[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17422-17456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 622 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 3082.

                              {time}  1058


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 3082) making appropriations for military construction, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, with Ms. 
Baldwin in the chair.

[[Page 17423]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the 
first time. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) and the gentleman 
from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Chair, Members, on behalf of America's service men and women, 
our veterans, and their families, it is a privilege for me to present 
the Fiscal Year 2010 Military Construction/Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations bill.
  I believe this bill and the work we have done since January of 2007 
is work that all of us, Democrats and Republicans alike, can be very 
proud of. In this time of war, we have continued our tradition of a 
bipartisan Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations 
bill, a bill that honors in a meaningful way the service and sacrifice 
of our service men and women, our veterans, and their families.
  In the past 2\1/2\ years, along with the passage of this bill, the 
Congress will have increased veterans health care and benefits funding 
by 58 percent. That is unprecedented in the history of this country, 
and I believe our veterans and their families have earned every dime of 
that funding.
  In addition, we have a new 21st-century GI Education bill. And, 
recently, President Obama signed into law a provision amending that 
bill that will provide a college scholarship to every child who has 
lost a mother or father in military service to our country since 
September 11, 2001.
  In 2\1/2\ years, this Congress will have done a number of things on 
behalf of our veterans and troops, including adding 8,300 VA processors 
to reduce the unconscionable backlog that veterans are having to stand 
in in order to receive their earned benefits.
  We will have provided funding for an additional 115 VA community-
based outpatient clinics, and this bill adds 30 more. We will have 
provided an additional 42 vet centers, and this bill adds 28 more.
  We have allowed the Veterans Health Administration to hire an 
additional 2,657 doctors, 11,509 nurses, and other critical additional 
staff. We will increase the travel reimbursement rate, the per-mileage 
reimbursement rate for veterans having to travel, in some cases, 
hundreds of miles to VA hospitals--which has not been increased since 
1979--we will increase that from 11 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per 
mile. To many in America, that extra 30 cents may not sound like much. 
To many of America's finest, our veterans, it's the difference between 
them being able to afford to drive to get the VA health care they need 
and deserve, or not.
  Our increased funding for veterans in this bill and over the past 
2\1/2\ years means our veterans have better access to health care they 
need and deserve and have earned. It means improved access to health 
care for veterans in rural areas. And it means the opening of the doors 
of our VA hospitals and clinics to many middle- and low-income veterans 
that have not been allowed the opportunity that they've earned through 
their military service. Additionally, these resources ensure that our 
veterans will have shorter waiting times for doctor appointments.
  We have also worked hard to make sure that our service men and women 
know that Congress deeply respects the sacrifices that they and the 
unsung heroes of America's defense--their families--have made each and 
every day to keep our Nation safe. We've heard time and again in 
testimony that the best support we can give our military when they're 
deployed overseas is the knowledge that their families are cared for 
here at home. We have listened to that voice and have tried to fund a 
number of key initiatives for our troops.
  For example, in the past year, this subcommittee will have added $2.8 
billion for new military hospitals so that our service men and women 
know that their families will get the best possible health care in 
high-quality facilities while they are serving overseas. We've added $1 
billion for new child care centers to serve 20,000 additional military 
children, and $570 million in additional funding for barracks because 
Congress needs to show our volunteer forces from day one that we 
appreciate their decision to serve.
  The Subcommittee for Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs did 
not accomplish this alone. There are several key leaders that worked 
tirelessly behind the scenes to support these efforts. I want to 
especially commend Speaker Pelosi, who promised over 3 years ago that 
if she became Speaker she would make supporting our veterans and their 
families one of Congress' highest priorities. Speaker Pelosi has kept 
that promise to those who have kept their promise to serve our Nation, 
and I salute her for that.
  I want to salute Chairman Obey, another one of the unsung heroes in 
supporting America's veterans, our military, the service men and women, 
and their families. While Mr. Wamp and I, as ranking member and 
chairman of the subcommittee, have often been out front on this, 
Chairman Obey has provided the allocations, the unprecedented historic 
increased allocations for our subcommittee that has allowed us to 
accomplish many of the goals and achievements that I have mentioned in 
the last few minutes.
  In particular, above all other things that he has done, I want to 
thank Chairman Obey for providing a green light and encouraging and 
supporting and facilitating a historic initiative in this bill, which 
is, for the first time ever we will provide forward funding for 
veterans health care funding. That would not have happened without Mr. 
Obey's support.
  In addition, Chairman Spratt--not a member of our subcommittee, but 
the chairman of the House Budget Committee--has played a key role, 
along with Chairman Filner, the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee.
  And, finally, but absolutely not least, I want to thank my colleague, 
my friend, and the ranking member of this committee, Mr. Wamp of 
Tennessee. He has been a partner and a leader at every step of the way 
in supporting our troops and our veterans and their families. His 
commitment to our military and our veterans is deep, is genuine, and he 
puts it to work every day by working hard on their behalf. I want to 
thank him for his vital role in not only shaping this bill, but our 
bill last year as well.
  Madam Chair, let me try to focus, rather than on a long list of 
numbers, on some of the major initiatives in this bill.
  As I referenced, for the first time in history we provide an advanced 
appropriation for VA medical care. This will allow the VA to invest 
taxpayer dollars more efficiently and more effectively. And I want to 
thank Mr. Obey, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Wamp and Speaker Pelosi for making this 
possible. I want to salute America's veteran service organizations, 
leaders of our veterans organizations who have made this one of their 
highest priorities.
  Second, we provide $450 million to build new troop housing for Army 
trainees, over 60,000 of whom are presently living in barracks that 
don't even meet minimum DOD standards. You know, 18- and 19-year-old 
military recruits don't have many lobbyists running around Capitol Hill 
on their behalf, but they deserve our Nation's respect and support for 
their decision to serve in the military.
  Third, we provide $200 million for the Guard and Reserve Construction 
Initiative, recognizing the vital role these troops are playing in Iraq 
and Afghanistan and in our Nation's defense. And particularly, in 
addition to his other efforts, I want to thank Mr. Wamp for taking a 
leadership role on this Guard and Reserve Initiative.
  Fourth, this bill begins a process of funding our operations in Iraq 
and Afghanistan through the regular appropriations process, and we 
include $1.4 billion for vital military construction to support our 
troops in Afghanistan.
  Fifth, recognizing that the mental wounds of war can sometimes be as 
painful and long lasting as the physical wounds of war, we provide $4.6 
billion

[[Page 17424]]

for the VA to continue its improvements in PTSD and mental health care 
for America's vets.
  Six, this bill includes funding for the 1,200 new claims processors 
to reduce the backlog of veterans receiving the benefits they've 
earned.
  Seven, this bill also continues to open up, as I referenced briefly, 
VA medical care to more middle- and low-income veterans, many of whom 
have been locked out since a cap was placed on income thresholds back 
in 2003.
  Finally, and this is important, we want to ensure that the historic 
increases for VA health care and benefits, that those dollars are spent 
wisely. And I know Mr. Wamp and I share a strong commitment to this; we 
want to see that every dime of that is spent for the highest priority 
needs of our veterans, so together we supported increasing the VA 
Office of Inspector General by $19.2 million. And we have every 
intention, through our subcommittee, of exercising increased oversight 
of the VA to see that these tax dollars are spent effectively and 
efficiently.
  Just a few basic numbers: overall, this bill totals $77.9 billion in 
discretionary funding for fiscal year 2010. This is $239 million above 
President Obama's request and $5 billion more than fiscal year 2009. 
The bill will include $48.2 billion in fiscal year 2011 advanced 
funding for VA medical services, medical support and compliance. and 
medical facilities, an 8.3 percent increase over the historic funding 
level of 2010.
  In military construction, family housing, and BRAC, the bill provides 
$24.6 billion and fully funds BRAC 05 at $7.5 billion. For the VA in 
fiscal year 2010, the bill provides $53 billion in discretionary 
funding. This is $5.4 billion above the 2009 funding and matches 
President Obama's VA request, which I should point out was the largest 
increase requested by any President in over three decades. The fiscal 
year 2010 increase for the Veterans Health Administration is $4.4 
billion, which is 11 percent over fiscal year 2009.
  Finally, I want to thank the people who work every day--in fact, day 
and night--behind the scenes without public applause for our veterans 
and our troops and their families. These are the people who make up the 
staff of the Military Construction and VA Appropriations Subcommittee, 
and I want to thank them by name: the minority staff, led by Martin 
Delgado, Liz Dawson and Kelly Shea, and Erin Fogelman and Juan Alvarez 
from Mr. Wamp's staff. The majority staff: led by my subcommittee clerk 
Carol Murphy, Tim Peterson, Mary Arnold, Walter Hearne, and Donna 
Shahbaz, and Lindsey Davis on my staff.
  I would also like to add a special thanks to John Conger, who has 
recently left my staff to work for the military as an employee of the 
Pentagon. All of these people have helped continue the long, proud 
tradition and legacy of this subcommittee to work on a bipartisan--
frankly, a nonpartisan--basis, always putting our troops and veterans 
first. And as I say that, I once again thank our ranking member for 
always fighting and putting first our troops and our veterans.

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  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  It is, indeed, a high privilege and a great honor to stand on the 
floor today with Chairman Edwards and present the 2010 Military 
Construction Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
  Indeed, this bill is not about us, it's not about our individual 
districts. It's about them, those that volunteer to serve our country 
in the uniform of our Armed Forces, past, present, and future, their 
willingness to stand between a threat and our civilian population, 
extend freedom from this generation to the next, and join the thousands 
of others that have preserved our freedoms and protected our way of 
life.
  This is a very important bill; it is worthy of our support. It is a 
bipartisan product. As the chairman said earlier, this bill is not 
pushed by lobbyists or outside interests other than the veteran service 
organizations and the families of those that are serving and have 
served.
  It is our honor, and frankly our sacred duty, to make sure that we 
give these great Americans what they deserve and what they need. I 
think if you ask our men and women in harm's way today, what can we do 
for you, the first thing they would say is take care of our families 
while we're serving and, when we come home, support us. This bill does 
that, and I'm grateful for that.
  I can't thank Chairman Edwards enough. He is diligent, he is fair, he 
is honorable, and he is totally committed to these men and women in 
uniform. And we are working together to guarantee the efficiencies of 
these resources and the investments that we're making.
  This bill funds the needs for military construction and family 
housing for our troops, their families, the quality of life 
construction projects, and provides funding for all the programs that 
the Veterans Administration and related agencies have asked for in 
their budget request. This bill literally touches every soldier, 
sailor, aviator, marine, military spouse, child, every veteran who 
participates in VA programs; and it takes good care of our national 
cemeteries and monuments that are funded in this bill as well.
  We worked together through 18 hearings. We asked a lot of questions; 
we had very good witnesses. So a totally cooperative effort.
  I want to thank all of our subcommittees from both sides. 
Specifically today I want to thank Mr. Farr and Mr. Crenshaw, who 
really supported the chairman and myself through this process, Mr. Farr 
as vice chairman, Mr. Crenshaw when I could not be there on certain 
days; outstanding work by them.

                              {time}  1115

  This bill reflects bipartisan input and cooperation, and that is the 
tradition of this bill, and we have honored that tradition and worked 
very well together, and it truly is a bipartisan bill.
  I want to just talk about a couple of initiatives in the bill without 
going into specific numbers because Chairman Edwards has already 
highlighted many of the numbers.
  The Guard and Reserve initiative is extremely important because we 
have been fighting terrorists since September the 11th, 2001. The op 
tempo of our National Guard and Reserve forces remains at a very high 
level. It's very likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. 
The Guard and Reserve have had more than 719,000 activations since 
September the 11th, including the current level of 142,000. So I'm 
pleased to join Chairman Edwards in supporting the additional $200 
million in this bill to address urgent unfunded requirements for the 
Army and Air National Guard and for the Reserve forces of the Army, 
Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
  On BRAC, the BRAC 2005 account in the President's budget request is 
$7.5 billion. The department and the services have testified that it's 
going to be absolutely critical for them to have this funding on 
October 1 of this year in order to meet their September 15, 2011, 
statutory deadline to complete BRAC 2005. I will continue to work with 
Chairman Edwards to make sure that this gets done on time. However, the 
House-passed defense authorization bill cuts $350 million from this 
BRAC account for this year on the cost of the provision that requires 
prevailing wage equivalency with Hawaii for military construction on 
Guam related to the relocation of our Marines from Japan. The CBO has 
scored this provision as costing $10 billion over the next 10 years. 
That's twice the amount of the entire relocation from Japan to Guam, 
and this is the largest Milcon investment in a generation, and it's 
really important that we address this issue throughout this process. I 
spoke at the Rules Committee yesterday to raise this issue. We have 
spoken with the leadership of the House. We have spoken with the 
leadership of the Congress to say this is a problem and it has to be 
addressed as this bill moves forward and as the process moves forward 
because we simply can't afford to double the cost of the relocation 
from Japan to Guam based on a prevailing wage issue. It's too much. Too 
much. We've got to resolve it.
  On the advanced appropriations issue, the chairman spoke eloquently 
about this. We reached a bipartisan agreement. I am very pleased with 
the way they allowed Ranking Member Mr. Lewis and me to weigh in 
because none of us want to retreat from our constitutional prerogative 
or obligation we have to oversee all the funding on an annual basis. 
However, we share the goal of making sure that the VA has the money 
they need in a timely manner and can make decisions that maximize their 
effectiveness because it's a big bureaucracy, and when the money is in 
doubt, the changes and reforms necessary to improve efficiency can't be 
met. The bill contains $48.2 billion for advanced appropriations for 
medical services, medical support and compliance, and medical 
facilities, which is $3.7 billion above the amount recommended in the 
fiscal year 2010 bill on these accounts.
  On VA spending I continue to be concerned, as is Ranking Member 
Lewis, about the ability of the VA to absorb large funding increases 
provided in this bill. I'm very pleased to support the increases, but 
it is absolutely our job to make sure not just that we raise the 
funding levels but that the money is well spent, spent in a timely 
manner, that it's effectively spent, and that there is accountability 
through the entire process. So we continue to raise this issue. I think 
there is a bipartisan commitment to this, and I want to point that out 
as well.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. WAMP. I'm happy to yield to the ranking member.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. It had not been my intention to speak on 
this measure in order to save time, but you're making a point that's 
really very fundamental. I would like to commend both of you, the 
chairman and the ranking member, for the fabulous job here.
  But, most importantly, some years ago I had the opportunity to Chair 
the VA Appropriations Subcommittee. During those years, we were most 
concerned that, while there was bipartisan support on the House floor 
and funding rose for veterans, that the various organizations that 
support funding and veterans here in Washington were not helping us 
much out there where the people really get their service at the 
veterans hospitals. There has been a radical change in our ability to 
make sure that service is being delivered effectively. And it's due to 
the work of the two of you and the bipartisan effort here that we have 
had this success. So thank you.
  Mr. WAMP. Reclaiming my time, on this same front, the information 
technology account is a significant increase, $833 million above the 
2009 enacted level, an increase of $559 million above the 2009 level 
when the reprogramming action that was approved is taken into 
consideration. It is a large, unchecked spending increase to one 
account, and the GAO and the OIG and others have documented the VA's 
inability to effectively manage these resources. I agree with Secretary 
Shinseki when he testified that he's

