[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[EXTENSI]
[Pages 12577-12578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 H.R. 2922, THE PAY VETERANS FIRST ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
Pay Veterans First Act (H.R. 2922), introduced by my colleague from New 
York, Mr. Hall.
  When most people think of a ``bonus,'' they think of a financial 
incentive given to reward exceptional work done above and beyond the 
call of duty. It is typically recognition of the long and countless 
hours of hard work put in to get the job done. It is something you 
earn, not something you receive in return for lackluster performance.
  Yet, recently the Associated Press reported that top officials at the 
Department of Veterans Affairs received a total of $3.8 million in 
bonuses, with some individuals receiving as much as $33,000, or 20 
percent of their annual salary. While these officials received

[[Page 12578]]

these performance based rewards, the VA was facing a nearly $1 billion 
budgetary shortfall and the national backlog for veterans' claims is 
about 177 days on average. There are very few veterans in eastern 
Connecticut or across the country who would agree that this data 
demonstrates ``exceptional work'' on behalf of our Nation's veterans.
  It is appalling that the failing performance of top VA officials 
would be rewarded so handsomely while the quality of care for our 
Nation's veterans suffers. The veterans of eastern Connecticut and 
those throughout the Nation deserve an explanation for this apparent 
error in judgment and disgraceful lack of leadership within the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. I recently wrote to Secretary Jim 
Nicholson asking him to provide an explanation for this imbalance and 
look forward to his response.
  There are, without a doubt, many people in veterans' health care 
facilities across the country working tirelessly to care for our 
veterans without the resources they need, let alone discretionary 
bonuses. The VA is strained to care for the patients they have now, and 
face daunting challenges to care for those returning from Iraq and 
Afghanistan. The Pay Veterans First Act is an important step to 
ensuring that the priorities and resources of the VA remain focused on 
where they rightfully belong: the needs of those who have served our 
country in uniform, and not the bureaucrats in Washington.
  I applaud Mr. Hall of New York for leading this important effort and 
urge my colleagues to support this bill on behalf of our Nation's 
veterans.

                          ____________________