[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29643]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TAKING CARE OF AMERICA'S VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, it has been a great comfort 
to listen to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle talk about 
National Bible Week. The Bible can bring great comfort to all of us, 
especially in time of need. And when I look at the legislation that we 
have been trying to pass and legislation that is coming forward, I hope 
we can all remember the words of the Bible and take care of each other 
and not the almighty dollar.
  Mr. Speaker, next week is November 11th. We remember those who 
answered the call when America needed them most. Honoring our veterans 
reminds us that our freedoms come at a cost and with liberty comes 
responsibility. Congress has a responsibility to take care of the men 
and women who are serving and who have served. This year we passed 
legislation to increase the VA budget by $6.7 billion above last year's 
level. This is the largest single increase in veterans funding in the 
history of the VA. This increase will help better serve the health care 
needs of our veterans, both young and old, by providing over 1,000 new 
VA caseworkers to reduce the unacceptable delays in receiving their 
benefits.
  Our young veterans are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with new 
injuries. We have seen a dramatic rise in traumatic brain injuries due 
to IEDs and roadside bombs. As of January, over 2,000 of our brave men 
and women have been diagnosed with TBI. These veterans need a high 
level of intensive care when they return from battle.
  I understand the issues our soldiers who come home with TBI face. 
That is why I worked with Defense Subcommittee Chairman Murtha to 
include language in the Department of Defense authorization that sets 
aside funding and support for TBI treatment.
  We are in a new century and the members of our Armed Forces, our 
veterans and their loved ones, need a new GI Bill. A new GI Bill should 
increase funding for veterans' medical care; employment assistance for 
our homeless veterans throughout this country; increased pay for our 
active duty members, so they can actually have a family life; expand 
current benefits under the current Montgomery GI Bill.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 2702, the Post-9/11 Veterans 
Educational Assistance Act. This legislation provides education 
assistance for our young veterans returning home from the war under the 
Montgomery GI Bill.
  In addition to increased funding for a new GI Bill, there needs to be 
other substantive changes made to veterans care. There should be a 
guaranteed funding stream for veterans health care. Access to health 
care should improve and there should be increased funding for special 
VA programs such as posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, 
homelessness, long-term care.
  We must also address the problem called concurrent receipt. Currently 
other Federal retirees get both disability and retirement pay. But we 
deny our veterans this privilege because of an outdated law.
  Congress must authorize full payment of both retirement pay and 
disability compensation to more than hundreds of thousands of disabled 
veterans and military retirees.
  What we need to do is keep the promises we made to our veterans. I am 
hoping Congress in the coming days, months, and years will take care of 
these promises. We owe this to the American people. We owe it to our 
young people that sign up to fight the wars that we are fighting. If we 
don't keep our promises, why should our young people join to keep this 
country secure?
  I salute our veterans, thank them for their service, and say God 
bless America.

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