[[Page 17431]]

going to need IT to be a key part of his plan to transform the VA. 
However, with the documented concerns about this account, it remains 
doubtful that this will occur.
  Not more than 3 hours after our subcommittee markup, the staff 
participated in a briefing at the request of VA's Assistant Secretary 
for IT. The purpose of this briefing was to provide the committee an 
update on a thorough analysis that the VA was undertaking to review 
their IT portfolio. The VA reported that there are a number of IT 
programs that are more than 13 months behind schedule and more than 50 
percent over budget. We asked for the list of these projects along with 
the 2009 and 2010 costs for these programs. More than 3 weeks have now 
passed, and the VA has yet to provide the list to show the costs for 
these troubled IT projects. That is an example of how increasing the 
funding can be very helpful if the checks are in place to make sure 
that the money gets to where it's supposed to go. So it's not just 
increasing the funding; it's making sure that the veterans benefit from 
this increased funding, to make sure that the bureaucracy of the VA is 
held accountable, to make sure that we insist on efficiencies and that 
the money flows down in a timely manner.
  And then the National Cemetery Administration--I want to note the 
increased funding for this account, $20 million above the 2009 enacted 
level of $230 million, and that will go a long way to allow the VA to 
meet the current needs as well as giving the ability to look at 
cemetery expansion in areas where expansion is needed. That includes 
Chattanooga, where we have a very historic national cemetery.
  Without mentioning names, because the chairman already has, I can't 
say enough about this professional staff, those behind me, those behind 
him. It's an honor for all of us to be part of this team. I don't think 
there is a higher privilege that any of us could ask for than to serve 
the men and women in uniform of our Armed Forces past, present, and 
future.
  Madam Chairman, as I conclude, I want to thank Mr. Lewis and Mr. 
Obey, who serve as the distinguished ranking member and chairman of 
this committee. This is a good bill. It deserves our support. I look 
forward to continuing our work through the conference committee, and I 
want to encourage Chairman Edwards and Chairman Obey to insist that we 
have a conference committee, that we meet with the Senate, that we look 
eye to eye and we resolve any of our differences. I think that is the 
regular order that we desire to return to.
  Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, if there is a single unsung hero 
in this Congress on behalf of America's veterans, it's the gentleman 
from Wisconsin, the chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, Mr. 
Obey. And for that reason, I yield 2 minutes to him for any remarks he 
would care to make.
  Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I simply have one question for the gentleman from Tennessee. Are you 
really sure you want us to meet with the Senate?
  Mr. WAMP. I'm running for Governor, sir.
  Mr. OBEY. Does that mean you're running away from the Senate?
  Madam Chair, let me simply congratulate both the gentleman from 
Tennessee and the gentleman from Texas for the fine work they have done 
on this bill. I think every Member of the House can be proud of what 
has happened in terms of our delivering of benefits to veterans on the 
health care front and on the education front.
  Over the past 3 years or so, we have had very significant increases 
in veterans health benefits. We also last year passed a landmark, an 
historic, expansion of the GI Bill education benefits by passage of the 
Webb amendment. In the supplemental appropriation bill this year, we 
enhanced the ability of spouses and children of veterans to receive 
transfer benefits to allow them to use the education benefits that 
would otherwise have accrued to a veteran. There had been a hole in the 
law which did not include the children of veterans who had died, and 
that has been corrected, and now this bill goes a whole lot more down 
the road in dealing with their needs.
  When we go into wars, we have an obligation to provide all the 
support that's necessary to the warriors during and after the wars, and 
that's in part what this bill tries to do. And I congratulate both 
gentlemen for the work they have done and urge support for the bill.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the 
former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the current 
ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee who also 
serves as a very valuable member of our subcommittee, Mr. Young of 
Florida.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Madam Chairman, I just want today to start by saying most of us in 
our jobs have parts of our job that we like better than other parts of 
our job. Serving on this subcommittee is part of the job that I really 
like, not only because of the importance of the subject, dealing with 
and providing for the members of our military and those veterans who 
have served in the past in the military and, as Mr. Wamp said, those 
who will serve in the future, but also because of the way this 
subcommittee does its work. With the leadership of Chairman Edwards and 
the leadership of Ranking Member Zach Wamp, this subcommittee works 
together for the good of this country. And while we may have some 
objection to the process on how appropriations bills are brought to the 
floor without totally open rules, you will be hard-pressed to find 
something wrong with this bill or some reason to vote against this 
bill. It's just not there.
  There are some problems in the Veterans Administration, which is a 
huge bureaucracy, that can't be solved by money. The money that the 
committee has made available adequately meets the requirements as 
proposed to us by the administration.
  There is something else that this committee does that seldom gets 
mentioned. And I want to just take a brief comment and talk about--
General Colin Powell was visiting in Europe. General Powell was asked a 
rather critical question that, in effect, the question criticized the 
United States for our arrogance and how we do things that are not good 
for other people. And General Powell thought for a minute, and he said, 
You know, the only thing that we have asked from you in Europe is 
enough ground to bury our dead.
  There are 22 American cemeteries in Europe. The subcommittee has 
responsibility to provide funding to maintain those military 
cemeteries, and they do a good job and they are beautiful. And for 
those Members who haven't had a chance to visit them, you really 
should.

                              {time}  1130

  There are 22 American cemeteries, graves of 106,757 American soldiers 
who lost their lives freeing the people of Europe from the oppression 
of Hitler's Nazis.
  This subcommittee has that responsibility and does a really good job, 
and I am proud to work with Chet Edwards and I am proud to work with 
Zach Wamp and all the other members of the subcommittee and the staff 
who are so dedicated to meeting our mission, to doing the job that we 
were responsible for doing.
  As I want to say to our chairman and to my ranking member, this is 
the part of the job that I really like around here. There are a lot of 
other parts that I like too, but I really like this one. Working with 
you two gentlemen is just very, very special.
  This bill appropriates $108.9 billion for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs for 2010, a 15.4 percent increase in the funds for veterans 
medical and services available this year. This bill funds the expanded 
GI Bill benefits authorized last year by the 110th Congress, it funds 
an additional 1,200 claims processors to reduce the backlog of 
veterans' disability claims, and it expands programs to help homeless 
veterans.
  Our subcommittee also reaffirms its longstanding support for veterans 
medical care

[[Page 17432]]

programs by providing $34.7 billion for VA medical services, a 13 
percent increase over current year funding. The members of our 
subcommittee also approved a new method of funding veterans medical 
care to ensure that the uncertainty of our legislative cycle does not 
negatively impact the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
plan for and deliver the best in medical care for those who served our 
nation. In addition to providing funding for VA medical care in Fiscal 
Year 2010, it also provides advanced funding for the following year, 
Fiscal Year 2011.
  Our committee also continues to place the highest priority on 
providing the best care and services for our service members who have 
returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and have been diagnosed with Post 
Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. One of our 
nation's centers for the treatment of PTSD and TBI is the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Bay Pines, which I have the 
privilege to represent. Included in the bill we consider today is 
$96,800,000 to build a state-of-the-art medical facility at Bay Pines 
to better screen our returning service members for mental health 
problems and to provide the state-of-the-art facilities in which to 
treat them. The Committee approved my request for the design and 
engineering funding for this project last year to accelerate the 
construction of this vitally needed unit.
  We also include in the bill $371,300,000 for a new VA medical 
facility in Orlando that will benefit veterans throughout the state. 
Florida continues to experience one of the largest inflows of veterans 
of any state in our nation. All of Florida's VA medical facilities feel 
the strain of a growing caseload, especially during the winter months. 
The construction of this long anticipated VA hospital in central 
Florida will ease that burden on all the existing hospitals.
  Madam Chair, this legislation honors those who wore the uniform in 
the defense of our nation and freedom here and throughout the world. We 
also honor those who wear the uniform today by ensuring that they live 
and work in the best facilities today whether it be on U.S. soil or on 
our bases in the furthest points of the world.
  This includes the facilities for the forces leading the worldwide 
battle against terrorism which is being directed by U.S. Central 
Command and U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base 
in Tampa, Florida, which neighbors the 10th Congressional District I 
represent.
  Just this week, I joined General David Petraeus, the Commander of 
U.S. Central Command, to break ground on a new headquarters facility 
that was supported by this committee and for which this committee 
approved my request four years ago to accelerate the funding to begin 
its design and engineering. Our bill this year includes $21,000,000 to 
accelerate construction of a Consolidated Communications Facility to 
support the Joint Components of Central and Special Operations Command 
at MacDill. Communications is critical for both commands to manage 
operations that are underway half a world away. This facility will 
ensure that our war fighters will have the most up-to-date and secure 
communication capabilities for them to do their job.
  This legislation also includes $15,300,000 for the Central Command 
Commandant Facility which will coordinate air operations for Central 
Command's commanding officers and support staff to enable them to 
deploy rapidly and efficiently. This is imperative given the geographic 
distance and the number of crises that continue in the Middle East and 
Southwest Asia.
  This facility will provide a secure facility to accommodate the Joint 
Special Operations Air Component, train increasing numbers of 
personnel, and store authorized equipment. In addition it will provide 
a Sensitive Compartmented Intelligence Facility to conduct analysis and 
assessments to provide Central Command with accurate and comprehensive 
situational awareness for our forward deployed forces.
  Another $7,000,000 is included for a much needed Child Development 
Center to care for the children of our service members who work around 
the clock to support their missions. This facility is designed to 
accommodate and care for the many families of our many working parents 
at MacDill Air Force Base. And $16,000,000 is included here for a new 
dormitory to provide unaccompanied enlisted personnel with safe, energy 
efficient housing.
  Madam Chair, this is a good bill. It fulfills our nation's promise 
and commitment to care for our nation's veterans, those who serve; 
those have served in the past, and those who will serve our nation in 
the future.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I consider it an honor to be even 
able to speak after Mr. Young, who has committed his lifetime and his 
heart to our servicemen and -women and our veterans. He and his wife 
commit every week to going out to our DOD and VA hospitals to let those 
great Americans know that their sacrifices are not forgotten. I want to 
thank him for inspiring all of us to remember the sacrifice our troops 
and veterans have made.
  With that, it's a privilege for me to recognize the vice chair of our 
subcommittee, who has been a leader at every step of the way on so many 
issues on behalf of our veterans, Mr. Farr of California, for 2 
minutes.
  Mr. FARR. Thank you very much, Chairman Edwards, for yielding.
  Madam Chairman, I just want to rise to speak on this bill, and I just 
want to say something following Congressman Young's points.
  What I love about this committee, more than any other committee I 
have ever served on in the State legislature or here in Congress, I 
think it's the best listening committee I have ever been on. We listen 
to people, and what I call the felt needs, and we respond.
  I think what we are so proud about is the fiscal year 2010 military 
construction and veterans spending bill responds to what we heard and 
addresses those issues. What I think is remarkably progressively 
happening in this country is that for the first time these two huge 
agencies, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, are beginning to be seamless in a sense.
  I mean, you can't be a veteran without going through the Department 
of Defense. And the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs Shinseki has said 
that the minute you enroll in the Department of Defense you are 
automatically enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs. So you 
are going to begin seeing this, rather than having these lost records 
and folders and everything that needs to be done, that it will be 
administratively clean.
  What I also really appreciate about this committee that probably is 
not recognized is that we hear over and over again about the health 
care of our veterans. And I can't think of two more sensitive people 
than Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp and our colleague on the 
committee, Patrick Kennedy, that listened so profoundly to the needs of 
mental health care for veterans, not only those coming back with 
posttraumatic stress syndrome from Iraq and Afghanistan, but we have 
about 270,000 veterans that sleep on the streets of America.
  That's the biggest embarrassment that this country has. We have not 
been that good at taking care of them. This budget puts $800 million 
more in mental health and does the outreach for homeless veterans.
  I am very proud of that and would urge support of the legislation.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to Ander Crenshaw from 
Jacksonville, Florida, who would be the vice ranking member if there 
were such a position, but he is an incredibly valuable asset on our 
subcommittee and has done just an extraordinary job this year.
  Mr. CRENSHAW. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Wamp, for yielding the time. 
I thank him for his hard work in the subcommittee and working with our 
Chairman Edwards, thank you for your leadership and your bipartisan 
spirit. And thank you both for involving all the members of the 
subcommittee and drafting this legislation that I think we can all 
support.
  I ran for Congress in the first place because I believe the number 
one responsibility of the Federal Government is to protect American 
lives, and I think the best way to keep America safe is to keep America 
strong. But I have been on this subcommittee now for 7 years, and I 
think we have a tremendous responsibility not only to modernize and 
upgrade these bases all around the world that we oversee, but we have a 
responsibility to make sure that we take care of the men and women that 
volunteer to defend our country. Nobody forces them to do that. Nobody 
forces them to go into harm's way. They do it because they care about 
America. And I think we have a responsibility to take care of them, and 
that's what this bill does.
  I think in terms of housing, there was a time when people that served 
in

[[Page 17433]]

our military lived in substandard housing, something they couldn't be 
proud of. Through using some of the private sector ideas like 
privatization, now over 90 percent of our military men and women live 
in adequate housing that they can be proud of.
  When they go off to deployment, they can be sure that their families 
are going to be taken care of back home with a good quality of life. 
They are going to have a peace of mind when they are gone and when they 
are fighting for us.
  And when they come home and they leave the service, now they know 
they have a Veterans Administration that cares about them. This bill 
continues the work that we have done to make sure that we have more 
clinics, to make sure we have more doctors and nurses, more people to 
process those claims. They don't have to wait in line. We are making 
some giant strides.
  And, finally, this bill, as has been pointed out, deals with national 
cemeteries, to give those veterans a final resting place that they so 
richly deserve.
  And I know in my home district in Jacksonville, Florida, we opened a 
new veterans cemetery this year. And I don't think I have ever been 
more proud to be a Member of Congress, to be a part of that ceremony, 
to see the sense of gratitude in these people's eyes knowing they are 
going to have a place, a final resting place because of the way they 
have defended our country.
  Madam Chairman, I think this is a bill we can all support. I am again 
thankful to our chairman, our ranking member, and all the members of 
the subcommittee for the work that we put in that we can be so proud 
of, so I urge adoption.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I would like to recognize a member 
of our committee, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Salazar), an Army 
veteran who has been a strong voice on behalf of our veterans and 
military, for 1 minute.
  Mr. SALAZAR. I want to take a moment to recognize both Chairman 
Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp for their valiant effort in putting 
this bill together. I don't think there are any greater champions for 
military veterans and their families. All 17.5 million in the United 
States should applaud the chairman and the ranking member for their 
diligent fight.
  Madam Chair, I would like to bring one specific project in the bill 
forward and not only thank the chairman and the ranking member, but 
also Secretary Shinseki and President Obama and the chairman of the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mr. Filner, for including the $119 million 
for the new Fitzsimmons Veterans Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
  This facility will provide full service to half a million veterans 
currently residing in my home State of Colorado and many across the 
Rocky Mountain west. This new facility will be open and begin serving 
veterans by 2013. The 200-bed hospital will reach over a million square 
feet in size and include 30 special beds for spinal cord injuries.
  I am proud that after over a decade of waiting, the veterans of the 
Rocky Mountain west and my State will finally benefit from this state-
of-the-art facility.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, the 
gentleman from Indiana and the ranking member of the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, Mr. Buyer, for the purpose of a colloquy.
  Mr. BUYER. I want to commend my friend Mr. Wamp and Chairman Edwards 
for your strong advocacy on behalf of America's veterans.
  Mr. Chairman, last year, as you may remember, I offered an amendment 
that would have provided direct funding for VA to advance projects at 
16 VA medical centers that were identified for the use of solar 
photovoltaic roof applications, but the amendment was ruled out of 
order on a technical issue.
  You and I have had several conversations about renewable energy 
issues and, however, working with the Secretary, as I had indicated, I 
was able to ensure that the VA funded these projects with the overall 
amount that included the fiscal year 2009 appropriations act, of which 
you had no objection.
  Subsequently, at the beginning of this Congress, with the prospect of 
a forthcoming stimulus bill, I had met with the Secretary of the VA on 
renewable energy projects to benefit our veterans and to provide 
additional funding to invest in these renewable energy projects at the 
VA. I was pleased the stimulus bill provided the VA with more than $1.4 
billion. That's almost half a billion more than what I even submitted 
in the request, so I thank the chairman.
  And the VA stimulus spending for the additional 31 solar photovoltaic 
feasibility studies also included studies for cogeneration, of which 
the chairman must have done, along with wind and geothermal projects. 
And based on those study results, the VA plans to fund up to eight 
solar projects, nine cogenerations, six wind, and five geothermal using 
stimulus dollars.
  Mr. Chairman, the VA also expects to implement the remaining 23 solar 
projects, 29 cogeneration, 4 wind and 4 geothermal in fiscal year 2010, 
subject to the feasibility determinations.
  With this in mind, I want to ask my friend: Do I have your assurance 
that the bill before us would provide the sufficient funds for the VA 
to move forward with these renewable energy projects?
  I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I first want to thank Mr. Buyer for taking the 
lead and for fighting to ensure that alternative sources of energy are 
utilized by the VA. This is an important issue and initiative.
  Our bill does take into consideration this important need, and VA 
plans to fund a significant number of renewable energy projects with 
resources in this bill. I want to assure you that I will emphasize to 
the VA the importance of this effort.
  I recognize, and I think this is critical, the result of your 
efforts, that every dollar saved through energy conservation in the VA 
will result in an additional dollar going directly to better health 
care and benefits for veterans.
  I further look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that 
the VA appropriately employs the use of solar technology to reduce 
energy costs and to benefit our environment.
  Mr. WAMP. I want to thank the chairman for this commitment and 
express my strong support for funding these renewable energy projects, 
compliment Mr. Buyer for his tenacity and perseverance here on this 
front, because I know that we can reduce VA's high energy costs with 
the use of these new renewable energy technologies. I look forward to 
working with each of you as we continue to advance renewable energy 
projects at VA facilities.
  The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. WAMP. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. BUYER. I would thank the leadership of Mr. Edwards and Mr. Wamp 
for your commitment for renewable energy within the VA.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I would like to yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy) who has been the leading 
voice in this subcommittee and the House for improving mental health 
care services for America's veterans and services to homeless veterans.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I want to thank the chairman of the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Chairman Edwards, for his leadership 
on what has been an amazing increase in funding for veterans in this 
country. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, we have seen in 
the last cycle the largest single increase in veterans funding in the 
76-year history of the Veterans Administration in the last cycle. And, 
as such, that has carried over till this cycle and will in the 
succeeding years ahead as we continue to increase the veterans 
appropriations.
  And, again, this year, we are seeing another large, large increase in 
the veterans spending, including increases in veterans mental health. 
And that, my friends, is what I am so pleased to see, especially in the 
wake of the terrible tragedy at Camp Victory, where we saw a murder-
suicide, once again

