
administrators;
  Allow VA to recruit and retain data scientists and researchers on 
loan from other federal agencies more efficiently;
  Create opportunities for researcher at smaller universities to expand 
the STEM pipeline serving veterans;
  Grant VA transactional authority in line with 11 other federal 
agencies; and
  Mandate a Government Accountability Office study on the retention of 
VA clinician-scientists and the productivity of their research.
  H.R. 5721 would benefit our veterans and the global community as VA-
funded research has led to medical breakthroughs such as the first 
pacemaker, the first successful liver transplant, effective treatments 
for PTSD, and prosthetics that enhance mobility for amputees.

[[Page E1168]]

  VA research is key to the world-class care it delivers to its nine 
million patients.
  I hope you will join me in passing this legislation, to ensure VA 
researchers can be on the forefront of health research and novel 
discoveries.
  Without H.R. 5721, thousands of veterans and civilians will be 
impacted.
  The great state of Texas is home to over 1.4 million veterans, the 
most out of any state.
  The debt we owe our veterans is immeasurable. Their sacrifices and 
those of their families are freedom's foundation.
  Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, 
marines, and Coast Guardsmen and their families, our country would not 
live so freely.