[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H6119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CELEBRATING VA COMPETES

  (Mr. HARDER of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HARDER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
passage of my bipartisan bill, the VA COMPETES Act and what this means 
for veterans in my district and across the country.
  My bill improves care for veterans by finally allowing the VA to pay 
doctors the salaries that they deserve. It is no secret that the VA has 
struggled to hire and retain healthcare staff, and low salaries are a 
big piece of that.
  When the VA is understaffed, our veterans are the ones who suffer. 
Last year, when the Stockton VA Clinic went from eight primary care 
physicians to just four, wait times skyrocketed to over 100 days. Our 
veterans couldn't get appointments, prescriptions filled, or access to 
the basic care that they needed.
  I am proud to have worked with our local clinic staff in the VA to 
fix this issue, bringing wait times down to just 16 days. My bill is 
going to help ensure that no other clinic experiences a shortage like 
we did last year.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be part of the solution and thank 
everyone who made this possible.

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