[[Page 17434]]

highlighting the terrible tragedy that so many of our veterans are 
facing with the psychological wounds that they are facing and the 
combat that they are so readily seeing on a day-to-day basis. They are 
not only suffering the physical wounds of war but the psychological and 
mental wounds of war.
  I would like to acknowledge the ranking member, Zach Wamp, for the 
incredible support that he has given to our veterans in the area of 
mental health services.
  We have seen in this bill $4.6 billion for mental health services in 
this bill. We have seen an additional $3.2 billion for homeless 
veterans. It's a tragedy, as my friend Sam Farr said, that the single 
largest percentage of the homeless population in this country are 
veterans. That should not be the case. In this bill, we seek to try to 
end that situation.
  Madam Chairman, I am also pleased to see that this committee responds 
to the veterans of America in providing advance funding for veterans 
funding for the succeeding years, so that veterans do not have to wait 
on Congress to provide those funds, and that we provide an additional 
$48 billion in the 2011 budget.

                              {time}  1145

  And that, my friends, is a result of General Shinseki, the VA 
Secretary's strong advocacy and this President's commitment to our 
veterans to make sure that they don't have to wait--they don't have to 
wait for a budget in order to know that they're going to get the funds 
they need to take care of our veterans.
  For these and all the reasons, I'm so proud to be part of this 
committee and to see that this country lives up to its promise to our 
Nation's veterans. And I thank the chairman for all the good work that 
he does, and I thank the ranking member for all the good work that he 
does. And I'm proud to be on this committee.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes and yield to the 
gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for the purpose of a colloquy.
  Mr. CASTLE. I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding. Madam 
Chairman, I'd like to speak about the Dover Air Force Base and what 
it's doing with respect to its port mortuary.
  For more than 50 years, Dover Air Force Base has been home to the 
United States military's port mortuary. It's here that Dover's expert 
staff receives from theater the remains of fallen American soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, and marines and conducts a solemn, dignified transfer 
from the aircraft to the port mortuary. The base and the community in 
Dover take this responsibility very seriously and treat all fallen 
servicemembers and their families with dignity, honor, and respect.
  As you know, in March of this year the Department of Defense 
announced a new policy regarding media access to the dignified transfer 
of remains at the Dover Air Force Base. Under the new policy, the 
decision regarding media coverage is made on an individual basis by the 
families of the fallen. The new policy also expands the Department's 
support to those family members wishing to attend the dignified 
transfer by paying for travel to Dover and increasing the availability 
of grief counseling and chaplain support services.
  The immediate result of this policy change is that many more families 
of fallen soldiers from across the country travel to Dover to attend. 
Unfortunately, the wing commander and his staff at Dover Air Force Base 
have expressed concern they do not have adequate chapel facilities to 
provide for on-base memorial services, worship, and counseling. This 
lack of chapel facilities would be particularly evident in the 
unfortunate event of a mass casualty situation in the theater of 
operations.
  The base has submitted a proposal to build a new main base chapel 
center to include private space for the expressed purpose of receiving 
grieving families. I understand that the office of the Secretary of 
Defense is supportive of this project, and I look forward to working 
with the committee at the earliest possible opportunity to solve this 
pressing matter.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Will the ranking member yield?
  Mr. WAMP. I yield to the chairman of the subcommittee.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. The gentleman from Delaware has raised a very 
important issue, and as someone who once represented Fort Hood, Texas, 
through three combat deployments, I strongly believe in the need to 
treat our fallen and their families with the utmost dignity and 
respect.
  So it will be a privilege for me to work with the gentleman on this 
issue. And I am hopeful that we can rectify this problem by the time we 
get through conference.
  Mr. WAMP. Reclaiming my time, I stand with you, Mr. Chairman, and 
will work with Mr. Castle as well to resolve this matter in conference.
  I yield to Mr. Castle.
  Mr. CASTLE. I thank both the distinguished chairman of the committee 
and the ranking member, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Wamp, for their work on 
this legislation as well as discussing this particular issue. I look 
forward to working with you and all of the servicemembers and families 
who would be involved with this, and hopefully we can work it out in 
the near future.
  Mr. WAMP. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I'd like to yield 1 minute to an 
active voice on our subcommittee on behalf of veterans and our troops, 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel).
  Mr. ISRAEL. I thank the chairman. Madam Chair, this bill addresses 
one of the biggest concerns that I and many others have, and that is 
homeless veterans. The bill provides $420 million over last year's 
level for assistance and treatment for homeless veterans.
  Tonight, Madam Chair, 154,000 veterans will go to bed without a home. 
One out of four homeless men served in the United States military at 
some point. They fought for our country, they came home, but they don't 
have a house. They served in jungles, they served in cities, they 
served in deserts and bases on the high seas, and they're sleeping on 
sidewalks this evening in America.
  That is a national shame. But thanks to the bipartisanship of this 
subcommittee, we are making a bold leap on behalf of those homeless 
veterans. We are making the investments necessary to stop this outrage 
and to do what every nation must do, and that is to treat its veterans 
as heroes, and in this case, heroes with a home. I thank the gentleman 
and the ranking member for their cooperation.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes and yield 
to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) for the purposes of a 
colloquy.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Chairman, I rise to enter into a colloquy with my 
dear friend, the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, regarding 
language contained in the House report, Veterans Affairs and Related 
Appropriations Bill for 2010.
  I'm concerned the language could have the effect of postponing 
activation of a much-needed clinic for our veterans in Toledo. Clearly, 
it is not in the best interest of our veterans to postpone activation 
of a new clinic that will better address a higher workload, especially 
in light of the increasing numbers of veterans returning from the wars 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  I yield to my good friend.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the gentleman. I agree with the 
gentleman that our veterans deserve quality health care. It's crucial 
to move forward to get the new clinic operational as soon as possible. 
The VA is recognized as a leader in quality health care, and we want to 
do everything possible to enhance that reputation.
  Mr. DINGELL. To continue, the existing clinic is undersized for its 
current caseload. The VA has been working for several years to 
establish larger replacements. It is my understanding if we move 
forward with the current plans, which have been reviewed by the 
majority of the impacted veterans service organizations, the VA is 
prepared to have a new, larger LEED-certified clinic in the fall of 
2011.

[[Page 17435]]


  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DINGELL. I will yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. It's of the utmost importance that we address 
these concerns in a timely and expeditious manner so we can continue to 
get the quality health care the VA provides to the veterans in 
question.
  I know that this matter has also been of concern to the veterans in 
the district of the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Kaptur, and I know that 
she wants their concerns addressed as well.
  The language in the committee report is not designed to needlessly 
delay the activation of the Toledo clinic, but simply to ensure some of 
the concerns raised by veterans are responded to.
  Mr. DINGELL. I want to also express great respect and affection for 
the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Kaptur. As a veteran myself, I couldn't 
agree more that we need more quality care for our veterans in a timely 
manner. As already mentioned, given the increased workload because of 
the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, doubling the size of 
the existing clinic will help us to meet that goal.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining on each 
side.
  The CHAIR. The gentleman from Tennessee controls 6\1/4\ minutes. The 
gentleman from Texas controls 7\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. WAMP. I continue to reserve.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes, and I'd 
like to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) for the 
purposes of a colloquy.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the 
great work that this chairman does on behalf of veterans. He's a true 
friend and has done so much for so many veterans, and I appreciate 
that.
  Mr. Chairman, I just want you to know that I went to college on the 
GI Bill, and I voted for the Post-9/11 GI Bill with my experience in 
the GI Bill and in school and what it did for me in mind. And I did so 
to ensure that all veterans would have the same access to this great 
educational opportunity that I had.
  Unfortunately, today in California, California veterans are being 
denied this important chance to get the college education so that they 
can have a better future. According to the Department of Veterans 
Administration, veterans living in California are entitled to zero 
dollars toward their private tuition bill, simply because California 
charges ``fees,'' not ``tuition,'' to attend college.
  So because zero ``tuition'' is charged in California, according to 
the VA's tortured logic, zero tuition can be paid to veterans seeking 
to attend private schools in California.
  This simple semantic difference means that nearly 5,000 Iraq and 
Afghanistan veterans residing in California, veterans who served our 
Nation honorably, are not eligible to receive financial assistance to 
attend the college of their choice. This is unlike every other Iraq and 
Afghanistan veteran in the other 49 States.
  My California colleagues and I sent a letter to the VA requesting the 
Department fix this issue administratively. Six weeks later--6 weeks 
later they sent a two-paragraph response denying--denying our request.
  This is not fair to our veterans, and Congress should not stand by as 
these brave men and women are denied the benefits they have earned.
  I'd now like to yield to my colleague from California (Mr. McKeon).
  Mr. McKEON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As the gentleman and 
I both know, this spring the VA released its Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition 
benefit rates. Unfortunately, the VA has misinterpreted the intent of 
Congress and by doing so will prevent veterans from attending private 
institutions in California.
  The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield myself 1 additional minute.
  Mr. McKEON. By doing so, they will prevent veterans attending private 
institutions of higher education in California.
  Certainly, when my home State enacted free in-State tuition, they 
didn't anticipate the VA would use that to restrict our vets from 
attending private universities as they are allowed to do in 49 other 
States under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  It's important that we provide Californians parity by enacting 
legislation like H.R. 2474 that the gentleman from California and I 
introduced in May. This legislation, which has near unanimous support 
from our delegation, allows veterans in California to use their full 
fee benefit towards tuition and fee expenses.
  As the gentleman knows, it's important we act quickly, as this 
program begins implementation on August 1, 2009. Without action, many 
veterans could be unpleasantly surprised when they receive no tuition 
assistance.
  Can the chairman assure us that this exclusion of California veterans 
from this important benefit was not the intent of the Congress in the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill?
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. The committee believes this exclusion of 
California veterans was not the intent of Congress when it passed the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill. The committee will ask the VA to work with the 
affected States, including the State of California, to ensure that 
veterans attending private institutions can participate fully in the 
Post-9/11 educational assistance program.
  Mr. WAMP. I continue to reserve.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes and yield 
to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire) for the purpose of a 
colloquy.
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Let me thank Chairman Edwards for the excellent work 
he's done on this important bill, which funds our military construction 
projects and provides for the benefits and assistance that our Nation's 
veterans have so clearly earned.
  It's out of concern for our Nation's veterans, specifically veterans 
in my home region of western Pennsylvania, that I requested this 
colloquy.
  Pittsburgh's Veterans Benefits Administration employees are alleged 
to have manipulated an employee bonus reward system by delaying 
processing veterans' claims to my district to secure additional 
employee bonuses.
  I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards).
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I'm familiar with the unfortunate situation 
that occurred in Pittsburgh. There was a report issued by the Office of 
Inspector General, correct?
  Mr. ALTMIRE. That's right. I thank the chairman for his awareness of 
our concerns, and I would comment that this report issued by the 
Inspector General was insufficient given the gravity of these 
allegations. It failed to determine the sources of the problem. And I 
would suggest the Office of the Inspector General should conduct a 
second investigation of the Pittsburgh Veterans Benefits Administration 
employee misconduct in delaying benefit processing to receive bonuses 
and submit a more thorough report.
  And this strikes me as particularly possible in light of the $19 
million increase in the Inspector General's budget from last year.
  I would yield again to the chairman.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Given the increases we've provided the Office 
of Inspector General at the VA, I look forward to working with the 
gentleman to see if we can't get the IG to take a second look at this 
serious issue in Pennsylvania.

                              {time}  1200

  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of our time.
  As we close the general debate on the 2010 Military Construction and 
Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, I want to tell a brief story 
because today the President of the United States is in Italy at the G-
8; and photographs show him with my friend, the Prime Minister of 
Australia, Kevin Rudd, over the last couple of days. I have to tell 
you--I was with my friend, the Prime Minister, a couple of months ago 
here in

[[Page 17436]]

Washington, and I asked him about the extraordinary challenges that our 
country faces today. And when I think of the men and women in uniform 
of our Armed Forces--and I know in my heart that that is truly what our 
country is all about, people volunteering, even sacrificing for each 
other--I said to Kevin Rudd, ``What's the attitude in Australia and 
around the world about these tremendous challenges that we face? And 
what do you think about the United States of America's ability to deal 
with these many challenges?'' He said, ``Well, we're optimistic. We've 
read your history. We understand how extraordinarily difficult it was 
during the Civil War and the great World Wars. We know that you came 
out of the Great Depression and that you have overcome extraordinary 
adversity. We've seen your free enterprise system, your brilliance and 
your innovation, and we know how resilient your people are. So we have 
great confidence that you will do it again,'' he said with a smile on 
his face.
  And I would just say to all those men and women that served us in 
uniform--because they are the true patriots of our time. Yet again, 
they stand on the shoulders of those that have come before us, and our 
veterans are our most important citizens--that the burden is on us to 
extend our way of life and preserve freedom and to try to secure our 
liberty. This is the challenge of our time, and the world is counting 
on us. This bill goes a long way to meeting these needs, and we do 
truly stand at the water's edge together today. There is a lot of 
rancor and division in the House over process in other appropriations 
bills, but not today. Today we come together to do what's right for our 
men and women in uniform, for our military installations around the 
world under every command, for our veterans and their families and for 
the quality of life of our troops.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I yield myself 1 minute, and I 
yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar) for the purpose of a 
colloquy.
  Mr. CUELLAR. I thank the chairman for yielding to me.
  Most of the claims from veterans of my district in south Texas are 
processed at the Houston VA Regional Office. A recent article in the 
Houston Chronicle, which I will submit for the Record, notes that 
nearly 18,000 veterans are waiting for their disability applications, 
and 26 percent of these claims have been pending over a year and a 
half. The number of claims on appeal from Houston are about 11,389, 
which is the highest in the country.
  I have written a letter to the Secretary of the VA that brings 
attention to this problem, which I would like to be submitted into the 
Record. Mr. Chairman, I ask for your help to address this very serious 
problem so we can provide service to our veterans.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I share the gentleman's concerns and look 
forward to working with him and the VA to see that we address those 
problems. Veterans serving out of the Houston office should not have to 
wait the amount of time they are having to wait to receive their earned 
benefits.

