[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12299-12300]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          VETERANS HEALTHCARE AND EQUITABLE ACCESS ACT OF 2005

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I rise to speak on a matter of great 
importance, the state of care received by America's veterans. On April 
28. I proudly introduced the Veterans' Healthcare and Equitable Access 
Act of 2005, which will honor America's veterans with the dignity and 
respect they have earned. This legislation was inspired by my work on 
the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. I have had the privilege to 
come face to face with real heroes, like injured veterans returning 
from the battlefield and grieving survivors who proudly and bravely 
carry the memory of a fallen soldier with them as they struggle to move 
on. I have been moved by this experience and I offered this bill to 
honor their sacrifice and their struggles.
  The Veterans' Healthcare and Equitable Access Act of 2005 takes a 
comprehensive approach to fix some of the major problems facing 
veterans today. Since I was a member of the House of Representatives, I 
have supported mandatory funding, and the legislation I have introduced 
underscores that commitment. The widening gap between demand for care 
and funding is a problem that must be faced head on and dealt with 
before it spirals out of control. The Veterans' Healthcare Eligibility 
Act and the Veterans' Millennium Healthcare Care and Benefits Act 
changed the nature of the VA, but did not change the manner in which 
the VA was funded. That is why I support mandatory funding for 
veterans' healthcare, so the VA can finally provide care to those who 
cared for us.
  This bill will also end another problem that has plagued veterans in 
my home state for years: access to quality healthcare and equitable 
reimbursement for travel expenses. My legislation will allow rural 
veterans who are enrolled in the VA to obtain health care at local 
medical facilities closer to home or to travel to a VA facility and 
recelve travel reimbursements at the same rate as Federal employees.
  The veterans population is aging and we are losing great men and 
women every day. Today, the GI's who fought in Vietnam are reaching the 
age of retirement and Medicare eligibility. It is therefore unfair to 
ask the VA to shoulder a cost that Medicare should help pay for. Aging 
veterans are seeking care at the VA because it is one of the best care 
providers in the country. As I see it, the VA and Medicare need to 
share this cost in order to provide excellent care to those who need it 
most.
  In March, I met Major Tammy Duckworth, an Army pilot who lost both of 
her legs after a rocket propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter 
she was in while flying in the skies above Iraq. Although now a double 
amputee, she is determined to both walk and fly helicopters again. 
Major Duckworth has my full support, but needless to say her life has 
been changed forever. That is why the legislation I introduced would 
require that a service member who has lost a limb from a service-
connected injury receive a disability rating of not less than 50 
percent. This is our way of saying thank you and helping our veterans 
achieve their dreams.
  Some of the hardest hit victims of this war are not soldiers or 
veterans, but survivors of the fallen. These brave men and women need 
our help. This year I voted to extend survivor benefits from $12,000 to 
$100,000 and to extend military housing privileges from 6 months to 1 
year. To complete our support for survivors, my bill will extend 
childcare privileges for survivors from 6 months to 2 years in any 
Federal childcare program, giving surviving family members the help 
they need to grieve, heal, and move on from a painful loss.
  Mr. President, legislation such as this is not without costs and it 
will require the Senate to make difficult choices. Sending troops into 
harm's way is a difficult choice, even when that choice is clearly 
justifiable, like it is in Iraq and Afghanistan. But taking care of 
veterans and their families is not a difficult choice, it is one we 
must embrace. As General Omar Bradley once said: ``We are dealing with 
veterans, not procedure--with their problems, not ours.''
  Scripture tells us there is a time for everything, a time for peace 
and a time for war. America is facing a time of war, and we are 
fighting an evil and determined enemy. We have to ensure that the men 
and women who are bearing the burden of this war are cared for

[[Page 12300]]

and are confident they can count on their government in their hour of 
need.
  I ask unanimous consent that this statement be entered into the 
Record as if read.

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