        Backlog of VA Claims in Houston One of Country's Highest

       Houston.--Houston has one of the biggest backlogs and some 
     of the longest waiting times in processing veterans' claims 
     for disability benefits in the nation, according to the most 
     recent data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans 
     Affairs.
       Nearly 18,000 veterans are waiting for the Houston VA 
     Regional Office to process their applications for disability 
     benefits, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday. Also, 26 
     percent of the Houston claims have been pending for more than 
     half a year, compared with the national average of 21 
     percent.
       Total claims in Houston, including nondisability 
     compensations and pensions, add up to almost 24,000, with 24 
     percent pending for more than six months. That percentage is 
     also higher than the national average.
       The number of claims on appeal from Houston--11,389--is the 
     highest in the country. ``The situation at VA's Houston 
     office is among the worst in America,'' said Paul Sullivan, 
     executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a national 
     advocacy group. ``Our veterans and their families deserve 
     better.''
       Nationwide, the total number of VA claims has increased 
     from 638,648 this time last year to 723,152, as of June 20.
       The number of claims received by the Houston VA Regional 
     Office has increased by 26 percent since last year, more than 
     twice the national average of 12 percent, said spokeswoman 
     Valerie Martinez.
       The Houston office has outsourced some of its claims 
     processing to other VA facilities, and it has been authorized 
     to hire 105 employees to improve efficiency, Martinez said.
       At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, VA 
     Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff said it is 
     incorrect to designate all claims around the country as a 
     backlog because the total number ``includes all claims 
     received, whether pending for just a few hours or as long as 
     six months.''
                                  ____



                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Washington, DC, July 10, 2009.
     Hon. Eric K. Shinseki,
     Secretary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Shinseki: Congratulations on your 
     appointment as Secretary of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs. I look forward to working with you as we provide for 
     those who have served our country admirably in the United 
     States Military.
       I was recently made aware of the attached article regarding 
     veterans' disability benefit applications. Most of the 
     disability benefit applications that come from my 
     congressional district are processed at the Houston VA 
     Regional Office. As the article explains, this office has one 
     of the largest backlogs in the nation.
       In the last two fiscal years, funds have been made 
     available to hire more case workers in an effort to reduce 
     the application backlogs present in many parts of our nation. 
     I respectfully request that priority be given to the Houston 
     VA Regional Office as workers are being allocated to address 
     this important problem.
       Thank you in advance for your consideration of this 
     request. If my staff or I may be of any more assistance, 
     please do not hesitate to call upon us.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Henry Cuellar,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to how much time 
I have remaining?
  The CHAIR. The gentleman controls 2 minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Houston, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me thank the distinguished chairman and 
ranking member. Thank you very much, Mr. Edwards, for the grand work 
that you have done over the years in helping our soldiers. I rise today 
to support the underlying bill but to particularly focus on the medical 
services, the $34.7 billion; the mental health services, $4.6 billion; 
and the assistance for homeless vets, $3.2 billion. In my congressional 
district I work with these populations in particular, visiting them, 
listening to their situations; and as well, in my own community we have 
had a high number of suicides among active duty soldiers. I am very 
glad to announce that because of the legislation of this particular 
appropriation and the leadership of Chairman Edwards, we are now 
looking forward to having an offsite opportunity for a PTS treatment 
center; and as well it will be able to secure funding in the future for 
prospective TRICARE recipients. I am proud to have worked with 
Riverside Hospital. We need to be able to provide more services for 
PTSD, for the soldiers that are coming home. Believe it or not, Houston 
has been cited as the city that has the largest number of returnees or 
active duty soldiers who have been in Iraq and now, subsequently, will 
be coming from Afghanistan. Today as I speak, Madam Chair, we are 
burying a young seaman in my district. It is tragic, but we realize 
that we have to provide for these soldiers. I am very glad to support 
the rule and the underlying bill.
  The CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1 remaining 
minute.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, as I finish this debate, I want to 
add in my thanks to others. I want to thank the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis). He, along with Mr. Young, has spent his entire 
congressional career dedicated to fighting for a strong national 
defense and for seeing that the men and women who provide that defense 
are respected in a meaningful way, and that once they have taken off 
our Nation's uniform, they continue to be respected as veterans. He has 
been an active leader as chairman of the committee, as ranking member 
of the committee and in our subcommittee deliberations has continued to 
be an active voice on behalf of our troops,

[[Page 17437]]

our veterans and their families; and I thank the gentleman for that.
  Finally, I think it's appropriate, Madam Chair, that the last word in 
this debate from my side are not the words of my own, but the words of 
America's veterans. I would like to include in the Record of this 
debate letters in support of this legislation from the DAV, the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, the Paralyzed Veterans 
of America, and the AMVETS.

                                    Disabled American Veterans

                                      Washington DC, July 9, 2009.
     Hon. Chet Edwards,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans' 
         Affairs and Related Agencies, House Appropriations 
         Commitee, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Edwards: On behalf of the 1.4 million members 
     of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and its Auxiliary, I 
     would like to express our strongest support for H.R. 3082, 
     the FY 2010 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and 
     Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides record 
     funding levels for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health 
     care and benefits programs for fiscal year 2010.
       Perhaps even more significant than the FY 2010 funding, the 
     legislation also contains $48.2 billion in advance 
     appropriations for VA medical care for fiscal year 2011. As 
     you know, advance appropriations for VA health care has been 
     the highest legislative priority for DAV and many other 
     veterans service organizations in recent years. We applaud 
     you, Chairman Obey, House Leadership and other Members whose 
     support led to its inclusion in this bill.
       Once enacted into law, advance appropriations for VA 
     medical care will prevent budget stalemates from threatening 
     the quality and timeliness of veterans health care services, 
     a problem that has plagued VA for decades. With this crucial 
     budget reform in place, VA will have the time and assurance 
     necessary to effectively plan how to meet the health care 
     needs of our nation's sick, injured and disabled veterans.
       The House vote to approve H.R. 3082 will be a major 
     milestone towards ensuring sufficient, timely and predictable 
     funding for veterans health care programs, and DAV urges all 
     Members of the House to vote in favor of this legislation.
       Again, thank you for all that you have done to ensure that 
     veterans, especially disabled veterans, have access to timely 
     and quality medical care today, and for years to come. I look 
     forward to continuing to work with you in the future to build 
     better lives for America's disabled veterans and their 
     families.
           Sincerely,
                                               Raymond E. Dempsey,
     National Commander.
                                  ____

                                         Veterans of Foreign Wars,


                                         of the United States,

                                     Washington, DC, July 9, 2009.
     Hon. Chet Edwards,
     Chairman, Appropriations Subcommittee on Military 
         Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, 
         House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Edwards: On behalf of the 2.2 million men and 
     women of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its 
     Auxiliaries. I would like to offer our strong support for 
     H.R. 3082, the FY 2010 Military Construction and Veterans 
     Affairs Appropriation, which we understand will be up for a 
     vote on the floor of the House of Representatives this 
     Friday. It is our assessment that this funding legislation 
     will dramatically improve the health care and benefits this 
     nation provides for its former defenders.
       Notably, the legislation would transform the health care 
     funding system by, for the first time, providing an advanced 
     appropriation for veterans' health care. Enacting an advanced 
     appropriation is one of the VFW's highest priorities. We 
     strongly believe that this mechanism along with the funding 
     provided in this bill for FY 2011 medical programs will far 
     better allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to 
     properly invest in its health care resources, including 
     hiring and retaining top quality health care and other 
     professionals.
       The VFW also applauds this bill's historic funding levels 
     for FY 2010. The bill includes $77.9 billion in finding for 
     veterans programs with $45.1 billion targeted for veterans' 
     health care. Within that, there is additional funding aimed 
     at some of the biggest issues confronting the veteran 
     population: mental health, access to rural health care and 
     assistance for homeless veterans.
       Additionally, we are especially appreciative of the $1.9 
     billion in major and minor construction funding contained 
     within the bill. This extra funding, which represents a $256 
     million increase over the current year's funding level, will 
     better allow VA to reduce the major projects construction 
     backlog, as well as increasing the number of minor 
     construction projects, many of which are targeted towards 
     safety issues that directly affect the well-being of 
     veterans.
       The VFW thanks you for your continuing efforts on behalf of 
     America's veterans. The record funding levels contained in 
     H.R. 3082 demonstrates the ongoing commitment of all 
     veteran's supporters in the House to those who have served 
     the nation in uniform. We salute your leadership and advocacy 
     in support of this bill, and we look forward to working with 
     you to ensure its passage.
           Very truly yours,
                                                Robert E. Wallace,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                          The American Legion,

                                     Washington, DC, July 9, 2009.
     Hon. Chet Edwards,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans 
         Affairs and Related Agencies, Committee on 
         Appropriations, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Edwards: As you and your colleagues consider 
     H.R. 3028, the Military Construction, Veterans' Affairs' and 
     Related Appropriations for FY 2010, The American Legion 
     offers its full support, especially for the advance 
     appropriations provision for the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs' (VA's) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in FY 
     2011.
       Overall. H.R. 3028 would provide $77.9 billion in 
     discretionary spending for FY 2010, including Overseas 
     Contingency Operations funding.
       The bill would provide $48.2 billion in advance 
     appropriations for FY 2011 for three medical accounts of VA: 
     Medical Services; Medical Support and Compliance; and Medical 
     Facilities. This is an eight percent increase compared to FY 
     2010 and will provide reliable and timely funding to support 
     the delivery of medical care. The amount included in this 
     bill would provide FY 2010 current services level for the 
     start of FY 2011. It is intended to give the Administration 
     stability in execution, provide the subcommittee with 
     continued oversight and the ability to address new 
     initiatives, and allow veterans to have peace of mind when 
     funding bills are delayed.
       The FY 2010 recommendation in the bill for Military 
     Construction, Family Housing and BRAC is $24.6 billion. This 
     funding level fully funds BRAC 2005 at $7.5 billion, provides 
     an increase of $140 million for BRAC 1990 to enhance the 
     cleanup of installations closed in prior BRAC rounds, and 
     provides for the modernization of training facilities, as 
     well as the building of child care centers, barracks, and 
     homes. The recommendation reflects the success of the housing 
     privatization program with a reduced need for additional 
     federal funding for family housing construction. It also 
     ensures that the active forces will have a better environment 
     in which to train and operate, as well as an improved quality 
     of life. It also would provide funds to support additional 
     requirements for operations in Afghanistan at $1.4 billion.
       This bill includes two major military construction 
     initiatives. First, it provides $450 million to accelerate 
     the Army's program to modernize troop housing facilities for 
     trainees. Second, the bill provides an additional $200 
     million for a Guard and Reserve initiative to address 
     critical unfunded requirements. This funding would go toward 
     critical unfunded requirements for Army and Air National 
     Guard, as well as the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force 
     Reserves.
       This bill would also provide $53.0 billion in discretionary 
     funding for VA for FY 2010. Within this funding increase is 
     provided funding for the Veterans Benefits Administration to 
     hire 1,200 new claims processors.
       This increase also would provide for an additional $4.4 
     billion for VHA. These funds will allow VA to increase access 
     to services, ensure safer facilities and improve treatment 
     including:
       $4.6 billion for mental health services;
       $3.2 billion for homeless veterans to include the $26 
     million for the Presidential Initiative to combat 
     homelessness, $150 million for the homeless grants and per 
     diem program, and $20 million for supportive services for low 
     income veterans and families;
       $580 million for medical research to include a $48 million 
     increase for research to address the critical needs of 
     Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom 
     veterans;
       $1.1 billion to address the backlog in non-recurring 
     maintenance at our medical facilities; and
       28 new Vet Centers and 30 new CBOCs.
       Additionally, this bill continues the rural health 
     initiative and beneficiary travel rates that we provided last 
     year. Language has been included to continue oversight of VHA 
     to ensure that VA provides funding to the medical facilities 
     in a timely manner, delivers comprehensive mental health and 
     substance abuse services, and improves the delivery of care 
     to veterans who live in rural areas.
       The National Cemetery Administration is funded at $250 
     million, an increase of $20 million above the FY 2009 
     appropriation. With 164 cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto 
     Rico, the Administration has an extensive backlog of 
     maintenance. The increase will give the Administration 
     additional resources to improve the appearance and condition 
     of cemeteries as identified in the study on veterans' 
     cemeteries which was submitted to the Congress in 2002.
       H.R. 3028 would provide an additional $19.2 million for the 
     Office of Inspector General to provide additional personnel 
     to accomplish

[[Page 17438]]

     financial audit and increased oversight of medical and 
     information technology programs.
       The bill includes $33 billion for Information Technology 
     Systems. This funding will continue the Department's 
     development of improvements to its electronic health record. 
     Other major programs include development of a new financial 
     management system, paperless benefits processing, and cyber 
     security initiatives.
       This bill would provide $1.9 billion for VA's 
     construction--$256 million above FY 2009. The bill will 
     provide needed funding for five ongoing major construction 
     projects, planning and design funding for seven new projects, 
     and funding for approximately 100 minor construction projects 
     that can be completed in FY 2010.
       Finally, the increased funding will enable the Armed Forces 
     Retirement Home to undertake a major capital construction 
     project on its Washington, DC campus as well as begin 
     operations at the Gulfport, Mississippi campus which is being 
     rebuilt from damage it sustained by hurricane Katrina. The 
     increase also would provide $5.3 million for a project at 
     Arlington National Cemetery to relocate power and telephone 
     lines to allow for an additional 8,000 to 10,000 gravesites.
       The American Legion applauds you and your colleagues for 
     their hard work on this critical piece of legislation.
       Thank you for your continued commitment to America's 
     veterans and their families.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Steve Robertson,
     Director, National Legislative Commission.
                                  ____



                                Paralyzed Veterans of America,

                                     Washington, DC, July 9, 2009.
     Hon. Chet Edwards, 
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans 
         Affairs House Committee on Appropriations, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairman Edwards: On behalf of Paralyzed Veterans of 
     America, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you 
     for your unwavering support for our nation's sick and 
     disabled veterans, as well as all of the men and women who 
     have so honorably served this country.
       PVA appreciates your efforts as Chairman of the House 
     Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and 
     Veterans' Affairs to achieve a historic funding level for the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) once again this year. 
     Through your leadership, the VA will receive funding for FY 
     2010 that meets and in some cases exceeds the recommendations 
     of The Independent Budget, co-authored by PVA, AMVETS, 
     Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
       More importantly, the Military Construction and Veterans 
     Affairs appropriations bill also includes approximately $48.2 
     billion in advance appropriations for VA medical care 
     accounts--Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, 
     and Medical Facilities--for FY 2011. By providing the VA with 
     an advance appropriation for FY 2011, the VA will be able to 
     better plan for hiring critical new staff and addressing 
     demand on the health care system. Approval of advance 
     appropriations represents a truly historic accomplishment 
     that will benefit all veterans.
       These actions reflect the priority that you and the House 
     leadership have placed on the needs of the men and women who 
     have so honorably served this country. Once again, we thank 
     you for your tireless efforts on behalf of veterans. We look 
     forward to working with you and all members to ensure that 
     the Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs 
     appropriations bill is approved by the full House.
           Sincerely,

                                                   Carl Blake,

                                    National Legislative Director,
     Paralyzed Veterans of America.
                                  ____



                                                       AMVETS,

                                         Lanham, MD, July 9, 2009.
     Hon. Chet Edwards,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans 
         Affairs, House Committee on Appropriations, Washington, 
         DC.
       Dear Chairman Edwards: On behalf of AMVETS I would like to 
     take this opportunity to thank you for your leadership and 
     continued, undaunting support of America's veterans, 
     servicemembers and their families.
       AMVETS wants to recognize your efforts as the Chairman of 
     the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military 
     Construction and Veterans' Affairs for fighting for and 
     securing yet another year of incomparable funding for the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs. Because of your efforts, the 
     VA will receive an unparalleled budget for Fiscal Year 2010.
       AMVETS also would like to extend our deepest gratitude for 
     your efforts in including approximately $48.2 billion in 
     advanced appropriations for FY 2011. By providing the VA with 
     advanced appropriations for 2011, VA will now have 
     sufficient, timely and predicable funding. This will allow VA 
     to better coordinate for the use of valuable resources, to 
     include hiring of key medical staff and other demands that 
     are unique to the health care setting.
       Passage of advanced appropriations is a historic event that 
     will be looked back on as one of the most important 
     improvements to the VA health care system. It is with that, I 
     want to thank you, the House leadership, and all members of 
     Congress who have seen the value in advanced appropriations 
     and have made it a reality.
       Again, thank you for your continued support and advocacy 
     for America's veterans.
           Veterans serving veterans,
                                                Raymond C. Kelley,
                            National Legislative Director, AMVETS.

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Chair, as per the requirements of the Republican 
Conference Rules on member requests, I secured the following earmarks 
in H.R. 3082.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02)
  Bill Number: H.R. 3082
  Account: Air Force, Military Construction, Air National Guard
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: 177th Fighter Wing
  Address of Requesting Entity: 400 Langley Road, Egg Harbor Township, 
NJ 08234
  Description of Request: Provide $1.7 million for the construction of 
a properly sited, adequately sized, and configured functional space to 
support conventional munitions administration, training and maintenance 
in support of 18 PAA F-16 aircraft to better enable the 177th to 
perform its Air Sovereignty Alert mission in defense of the homeland.
  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the 
Fiscal Year 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 
appropriations bill and thank Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp 
for their work in crafting this legislation.
  As someone who represents thousands of military veterans and their 
families, I believe that we have an obligation to provide them with the 
benefits and treatment they deserve for their years of faithful 
service. This legislation accomplishes that by providing $108.9 billion 
for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a $14.5 billion increase over 
Fiscal Year 2009, when not factoring in stimulus or supplemental 
funding.
  It is estimated that the VA will treat more than 6.1 million patients 
in 2010, including more than 419,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. 
To meet this demand, the bill provides important funding for mental 
health programs, assistance to homeless veterans, and to improve access 
for veterans in rural areas. The bill also provides vital funding to 
hire additional claims processors to support the Department's continued 
effort to reduce the backlog of benefit claims.
  I was also pleased to see that the committee included a provision to 
provide advanced budget authority and funding for fiscal year 2011 for 
medical related accounts. This is a step to ensure that the VA 
healthcare system continues to receive a timely and predictable stream 
of funding without subjecting it to the delays that can arise due to 
the larger annual budget debates.
  In addition to the funds provided for our nation's veterans, I also 
applaud the committee's work in providing the necessary funding to meet 
the construction needs of our military. The bill provides $24.6 billion 
for construction, facility modernization, and environmental cleanup. 
Among other construction projects at Ft. Lewis and McChord, I was 
specifically pleased to see funds included in the bill for the 
construction of a Joint Access Road between Ft. Lewis and McChord Air 
Force Base, a project that I specifically requested funding for. These 
funds will help provide a link between the two installations, alleviate 
congestion, and provide a deployment route for the air transportation 
of Army vehicles and equipment.
  Again, I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for their work on this 
legislation and urge my colleagues to support its passage.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Chair, the increases in funding for veterans 
services contained in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations bill are overdue and welcome. It continues increases in 
veterans' health care funding by providing $53 billion for the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. It also provides advanced 
appropriations for FY 2011 for medical accounts. I have long supported 
advance appropriations for veterans because it helps to stabilize 
funding instability and ultimately results in higher quality care for 
veterans. The bill provides $3.2 billion, a 40 percent increase over 
last year, to combat homelessness. It provides $4.6 billion for mental 
health care to help address the rising incidence of Post Traumatic 
Stress Disorder in our newer veterans. It provides for the hiring of 
1,200 additional claims processors to continue to work to eliminate the 
backlog of benefits claims.
  Unfortunately, the bill also includes funds for building extensive 
infrastructure to support our military operations in Afghanistan. It is 
clear that this construction will support the expansion of ongoing 
operations in the region. This is particularly troubling because the 
Administration is still without an exit strategy for Afghanistan. 
Additionally, U.S. presence in the

[[Page 17439]]

region has served to foment anti-American sentiment. I remain concerned 
that this combination of factors will not ensure U.S. ``success'' in 
the region but will ensure that the months and perhaps years ahead will 
be deadly for our brave troops and for the Afghan people.
  It is unacceptable to fund a more permanent presence in Afghanistan 
in a bill that gives our veterans services they need. Our veterans 
deserve more than we could ever repay. I must support this bill.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 3082, the 
Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010. This legislation 
continues the Democratic-Congress' dedication to our veterans by 
providing $109 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
  I am proud to support the passage of a bill which does so much for 
our veterans. This year, like every other year, our veterans deserve 
quality and affordable health care, the services needed to transition 
into civilian life and prevent homelessness, and other important 
benefits that will help them succeed in their personal and professional 
lives. I am particularly pleased the bill provides $4.6 billion for 
mental health care treatment, especially in light of the growing number 
of returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring 
Freedom (OEF) veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. The bill 
also provides $440 million to increase access for veterans who live in 
rural areas, $580 million for research in prosthetics, $533 million to 
expand eligibility for VA health care to an estimated 266,000 
``Priority 8'' veterans, or those non-service-disabled veterans earning 
more than $30,000 a year, and $1.1 billion for improving our VA medical 
facilities.
  Madam Chair, of particular concern to me are VA medical facilities in 
Southeast Michigan, where many of my constituents receive care. The 
Department of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health System (VAAAHS) staff 
believe that any plan to make the Toledo Community-based Outpatient 
Clinic administratively separate will have the effect of reducing their 
budget and inhibit their ability to provide services, including 
specialty services to their constituencies.
  I share this concern. The VAAAHS is the only VA medical facility in 
Michigan providing cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, and 
neurosurgery. We must ensure they can continue doing so. The VAAAHS has 
a plan that would double the size of the existing clinic in Toledo, 
allowing Toledo-area veterans to receive an increased amount of care at 
the Toledo clinic, from 75 percent currently to 90 percent. We must 
ensure that we move forward with plans for the existing clinic without 
impairing the care that is provided to veterans by VA hospitals in 
Southeast Michigan, including the VA hospitals Battle Creek, Detroit, 
and especially the one in Ann Arbor.
  Madam Chair, as a veteran of World War II, I have the utmost respect 
for those who have served our nation. I also believe that the VA 
provides veterans with excellent health services, and should continue 
to stand out as a leader in health care provision in our country. I 
urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting this legislation.
  Mr. BACA. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 3082, FY 2010 
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act.
  As we welcome our returning valiant soldiers from abroad and near, 
let us not forget what they so desperately need.
  Their fight is not over once they return home.
  Congress has a responsibility to provide for our sons and daughters 
that we send overseas.
  Today, this bill will provide for much needed funding assistance for 
our soldiers who continue to struggle with PTSD and other mental health 
illnesses.
  We will fund 28 new Vet Centers and 30 new Community Based Outpatient 
Centers to provide readjustment aid to those returning veterans and 
their families, because we must fight for them like they have fought 
for us.
  This bill will help house those homeless and low-income veterans, who 
may otherwise be left in the cold and in the streets.
  I am especially pleased with the funding to add 1,200 necessary 
personnel to streamline the process of veterans' claims to ensure that 
all our men and women are properly taken care of.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for the passage of H.R. 3082, and 
recognize that veteran care must and should be a priority.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3082, the ``Military 
Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010.'' This bill 
will fund our nation's military construction projects and veterans' 
benefits for Fiscal Year 2010.
  While I supported this bill, and what it provides for our military 
and veterans, it is unfortunate the Democratic leadership in Congress 
refused to allow debate on many amendments including an amendment 
proposed by Rep. Connie Mack that would have reduced the labor costs of 
each construction project funded by this legislation.
  Currently, federal construction projects which cost more than $2,000 
must follow Davis-Bacon wage requirements. The Davis-Bacon Act requires 
employers to pay workers at least the ``locally prevailing wage,'' as 
determined by the Department of Labor. Of the reports investigated by 
the Office of Inspector General, 100% of the wage surveys, used to set 
the ``prevailing wage,'' contained one or more errors.
  According to the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, Davis-
Bacon wage requirements over-estimate wages, inflating construction 
costs by almost 10%. This amounts to $8.6 billion taxpayer waste per 
year. For our military and veterans, this is billions that could have 
been used to update the Vietnam-era quanzi-huts still in use at Camp 
Pendleton Marine Corps Base or to fix the Post 9/11 GI bill error that 
will unfairly reduce California veterans' education benefits.
  In this time of fiscal uncertainty, Congress must set priorities and 
spend wisely. Shutting out debate on an archaic measure that 
unnecessarily increases cost moves our nation in the wrong direction.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3082, the 
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for 
Fiscal Year 2010. This legislation continues our commitment to the men 
and women who sacrifice so much to keep our nation safe, supporting 
members of our military on base, in theater, and when they return home.
  As the representative of Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, and many 
members of our National Guard and Reserves, I am pleased that this bill 
invests in the infrastructure needed to prepare our troops for battle 
and improve military equipment. Fort Bragg is becoming one of the 
largest military facilities in the country through the 2005 Base 
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, and this bill will provide more 
than $200 million for a variety of projects on the base in support of 
Army activity, special operations forces, and the National Guard. 
Nationwide, H.R. 3082 contains significant funding for new facilities 
including $450 million to modernize troop housing, $2 billion to 
improve military family housing, and $7.5 billion for BRAC. In 
recognition of the historic contributions of National Guard and Reserve 
personnel to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as their 
support of emergency assistance and homeland security, this bill 
provides $200 million for National Guard and Reserve construction. H.R. 
3082 also includes $1.4 billion for needs related to operations and 
troop increases in Afghanistan. Overall, this bill ensures that our 
military infrastructure keeps up with the needs of our modern fighting 
forces and operations overseas.
  As an Army veteran, I am also pleased that H.R. 3082 continues to 
build on our promise to take care of all those who have served our 
country with honor. It provides nearly $109 billion for veteran's 
services, including medical care and facilities. Together with 
increases of the last two years, enactment of this bill will have 
increased veteran's funding by nearly 50 percent, in recognition of the 
service of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill provides 
$34.7 billion to improve access to medical services for all veterans 
and $4.6 billion for mental health care, and will add 1,200 new claims 
processors to reduce the claims backlog and ensure veterans receive 
care and payment in a timely manner. It also makes significant 
investments in medical research and information technology. As the 
representative of a predominantly rural district, I am aware that more 
than 40 percent of veterans live in rural areas. This bill invests $440 
million to improve access to care for these veterans, who often have to 
travel long distances to receive care.
  Madam Chair, this bill takes care of those who are keeping America 
safe. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 3082, to 
fulfill our continued obligations to our nation's military.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment 
under the 5-minute rule and the bill shall be considered read through 
page 58, line 6.
  The text of that portion of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3082

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
     following sums

[[Page 17440]]

     are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, for military construction, the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other 
     purposes, namely:

                                TITLE I

                         DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

                      Military Construction, Army

                    (including rescission of funds)

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, military 
     installations, facilities, and real property for the Army as 
     currently authorized by law, including personnel in the Army 
     Corps of Engineers and other personal services necessary for 
     the purposes of this appropriation, and for construction and 
     operation of facilities in support of the functions of the 
     Commander in Chief, $4,554,906,000, to remain available until 
     September 30, 2014, of which $924,484,000 is designated as 
     being for overseas deployments and other activities pursuant 
     to section 423(a)(1) of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the 
     concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010, and 
     of which $450,000,000 shall be for trainee troop housing 
     facilities: Provided, That of this amount, not to exceed 
     $187,872,000 shall be available for study, planning, design, 
     architect and engineer services, and host nation support, as 
     authorized by law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines 
     that additional obligations are necessary for such purposes 
     and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses 
     of Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor: 
     Provided further, That, not later than 30 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
     submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress an expenditure plan for the funds provided for 
     trainee troop housing facilities:  Provided further, That the 
     amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for the 
     projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified under 
     the heading ``Military Construction, Army'' and under the 
     headings ``Army'' in the tables entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' and ``Overseas Contingency Operations'' in the 
     report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill: Provided further, 
     That of the funds appropriated for ``Military Construction, 
     Army'' under Public Law 110-329, $59,500,000 are hereby 
     rescinded.

              Military Construction, Navy and Marine Corps

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, naval installations, 
     facilities, and real property for the Navy and Marine Corps 
     as currently authorized by law, including personnel in the 
     Naval Facilities Engineering Command and other personal 
     services necessary for the purposes of this appropriation, 
     $3,757,330,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014: 
     Provided, That of this amount, not to exceed $182,569,000 
     shall be available for study, planning, design, and architect 
     and engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the 
     Secretary of Defense determines that additional obligations 
     are necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees 
     on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor:  Provided further, 
     That the amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for 
     the projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified 
     under the heading ``Military Construction, Navy and Marine 
     Corps'' and under the headings ``Navy'' in the table entitled 
     ``Military Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

                    Military Construction, Air Force

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, military 
     installations, facilities, and real property for the Air 
     Force as currently authorized by law, $1,833,671,000, to 
     remain available until September 30, 2014, of which 
     $474,500,000 is designated as being for overseas deployments 
     and other activities pursuant to section 423(a)(1) of S. Con. 
     Res. 13 (111th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the 
     budget for fiscal year 2010: Provided, That of this amount, 
     not to exceed $93,407,000 shall be available for study, 
     planning, design, and architect and engineer services, as 
     authorized by law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines 
     that additional obligations are necessary for such purposes 
     and notifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses 
     of Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor: 
     Provided further, That the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, and in 
     the amounts, specified under the heading ``Military 
     Construction, Air Force'' and under the headings ``Air 
     Force'' in the tables entitled ``Military Construction'' and 
     ``Overseas Contingency Operations'' in the report of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 
     to accompany this bill.

                  Military Construction, Defense-Wide

              (including transfer and rescission of funds)

       For acquisition, construction, installation, and equipment 
     of temporary or permanent public works, installations, 
     facilities, and real property for activities and agencies of 
     the Department of Defense (other than the military 
     departments), as currently authorized by law, $2,743,526,000, 
     to remain available until September 30, 2014: Provided, That 
     such amounts of this appropriation as may be determined by 
     the Secretary of Defense may be transferred to such 
     appropriations of the Department of Defense available for 
     military construction or family housing as the Secretary may 
     designate, to be merged with and to be available for the same 
     purposes, and for the same time period, as the appropriation 
     or fund to which transferred: Provided further, That of the 
     amount appropriated, not to exceed $121,442,000 shall be 
     available for study, planning, design, and architect and 
     engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the Secretary 
     of Defense determines that additional obligations are 
     necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further, 
     That the amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for 
     the projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified 
     under the heading ``Military Construction, Defense-Wide'' and 
     under the headings ``Defense-Wide'' in the table entitled 
     ``Military Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill: Provided further, That of the funds appropriated 
     for ``Military Construction, Defense-Wide'' under Public Law 
     110-329, $25,800,000 are hereby rescinded.

               Military Construction, Army National Guard

       For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation, 
     and conversion of facilities for the training and 
     administration of the Army National Guard, and contributions 
     therefor, as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10, United 
     States Code, and Military Construction Authorization Acts, 
     $529,129,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014, 
     of which $30,000,000 shall be for critical unfunded 
     requirements: Provided, That of the amount appropriated, not 
     to exceed $40,488,000 shall be available for study, planning, 
     design, and architect and engineer services, as authorized by 
     law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines that 
     additional obligations are necessary for such purposes and 
     notifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor: 
     Provided further, That, not later than 30 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Army 
     National Guard shall submit to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress an expenditure plan 
     for the funds provided for critical unfunded requirements:  
     Provided further, That the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, and in 
     the amounts, specified under the heading ``Military 
     Construction, Army National Guard'' and under the headings 
     ``Army National Guard'' in the table entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

               Military Construction, Air National Guard

       For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation, 
     and conversion of facilities for the training and 
     administration of the Air National Guard, and contributions 
     therefor, as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10, United 
     States Code, and Military Construction Authorization Acts, 
     $226,126,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014, 
     of which $30,000,000 shall be for critical unfunded 
     requirements: Provided, That of the amount appropriated, not 
     to exceed $12,021,000 shall be available for study, planning, 
     design, and architect and engineer services, as authorized by 
     law, unless the Secretary of Defense determines that 
     additional obligations are necessary for such purposes and 
     notifies the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress of the determination and the reasons therefor:  
     Provided further, That, not later than 30 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Air 
     National Guard shall submit to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress an expenditure plan 
     for the funds provided for critical unfunded requirements: 
     Provided further, That the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, and in 
     the amounts, specified under the heading ``Military 
     Construction, Air National Guard'' and under the headings 
     ``Air National Guard'' in the table entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

                  Military Construction, Army Reserve

       For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation, 
     and conversion of facilities for the training and 
     administration of the Army Reserve as authorized by chapter 
     1803 of title 10, United States Code, and Military 
     Construction Authorization Acts, $432,516,000, to remain 
     available until September 30, 2014, of which $30,000,000 
     shall be for critical unfunded requirements: Provided, That 
     of the amount appropriated, not to exceed $25,016,000 shall 
     be available for study, planning, design, and architect and 
     engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the

[[Page 17441]]

     Secretary of Defense determines that additional obligations 
     are necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees 
     on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further, 
     That, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, the Chief of Army Reserve shall submit to the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress an 
     expenditure plan for the funds provided for critical unfunded 
     requirements: Provided further, That the amount appropriated 
     in this paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, 
     and in the amounts, specified under the heading ``Military 
     Construction, Army Reserve'' and under the headings ``Army 
     Reserve'' in the table entitled ``Military Construction'' in 
     the report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill.

                  Military Construction, Navy Reserve

       For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation, 
     and conversion of facilities for the training and 
     administration of the reserve components of the Navy and 
     Marine Corps as authorized by chapter 1803 of title 10, 
     United States Code, and Military Construction Authorization 
     Acts, $125,874,000, to remain available until September 30, 
     2014, of which $20,000,000 shall be for critical unfunded 
     requirements of the Navy Reserve and $35,000,000 shall be for 
     critical unfunded requirements of the Marine Forces Reserve:  
     Provided, That of the amount appropriated, not to exceed 
     $2,951,000 shall be available for study, planning, design, 
     and architect and engineer services, as authorized by law, 
     unless the Secretary of Defense determines that additional 
     obligations are necessary for such purposes and notifies the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of 
     the determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further, 
     That, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, the Chief of Navy Reserve and the Commander, 
     Marine Forces Reserve shall submit to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress an expenditure plan 
     for the funds provided for critical unfunded requirements:  
     Provided further, That the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, and in 
     the amounts, specified under the heading ``Military 
     Construction, Navy Reserve'' and under the headings ``Navy 
     Reserve'' in the table entitled ``Military Construction'' in 
     the report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill.

                Military Construction, Air Force Reserve

       For construction, acquisition, expansion, rehabilitation, 
     and conversion of facilities for the training and 
     administration of the Air Force Reserve as authorized by 
     chapter 1803 of title 10, United States Code, and Military 
     Construction Authorization Acts, $103,169,000, to remain 
     available until September 30, 2014, of which $55,000,000 
     shall be for critical unfunded requirements: Provided, That 
     of the amount appropriated, not to exceed $4,669,000 shall be 
     available for study, planning, design, and architect and 
     engineer services, as authorized by law, unless the Secretary 
     of Defense determines that additional obligations are 
     necessary for such purposes and notifies the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress of the 
     determination and the reasons therefor: Provided further, 
     That, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, the Chief of Air Force Reserve shall submit to 
     the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress 
     an expenditure plan for the funds provided for critical 
     unfunded requirements:  Provided further, That the amount 
     appropriated in this paragraph shall be for the projects and 
     activities, and in the amounts, specified under the heading 
     ``Military Construction, Air Force Reserve'' and under the 
     headings ``Air Force Reserve'' in the table entitled 
     ``Military Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

                   North Atlantic Treaty Organization

                      Security Investment Program

       For the United States share of the cost of the North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program for 
     the acquisition and construction of military facilities and 
     installations (including international military headquarters) 
     and for related expenses for the collective defense of the 
     North Atlantic Treaty Area as authorized by section 2806 of 
     title 10, United States Code, and Military Construction 
     Authorization Acts, $234,914,000, to remain available until 
     expended.

                   Family Housing Construction, Army

       For expenses of family housing for the Army for 
     construction, including acquisition, replacement, addition, 
     expansion, extension, and alteration, as authorized by law, 
     $273,236,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014: 
     Provided, That the amount appropriated in this paragraph 
     shall be for the projects and activities, and in the amounts, 
     specified under the heading ``Family Housing Construction, 
     Army'' in the table entitled ``Military Construction'' in the 
     report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill.

             Family Housing Operation and Maintenance, Army

       For expenses of family housing for the Army for operation 
     and maintenance, including debt payment, leasing, minor 
     construction, principal and interest charges, and insurance 
     premiums, as authorized by law, $523,418,000.

           Family Housing Construction, Navy and Marine Corps

       For expenses of family housing for the Navy and Marine 
     Corps for construction, including acquisition, replacement, 
     addition, expansion, extension, and alteration, as authorized 
     by law, $146,569,000, to remain available until September 30, 
     2014:  Provided, That the amount appropriated in this 
     paragraph shall be for the projects and activities, and in 
     the amounts, specified under the heading ``Family Housing 
     Construction, Navy and Marine Corps'' in the table entitled 
     ``Military Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

    Family Housing Operation and Maintenance, Navy and Marine Corps

       For expenses of family housing for the Navy and Marine 
     Corps for operation and maintenance, including debt payment, 
     leasing, minor construction, principal and interest charges, 
     and insurance premiums, as authorized by law, $368,540,000.

                 Family Housing Construction, Air Force

       For expenses of family housing for the Air Force for 
     construction, including acquisition, replacement, addition, 
     expansion, extension, and alteration, as authorized by law, 
     $66,101,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014:  
     Provided, That the amount appropriated in this paragraph 
     shall be for the projects and activities, and in the amounts, 
     specified under the heading ``Family Housing Construction, 
     Air Force'' in the table entitled ``Military Construction'' 
     in the report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
     of Representatives to accompany this bill.

          Family Housing Operation and Maintenance, Air Force

       For expenses of family housing for the Air Force for 
     operation and maintenance, including debt payment, leasing, 
     minor construction, principal and interest charges, and 
     insurance premiums, as authorized by law, $502,936,000.

               Family Housing Construction, Defense-Wide

       For expenses of family housing for the activities and 
     agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the 
     military departments) for construction, including 
     acquisition, replacement, addition, expansion, extension, and 
     alteration, as authorized by law, $2,859,000, to remain 
     available until September 30, 2014:  Provided, That the 
     amount appropriated in this paragraph shall be for the 
     projects and activities, and in the amounts, specified under 
     the heading ``Family Housing Construction, Defense-Wide'' in 
     the table entitled ``Military Construction'' in the report of 
     the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill.

         Family Housing Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide

       For expenses of family housing for the activities and 
     agencies of the Department of Defense (other than the 
     military departments) for operation and maintenance, leasing, 
     and minor construction, as authorized by law, $49,214,000.

         Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund

       For the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement 
     Fund, $2,600,000, to remain available until expended, for 
     family housing initiatives undertaken pursuant to section 
     2883 of title 10, United States Code, providing alternative 
     means of acquiring and improving military family housing and 
     supporting facilities.

                       Homeowners Assistance Fund

       For the Homeowners Assistance Fund established by section 
     1013 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development 
     Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3374), $23,225,000, to remain 
     available until expended.

          Chemical Demilitarization Construction, Defense-wide

       For expenses of construction, not otherwise provided for, 
     necessary for the destruction of the United States stockpile 
     of lethal chemical agents and munitions in accordance with 
     section 1412 of the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 
     1986 (50 U.S.C. 1521), and for the destruction of other 
     chemical warfare materials that are not in the chemical 
     weapon stockpile, as currently authorized by law, 
     $146,541,000, to remain available until September 30, 2014: 
     Provided, That the amount appropriated in this paragraph 
     shall be for the projects and activities, and in the amounts, 
     specified under the headings ``Chemical Demilitarization 
     Construction, Defense-Wide'' in the table entitled ``Military 
     Construction'' in the report of the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives to accompany 
     this bill.

            Department of Defense Base Closure Account 1990

       For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Closure 
     Account 1990, established

[[Page 17442]]

     by section 2906(a)(1) of the Defense Base Closure and 
     Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 2687 note), $536,768,000, 
     to remain available until expended.

            Department of Defense Base Closure Account 2005

       For deposit into the Department of Defense Base Closure 
     Account 2005, established by section 2906A(a)(1) of the 
     Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 
     2687 note), $7,479,498,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That the Department of Defense shall 
     notify the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress 14 days prior to obligating an amount for a 
     construction project that exceeds or reduces the amount 
     identified for that project in the most recently submitted 
     budget request for this account by 20 percent or $2,000,000, 
     whichever is less: Provided further, That the previous 
     proviso shall not apply to projects costing less than 
     $5,000,000, except for those projects not previously 
     identified in any budget submission for this account and 
     exceeding the minor construction threshold under section 2805 
     of title 10, United States Code.

                       Administrative Provisions

       Sec. 101.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     shall be expended for payments under a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee 
     contract for construction, where cost estimates exceed 
     $25,000, to be performed within the United States, except 
     Alaska, without the specific approval in writing of the 
     Secretary of Defense setting forth the reasons therefor.
       Sec. 102.  Funds made available in this title for 
     construction shall be available for hire of passenger motor 
     vehicles.
       Sec. 103.  Funds made available in this title for 
     construction may be used for advances to the Federal Highway 
     Administration, Department of Transportation, for the 
     construction of access roads as authorized by section 210 of 
     title 23, United States Code, when projects authorized 
     therein are certified as important to the national defense by 
     the Secretary of Defense.
       Sec. 104.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     may be used to initiate construction of new installations for 
     which specific appropriations have not been made.
       Sec. 105.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     shall be used for purchase of land or land easements in 
     excess of 100 percent of the value as determined by the Army 
     Corps of Engineers or the Naval Facilities Engineering 
     Command, except: (1) where there is a determination of value 
     by a Federal court; (2) purchases negotiated by the Attorney 
     General or the designee of the Attorney General; (3) where 
     the estimated value is less than $25,000; or (4) as otherwise 
     determined by the Secretary of Defense to be in the public 
     interest.
       Sec. 106.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     shall be used to: (1) acquire land; (2) provide for site 
     preparation; or (3) install utilities for any family housing, 
     except housing for which funds have been made available in 
     annual Acts making appropriations for military construction.
       Sec. 107.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     for minor construction may be used to transfer or relocate 
     any activity from one base or installation to another, 
     without prior notification to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
       Sec. 108.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     may be used for the procurement of steel for any construction 
     project or activity for which American steel producers, 
     fabricators, and manufacturers have been denied the 
     opportunity to compete for such steel procurement.
       Sec. 109.  None of the funds available to the Department of 
     Defense for military construction or family housing during 
     the current fiscal year may be used to pay real property 
     taxes in any foreign nation.
       Sec. 110.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     may be obligated for architect and engineer contracts 
     estimated by the Government to exceed $500,000 for projects 
     to be accomplished in Japan, in any North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization member country, or in countries bordering the 
     Arabian Sea, unless such contracts are awarded to United 
     States firms or United States firms in joint venture with 
     host nation firms.
       Sec. 111.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     for military construction in the United States territories 
     and possessions in the Pacific and on Kwajalein Atoll, or in 
     countries bordering the Arabian Sea, may be used to award any 
     contract estimated by the Government to exceed $1,000,000 to 
     a foreign contractor: Provided, That this section shall not 
     be applicable to contract awards for which the lowest 
     responsive and responsible bid of a United States contractor 
     exceeds the lowest responsive and responsible bid of a 
     foreign contractor by greater than 20 percent: Provided 
     further, That this section shall not apply to contract awards 
     for military construction on Kwajalein Atoll for which the 
     lowest responsive and responsible bid is submitted by a 
     Marshallese contractor.
       Sec. 112.  The Secretary of Defense is to inform the 
     appropriate committees of both Houses of Congress, including 
     the Committees on Appropriations, of the plans and scope of 
     any proposed military exercise involving United States 
     personnel 30 days prior to its occurring, if amounts expended 
     for construction, either temporary or permanent, are 
     anticipated to exceed $100,000.
       Sec. 113.  Not more than 20 percent of the funds made 
     available in this title which are limited for obligation 
     during the current fiscal year shall be obligated during the 
     last two months of the fiscal year.
       Sec. 114.  Funds appropriated to the Department of Defense 
     for construction in prior years shall be available for 
     construction authorized for each such military department by 
     the authorizations enacted into law during the current 
     session of Congress.
       Sec. 115.  For military construction or family housing 
     projects that are being completed with funds otherwise 
     expired or lapsed for obligation, expired or lapsed funds may 
     be used to pay the cost of associated supervision, 
     inspection, overhead, engineering and design on those 
     projects and on subsequent claims, if any.
       Sec. 116.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
     funds made available to a military department or defense 
     agency for the construction of military projects may be 
     obligated for a military construction project or contract, or 
     for any portion of such a project or contract, at any time 
     before the end of the fourth fiscal year after the fiscal 
     year for which funds for such project were made available, if 
     the funds obligated for such project: (1) are obligated from 
     funds available for military construction projects; and (2) 
     do not exceed the amount appropriated for such project, plus 
     any amount by which the cost of such project is increased 
     pursuant to law.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 117.  In addition to any other transfer authority 
     available to the Department of Defense, proceeds deposited to 
     the Department of Defense Base Closure Account established by 
     section 207(a)(1) of the Defense Authorization Amendments and 
     Base Closure and Realignment Act (10 U.S.C. 2687 note) 
     pursuant to section 207(a)(2)(C) of such Act, may be 
     transferred to the account established by section 2906(a)(1) 
     of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (10 
     U.S.C. 2687 note), to be merged with, and to be available for 
     the same purposes and the same time period as that account.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 118.  Subject to 30 days prior notification, or 14 
     days for a notification provided in an electronic medium 
     pursuant to sections 480 and 2883, of title 10, United States 
     Code, to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress, such additional amounts as may be determined by the 
     Secretary of Defense may be transferred to: (1) the 
     Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund from 
     amounts appropriated for construction in ``Family Housing'' 
     accounts, to be merged with and to be available for the same 
     purposes and for the same period of time as amounts 
     appropriated directly to the Fund; or (2) the Department of 
     Defense Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund from 
     amounts appropriated for construction of military 
     unaccompanied housing in ``Military Construction'' accounts, 
     to be merged with and to be available for the same purposes 
     and for the same period of time as amounts appropriated 
     directly to the Fund: Provided, That appropriations made 
     available to the Funds shall be available to cover the costs, 
     as defined in section 502(5) of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974, of direct loans or loan guarantees issued by the 
     Department of Defense pursuant to the provisions of 
     subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, 
     pertaining to alternative means of acquiring and improving 
     military family housing, military unaccompanied housing, and 
     supporting facilities.
       Sec. 119. (a) Not later than 60 days before issuing any 
     solicitation for a contract with the private sector for 
     military family housing the Secretary of the military 
     department concerned shall submit to the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the notice 
     described in subsection (b).
       (b)(1) A notice referred to in subsection (a) is a notice 
     of any guarantee (including the making of mortgage or rental 
     payments) proposed to be made by the Secretary to the private 
     party under the contract involved in the event of--
       (A) the closure or realignment of the installation for 
     which housing is provided under the contract;
       (B) a reduction in force of units stationed at such 
     installation; or
       (C) the extended deployment overseas of units stationed at 
     such installation.
       (2) Each notice under this subsection shall specify the 
     nature of the guarantee involved and assess the extent and 
     likelihood, if any, of the liability of the Federal 
     Government with respect to the guarantee.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 120.  In addition to any other transfer authority 
     available to the Department of Defense, amounts may be 
     transferred from the accounts established by sections 
     2906(a)(1) and 2906A(a)(1) of the Defense Base Closure and 
     Realignment Act of 1990 (10 U.S.C. 2687 note), to the fund 
     established by section 1013(d) of the Demonstration Cities 
     and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3374) to 
     pay for expenses associated with the Homeowners Assistance 
     Program incurred

[[Page 17443]]

     under 42 USC 3374(a)(1)(A). Any amounts transferred shall be 
     merged with and be available for the same purposes and for 
     the same time period as the fund to which transferred.
       Sec. 121.  Notwithstanding this or any other provision of 
     law, funds made available in this title for operation and 
     maintenance of family housing shall be the exclusive source 
     of funds for repair and maintenance of all family housing 
     units, including general or flag officer quarters: Provided, 
     That not more than $35,000 per unit may be spent annually for 
     the maintenance and repair of any general or flag officer 
     quarters without 30 days prior notification, or 14 days for a 
     notification provided in an electronic medium pursuant to 
     sections 480 and 2883 of title 10, United States Code, to the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, 
     except that an after-the-fact notification shall be submitted 
     if the limitation is exceeded solely due to costs associated 
     with environmental remediation that could not be reasonably 
     anticipated at the time of the budget submission: Provided 
     further, That the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) is 
     to report annually to the Committees on Appropriations of 
     both Houses of Congress all operation and maintenance 
     expenditures for each individual general or flag officer 
     quarters for the prior fiscal year.
       Sec. 122.  Amounts contained in the Ford Island Improvement 
     Account established by subsection (h) of section 2814 of 
     title 10, United States Code, are appropriated and shall be 
     available until expended for the purposes specified in 
     subsection (i)(1) of such section or until transferred 
     pursuant to subsection (i)(3) of such section.
       Sec. 123.  None of the funds made available in this title, 
     or in any Act making appropriations for military construction 
     which remain available for obligation, may be obligated or 
     expended to carry out a military construction, land 
     acquisition, or family housing project at or for a military 
     installation approved for closure, or at a military 
     installation for the purposes of supporting a function that 
     has been approved for realignment to another installation, in 
     2005 under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 
     1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 
     2687 note), unless such a project at a military installation 
     approved for realignment will support a continuing mission or 
     function at that installation or a new mission or function 
     that is planned for that installation, or unless the 
     Secretary of Defense certifies that the cost to the United 
     States of carrying out such project would be less than the 
     cost to the United States of cancelling such project, or if 
     the project is at an active component base that shall be 
     established as an enclave or in the case of projects having 
     multi-agency use, that another Government agency has 
     indicated it will assume ownership of the completed project. 
     The Secretary of Defense may not transfer funds made 
     available as a result of this limitation from any military 
     construction project, land acquisition, or family housing 
     project to another account or use such funds for another 
     purpose or project without the prior approval of the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress. This 
     section shall not apply to military construction projects, 
     land acquisition, or family housing projects for which the 
     project is vital to the national security or the protection 
     of health, safety, or environmental quality: Provided, That 
     the Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional 
     defense committees within seven days of a decision to carry 
     out such a military construction project.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 124.  During the 5-year period after appropriations 
     available in this Act to the Department of Defense for 
     military construction and family housing operation and 
     maintenance and construction have expired for obligation, 
     upon a determination that such appropriations will not be 
     necessary for the liquidation of obligations or for making 
     authorized adjustments to such appropriations for obligations 
     incurred during the period of availability of such 
     appropriations, unobligated balances of such appropriations 
     may be transferred into the appropriation ``Foreign Currency 
     Fluctuations, Construction, Defense'', to be merged with and 
     to be available for the same time period and for the same 
     purposes as the appropriation to which transferred.
       Sec. 125.  None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available in this title may be used for any action that is 
     related to or promotes the expansion of the boundaries or 
     size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado.
       Sec. 126.  Amounts appropriated or otherwise made available 
     in an account funded under the headings in this title may be 
     transferred among projects and activities within the account 
     in accordance with the reprogramming guidelines for military 
     construction and family housing construction contained in the 
     report of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives to accompany this bill and in the guidance 
     for military construction reprogrammings and notifications 
     contained in Department of Defense Financial Management 
     Regulation 7000.14-R, Volume 3, Chapter 7, of December 1996, 
     as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

                                TITLE II

                     DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

                    Veterans Benefits Administration

                       compensation and pensions

                     (including transfer of funds)

       For the payment of compensation benefits to or on behalf of 
     veterans and a pilot program for disability examinations as 
     authorized by section 107 and chapters 11, 13, 18, 51, 53, 
     55, and 61 of title 38, United States Code; pension benefits 
     to or on behalf of veterans as authorized by chapters 15, 51, 
     53, 55, and 61 of title 38, United States Code; and burial 
     benefits, the Reinstated Entitlement Program for Survivors, 
     emergency and other officers' retirement pay, adjusted-
     service credits and certificates, payment of premiums due on 
     commercial life insurance policies guaranteed under the 
     provisions of title IV of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 
     (50 U.S.C. App. 541 et seq.) and for other benefits as 
     authorized by sections 107, 1312, 1977, and 2106, and 
     chapters 23, 51, 53, 55, and 61 of title 38, United States 
     Code, $47,218,207,000, to remain available until expended: 
     Provided, That not to exceed $29,283,000 of the amount 
     appropriated under this heading shall be reimbursed to 
     ``General operating expenses'', ``Medical support and 
     compliance'', and ``Information technology systems'' for 
     necessary expenses in implementing the provisions of chapters 
     51, 53, and 55 of title 38, United States Code, the funding 
     source for which is specifically provided as the 
     ``Compensation and pensions'' appropriation: Provided 
     further, That such sums as may be earned on an actual 
     qualifying patient basis, shall be reimbursed to ``Medical 
     care collections fund'' to augment the funding of individual 
     medical facilities for nursing home care provided to 
     pensioners as authorized.

                         readjustment benefits

       For the payment of readjustment and rehabilitation benefits 
     to or on behalf of veterans as authorized by chapters 21, 30, 
     31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 51, 53, 55, and 61 of title 38, 
     United States Code, $8,663,624,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That expenses for rehabilitation program 
     services and assistance which the Secretary is authorized to 
     provide under subsection (a) of section 3104 of title 38, 
     United States Code, other than under paragraphs (1), (2), 
     (5), and (11) of that subsection, shall be charged to this 
     account.

                   veterans insurance and indemnities

       For military and naval insurance, national service life 
     insurance, servicemen's indemnities, service-disabled 
     veterans insurance, and veterans mortgage life insurance as 
     authorized by title 38, United States Code, chapters 19 and 
     21, $49,288,000, to remain available until expended.

                 veterans housing benefit program fund

       For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans, such sums as 
     may be necessary to carry out the program, as authorized by 
     subchapters I through III of chapter 37 of title 38, United 
     States Code: Provided, That such costs, including the cost of 
     modifying such loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of 
     the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That 
     during fiscal year 2010, within the resources available, not 
     to exceed $500,000 in gross obligations for direct loans are 
     authorized for specially adapted housing loans.
       In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the 
     direct and guaranteed loan programs, $165,082,000.

            vocational rehabilitation loans program account

                     (including transfer of funds)

       For the cost of direct loans, $29,000, as authorized by 
     chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code: Provided, That 
     such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall 
     be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974: Provided further, That funds made available under 
     this heading are available to subsidize gross obligations for 
     the principal amount of direct loans not to exceed 
     $2,298,000.
       In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry 
     out the direct loan program, $328,000, which may be 
     transferred to and merged with the appropriation for 
     ``General operating expenses''.

          native american veteran housing loan program account

       For administrative expenses to carry out the direct loan 
     program authorized by subchapter V of chapter 37 of title 38, 
     United States Code, $664,000.

  guaranteed transitional housing loans for homeless veterans program 
                                account

       For the administrative expenses to carry out the guaranteed 
     transitional housing loan program authorized by subchapter VI 
     of chapter 20 of title 38, United States Code, not to exceed 
     $750,000 of the amounts appropriated by this Act for 
     ``General operating expenses'' and ``Medical support and 
     compliance'' may be expended.

                     Veterans Health Administration

                            medical services

                     (including transfer of funds)

       For necessary expenses for furnishing, as authorized by 
     law, inpatient and outpatient care and treatment to 
     beneficiaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs and 
     veterans described in section 1705(a) of title 38, United

[[Page 17444]]

     States Code, including care and treatment in facilities not 
     under the jurisdiction of the Department, and including 
     medical supplies and equipment, food services, and salaries 
     and expenses of health-care employees hired under title 38, 
     United States Code, and aid to State homes as authorized by 
     section 1741 of title 38, United States Code; 
     $71,840,500,000, plus reimbursements, of which 
     $37,136,000,000 shall become available on October 1, 2010, 
     and shall remain available through September 30, 2011: 
     Provided, That, of the amount made available under this 
     heading for fiscal year 2010, not to exceed $1,015,000,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2011: Provided 
     further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a priority 
     for the provision of medical treatment for veterans who have 
     service-connected disabilities, lower income, or have special 
     needs: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
     give priority funding for the provision of basic medical 
     benefits to veterans in enrollment priority groups 1 through 
     6: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
     authorize the dispensing of prescription drugs from Veterans 
     Health Administration facilities to enrolled veterans with 
     privately written prescriptions based on requirements 
     established by the Secretary: Provided further, That the 
     implementation of the program described in the previous 
     proviso shall incur no additional cost to the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs: Provided further, That for the Department 
     of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Sharing 
     Incentive Fund, as authorized by section 8111(d) of title 38, 
     United States Code, a minimum of $15,000,000, to remain 
     available until expended, for any purpose authorized by 
     section 8111 of title 38, United States Code.

                     medical support and compliance

       For necessary expenses in the administration of the 
     medical, hospital, nursing home, domiciliary, construction, 
     supply, and research activities, as authorized by law; 
     administrative expenses in support of capital policy 
     activities; and administrative and legal expenses of the 
     Department for collecting and recovering amounts owed the 
     Department as authorized under chapter 17 of title 38, United 
     States Code, and the Federal Medical Care Recovery Act (42 
     U.S.C. 2651 et seq.); $10,207,000,000, plus reimbursements, 
     of which $5,307,000,000 shall become available on October 1, 
     2010, and shall remain available through September 30, 2011: 
     Provided, That, of the amount made available under this 
     heading for fiscal year 2010, not to exceed $145,000,000 
     shall remain available until September 30, 2011.

                           medical facilities

       For necessary expenses for the maintenance and operation of 
     hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliary facilities and 
     other necessary facilities of the Veterans Health 
     Administration; for administrative expenses in support of 
     planning, design, project management, real property 
     acquisition and disposition, construction, and renovation of 
     any facility under the jurisdiction or for the use of the 
     Department; for oversight, engineering, and architectural 
     activities not charged to project costs; for repairing, 
     altering, improving, or providing facilities in the several 
     hospitals and homes under the jurisdiction of the Department, 
     not otherwise provided for, either by contract or by the hire 
     of temporary employees and purchase of materials; for leases 
     of facilities; and for laundry services, $10,633,000,000, 
     plus reimbursements, of which $5,740,000,000 shall become 
     available on October 1, 2010, and shall remain available 
     through September 30, 2011: Provided, That, of the amount 
     made available under this heading for fiscal year 2010, not 
     to exceed $145,000,000 shall remain available until September 
     30, 2011: Provided further, That, of the amount available for 
     fiscal year 2010, $200,000,000 for non-recurring maintenance 
     shall be allocated in a manner not subject to the Veterans 
     Equitable Resource Allocation.

                    medical and prosthetic research

       For necessary expenses in carrying out programs of medical 
     and prosthetic research and development as authorized by 
     chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, $580,000,000, 
     plus reimbursements, to remain available until September 30, 
     2011.

                    National Cemetery Administration

       For necessary expenses of the National Cemetery 
     Administration for operations and maintenance, not otherwise 
     provided for, including uniforms or allowances therefor; 
     cemeterial expenses as authorized by law; purchase of one 
     passenger motor vehicle for use in cemeterial operations; 
     hire of passenger motor vehicles; and repair, alteration or 
     improvement of facilities under the jurisdiction of the 
     National Cemetery Administration, $250,000,000, of which not 
     to exceed $24,200,000 shall be available until September 30, 
     2011.

                      Departmental Administration

                       general operating expenses

       For necessary operating expenses of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs, not otherwise provided for, including 
     administrative expenses in support of Department-Wide capital 
     planning, management and policy activities, uniforms, or 
     allowances therefor; not to exceed $25,000 for official 
     reception and representation expenses; hire of passenger 
     motor vehicles; and reimbursement of the General Services 
     Administration for security guard services, and the 
     Department of Defense for the cost of overseas employee mail, 
     $2,083,700,000: Provided, That expenses for services and 
     assistance authorized under paragraphs (1), (2), (5), and 
     (11) of section 3104(a) of title 38, United States Code, that 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines are necessary to 
     enable entitled veterans: (1) to the maximum extent feasible, 
     to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable 
     employment; or (2) to achieve maximum independence in daily 
     living, shall be charged to this account: Provided further, 
     That the Veterans Benefits Administration shall be funded at 
     not less than $1,690,200,000: Provided further, That of the 
     funds made available under this heading, not to exceed 
     $111,000,000 shall be available for obligation until 
     September 30, 2011: Provided further, That from the funds 
     made available under this heading, the Veterans Benefits 
     Administration may purchase (on a one-for-one replacement 
     basis only) up to two passenger motor vehicles for use in 
     operations of that Administration in Manila, Philippines.

                     information technology systems

       For necessary expenses for information technology systems 
     and telecommunications support, including developmental 
     information systems and operational information systems; for 
     pay and associated cost; and for the capital asset 
     acquisition of information technology systems, including 
     management and related contractual costs of said 
     acquisitions, including contractual costs associated with 
     operations authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United 
     States Code, $3,307,000,000, plus reimbursements, to be 
     available until September 30, 2011: Provided, That none of 
     the funds made available under this heading may be obligated 
     until the Department of Veterans Affairs submits to the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, and 
     such Committees approve, a plan for expenditure that: (1) 
     meets the capital planning and investment control review 
     requirements established by the Office of Management and 
     Budget; (2) complies with the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     enterprise architecture; (3) conforms with an established 
     enterprise life cycle methodology; and (4) complies with the 
     acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and systems 
     acquisition management practices of the Federal Government: 
     Provided further, That within 30 days of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a 
     reprogramming base letter which provides, by project, the 
     costs included in this appropriation.

                      office of inspector general

       For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, 
     to include information technology, in carrying out the 
     provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
     App.), $107,000,000, of which $6,000,000 shall be available 
     until September 30, 2011.

                      construction, major projects

       For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of 
     the facilities, including parking projects, under the 
     jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 
     316, 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103, 8106, 8108, 8109, 8110, and 8122 
     of title 38, United States Code, including planning, 
     architectural and engineering services, construction 
     management services, maintenance or guarantee period services 
     costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under the 
     project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and 
     storm drainage system construction costs, and site 
     acquisition, where the estimated cost of a project is more 
     than the amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 
     38, United States Code, or where funds for a project were 
     made available in a previous major project appropriation, 
     $1,194,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which 
     $16,000,000 shall be to make reimbursements as provided in 
     section 13 of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 
     612) for claims paid for contract disputes: Provided, That 
     except for advance planning activities, including needs 
     assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, 
     and other capital asset management related activities, 
     including portfolio development and management activities, 
     and investment strategy studies funded through the advance 
     planning fund and the planning and design activities funded 
     through the design fund, including needs assessments which 
     may or may not lead to capital investments, and funds 
     provided for the purchase of land for the National Cemetery 
     Administration through the land acquisition line item, none 
     of the funds made available under this heading shall be used 
     for any project which has not been approved by the Congress 
     in the budgetary process: Provided further, That funds made 
     available under this heading for fiscal year 2010, for each 
     approved project shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a 
     construction documents contract by September 30, 2010; and 
     (2) by the awarding of a construction contract by September 
     30, 2011: Provided further, That the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs shall promptly submit to the

[[Page 17445]]

     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a 
     written report on any approved major construction project for 
     which obligations are not incurred within the time 
     limitations established above: Provided further, That of the 
     funds made available under this heading, $933,030,000 shall 
     be for the projects and activities, and in the amounts, 
     specified under this heading in the report of the Committee 
     on Appropriations of the House of Representatives to 
     accompany this bill.

                      construction, minor projects

       For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of 
     the facilities, including parking projects, under the 
     jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs, including planning and assessments of needs which 
     may lead to capital investments, architectural and 
     engineering services, maintenance or guarantee period 
     services costs associated with equipment guarantees provided 
     under the project, services of claims analysts, offsite 
     utility and storm drainage system construction costs, and 
     site acquisition, or for any of the purposes set forth in 
     sections 316, 2404, 2406, 8102, 8103, 8106, 8108, 8109, 8110, 
     8122, and 8162 of title 38, United States Code, where the 
     estimated cost of a project is equal to or less than the 
     amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United 
     States Code, $726,800,000, to remain available until 
     expended, along with unobligated balances of previous 
     ``Construction, minor projects'' appropriations which are 
     hereby made available for any project where the estimated 
     cost is equal to or less than the amount set forth in such 
     section: Provided, That funds made available under this 
     heading shall be available for: (1) repairs to any of the 
     nonmedical facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use 
     of the Department which are necessary because of loss or 
     damage caused by any natural disaster or catastrophe; and (2) 
     temporary measures necessary to prevent or to minimize 
     further loss by such causes.

       grants for construction of state extended care facilities

       For grants to assist States to acquire or construct State 
     nursing home and domiciliary facilities and to remodel, 
     modify, or alter existing hospital, nursing home, and 
     domiciliary facilities in State homes, for furnishing care to 
     veterans as authorized by sections 8131 through 8137 of title 
     38, United States Code, $85,000,000, to remain available 
     until expended.

          grants for construction of state veterans cemeteries

       For grants to assist States in establishing, expanding, or 
     improving State veterans cemeteries as authorized by section 
     2408 of title 38, United States Code, $42,000,000, to remain 
     available until expended.

                       Administrative Provisions

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 201.  Any appropriation for fiscal year 2010 for 
     ``Compensation and pensions'', ``Readjustment benefits'', and 
     ``Veterans insurance and indemnities'' may be transferred as 
     necessary to any other of the mentioned appropriations: 
     Provided, That before a transfer may take place, the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall request from the 
     Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the 
     authority to make the transfer and such Committees issue an 
     approval, or absent a response, a period of 30 days has 
     elapsed.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 202.  Amounts made available for the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, in this Act or any 
     other Act, under the ``Medical services'', ``Medical support 
     and compliance'', and ``Medical facilities'' accounts may be 
     transferred among the accounts: Provided, That any transfers 
     between the ``Medical services'' and ``Medical support and 
     compliance'' accounts of 1 percent or less of the total 
     amount appropriated to the account in this or any other Act 
     may take place subject to notification from the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs to the Committees on Appropriations of both 
     Houses of Congress of the amount and purpose of the transfer: 
     Provided further, That any transfers between the ``Medical 
     services'' and ``Medical support and compliance'' accounts in 
     excess of 1 percent, or exceeding the cumulative 1 percent 
     for the fiscal year, may take place only after the Secretary 
     requests from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses 
     of Congress the authority to make the transfer and an 
     approval is issued: Provided further, That any transfers to 
     or from the ``Medical facilities'' account may take place 
     only after the Secretary requests from the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the authority to 
     make the transfer and an approval is issued.
       Sec. 203.  Appropriations available in this title for 
     salaries and expenses shall be available for services 
     authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 
     hire of passenger motor vehicles; lease of a facility or land 
     or both; and uniforms or allowances therefore, as authorized 
     by sections 5901 through 5902 of title 5, United States Code.
       Sec. 204.  No appropriations in this title (except the 
     appropriations for ``Construction, major projects'', and 
     ``Construction, minor projects'') shall be available for the 
     purchase of any site for or toward the construction of any 
     new hospital or home.
       Sec. 205.  No appropriations in this title shall be 
     available for hospitalization or examination of any persons 
     (except beneficiaries entitled to such hospitalization or 
     examination under the laws providing such benefits to 
     veterans, and persons receiving such treatment under sections 
     7901 through 7904 of title 5, United States Code, or the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)), unless reimbursement of the 
     cost of such hospitalization or examination is made to the 
     ``Medical services'' account at such rates as may be fixed by 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
       Sec. 206.  Appropriations available in this title for 
     ``Compensation and pensions'', ``Readjustment benefits'', and 
     ``Veterans insurance and indemnities'' shall be available for 
     payment of prior year accrued obligations required to be 
     recorded by law against the corresponding prior year accounts 
     within the last quarter of fiscal year 2009.
       Sec. 207.  Appropriations available in this title shall be 
     available to pay prior year obligations of corresponding 
     prior year appropriations accounts resulting from sections 
     3328(a), 3334, and 3712(a) of title 31, United States Code, 
     except that if such obligations are from trust fund accounts 
     they shall be payable only from ``Compensation and 
     pensions''.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 208.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     during fiscal year 2010, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall, from the National Service Life Insurance Fund under 
     section 1920 of title 38, United States Code, the Veterans' 
     Special Life Insurance Fund under section 1923 of title 38, 
     United States Code, and the United States Government Life 
     Insurance Fund under section 1955 of title 38, United States 
     Code, reimburse the ``General operating expenses'' and 
     ``Information technology systems'' accounts for the cost of 
     administration of the insurance programs financed through 
     those accounts: Provided, That reimbursement shall be made 
     only from the surplus earnings accumulated in such an 
     insurance program during fiscal year 2010 that are available 
     for dividends in that program after claims have been paid and 
     actuarially determined reserves have been set aside: Provided 
     further, That if the cost of administration of such an 
     insurance program exceeds the amount of surplus earnings 
     accumulated in that program, reimbursement shall be made only 
     to the extent of such surplus earnings: Provided further, 
     That the Secretary shall determine the cost of administration 
     for fiscal year 2010 which is properly allocable to the 
     provision of each such insurance program and to the provision 
     of any total disability income insurance included in that 
     insurance program.
       Sec. 209.  Amounts deducted from enhanced-use lease 
     proceeds to reimburse an account for expenses incurred by 
     that account during a prior fiscal year for providing 
     enhanced-use lease services, may be obligated during the 
     fiscal year in which the proceeds are received.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 210.  Funds available in this title or funds for 
     salaries and other administrative expenses shall also be 
     available to reimburse the Office of Resolution Management of 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of 
     Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication under 
     section 319 of title 38, United States Code, for all services 
     provided at rates which will recover actual costs but not 
     exceed $35,257,000 for the Office of Resolution Management 
     and $3,287,000 for the Office of Employment and 
     Discrimination Complaint Adjudication: Provided, That 
     payments may be made in advance for services to be furnished 
     based on estimated costs: Provided further, That amounts 
     received shall be credited to the ``General operating 
     expenses'' and ``Information technology systems'' accounts 
     for use by the office that provided the service.
       Sec. 211.  No appropriations in this title shall be 
     available to enter into any new lease of real property if the 
     estimated annual rental cost is more than $1,000,000, unless 
     the Secretary submits a report which the Committees on 
     Appropriations of both Houses of Congress approve within 30 
     days following the date on which the report is received.
       Sec. 212.  No funds of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     shall be available for hospital care, nursing home care, or 
     medical services provided to any person under chapter 17 of 
     title 38, United States Code, for a non-service-connected 
     disability described in section 1729(a)(2) of such title, 
     unless that person has disclosed to the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs, in such form as the Secretary may require, current, 
     accurate third-party reimbursement information for purposes 
     of section 1729 of such title: Provided, That the Secretary 
     may recover, in the same manner as any other debt due the 
     United States, the reasonable charges for such care or 
     services from any person who does not make such disclosure as 
     required: Provided further, That any amounts so recovered for 
     care or services provided in a prior fiscal year may be 
     obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which 
     amounts are received.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 213.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     proceeds or revenues derived

[[Page 17446]]

     from enhanced-use leasing activities (including disposal) may 
     be deposited into the ``Construction, major projects'' and 
     ``Construction, minor projects'' accounts and be used for 
     construction (including site acquisition and disposition), 
     alterations, and improvements of any medical facility under 
     the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs. Such sums as realized are in addition to the amount 
     provided for in ``Construction, major projects'' and 
     ``Construction, minor projects''.
       Sec. 214.  Amounts made available under ``Medical 
     services'' are available--
       (1) for furnishing recreational facilities, supplies, and 
     equipment; and
       (2) for funeral expenses, burial expenses, and other 
     expenses incidental to funerals and burials for beneficiaries 
     receiving care in the Department.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 215.  Such sums as may be deposited to the Medical 
     Care Collections Fund pursuant to section 1729A of title 38, 
     United States Code, may be transferred to ``Medical 
     services'', to remain available until expended for the 
     purposes of that account.
       Sec. 216.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall allow veterans who are 
     eligible under existing Department of Veterans Affairs 
     medical care requirements and who reside in Alaska to obtain 
     medical care services from medical facilities supported by 
     the Indian Health Service or tribal organizations. The 
     Secretary shall: (1) limit the application of this provision 
     to rural Alaskan veterans in areas where an existing 
     Department of Veterans Affairs facility or Veterans Affairs-
     contracted service is unavailable; (2) require participating 
     veterans and facilities to comply with all appropriate rules 
     and regulations, as established by the Secretary; (3) require 
     this provision to be consistent with Capital Asset 
     Realignment for Enhanced Services activities; and (4) result 
     in no additional cost to the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     or the Indian Health Service.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 217.  Such sums as may be deposited to the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs Capital Asset Fund pursuant to section 
     8118 of title 38, United States Code, may be transferred to 
     the ``Construction, major projects'' and ``Construction, 
     minor projects'' accounts, to remain available until expended 
     for the purposes of these accounts.
       Sec. 218.  None of the funds available to the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs, in this Act, or any other Act, may be used 
     to replace the current system by which the Veterans 
     Integrated Services Networks select and contract for diabetes 
     monitoring supplies and equipment.
       Sec. 219.  None of the funds made available in this title 
     may be used to implement any policy prohibiting the Directors 
     of the Veterans Integrated Services Networks from conducting 
     outreach or marketing to enroll new veterans within their 
     respective Networks.
       Sec. 220.  The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
     to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 
     Congress a quarterly report on the financial status of the 
     Veterans Health Administration.

                     (including transfer of funds)

       Sec. 221.  Amounts made available under the ``Medical 
     services'', ``Medical support and compliance'', ``Medical 
     facilities'', ``General operating expenses'', and ``National 
     Cemetery Administration'' accounts for fiscal year 2010, may 
     be transferred to or from the ``Information technology 
     systems'' account: Provided, That before a transfer may take 
     place, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall request from 
     the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress 
     the authority to make the transfer and an approval is issued.
       Sec. 222.  Amounts made available for the ``Information 
     technology systems'' account may be transferred between 
     projects: Provided, That no project may be increased or 
     decreased by more than $1,000,000 of cost prior to submitting 
     a request to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses 
     of Congress to make the transfer and an approval is issued, 
     or absent a response, a period of 30 days has elapsed.
       Sec. 223.  None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
     available by this Act or any other Act for the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs may be used in a manner that is inconsistent 
     with---
       (1) section 842 of the Transportation, Treasury, Housing 
     and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of 
     Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 
     (Public Law 109-115; 119 Stat. 2506); or
       (2) section 8110(a)(5) of title 38, United States Code.
       Sec. 224.  Of the amounts made available to the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2010, in this Act or any 
     other Act, under the ``Medical facilities'' account for non-
     recurring maintenance, not more than 20 percent of the funds 
     made available shall be obligated during the last 2 months of 
     that fiscal year: Provided, That the Secretary may waive this 
     requirement after providing written notice to the Committees 
     on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
       Sec. 225.  Section 1925(d)(3) of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``appropriation `General 
     Operating Expenses, Department of Veterans Affairs''' and 
     inserting ``appropriations for `General Operating Expenses 
     and Information Technology Systems, Department of Veterans 
     Affairs'''.
       Sec. 226.  Section 1922(a) of title 38, United States Code, 
     is amended by striking ``administrative costs to the 
     Government for the costs of'' and inserting ``administrative 
     support financed by the appropriations for `General Operating 
     Expenses, Department of Veterans Affairs' and `Information 
     Technology Systems, Department of Veterans Affairs' for''.

                               TITLE III

                            RELATED AGENCIES

                  American Battle Monuments Commission

                         salaries and expenses

       For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of the 
     American Battle Monuments Commission, including the 
     acquisition of land or interest in land in foreign countries; 
     purchases and repair of uniforms for caretakers of national 
     cemeteries and monuments outside of the United States and its 
     territories and possessions; rent of office and garage space 
     in foreign countries; purchase (one-for-one replacement basis 
     only) and hire of passenger motor vehicles; not to exceed 
     $7,500 for official reception and representation expenses; 
     and insurance of official motor vehicles in foreign 
     countries, when required by law of such countries, 
     $61,800,000, to remain available until expended.

                 foreign currency fluctuations account

       For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, of the 
     American Battle Monuments Commission, such sums as may be 
     necessary, to remain available until expended, for purposes 
     authorized by section 2109 of title 36, United States Code.

           United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

                         salaries and expenses

       For necessary expenses for the operation of the United 
     States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims as authorized by 
     sections 7251 through 7298 of title 38, United States Code, 
     $27,115,000, of which $1,820,000 shall be available for the 
     purpose of providing financial assistance as described, and 
     in accordance with the process and reporting procedures set 
     forth, under this heading in Public Law 102-229.

                      Department of Defense--Civil

                       Cemeterial Expenses, Army

                         salaries and expenses

       For necessary expenses, as authorized by law, for 
     maintenance, operation, and improvement of Arlington National 
     Cemetery and Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery, 
     including the purchase of two passenger motor vehicles for 
     replacement only, and not to exceed $1,000 for official 
     reception and representation expenses, $42,500,000, to remain 
     available until expended: Provided, That none of the funds 
     available under this heading shall be for construction of a 
     perimeter wall at Arlington National Cemetery. In addition, 
     such sums as may be necessary for parking maintenance, 
     repairs and replacement, to be derived from the Lease of 
     Department of Defense Real Property for Defense Agencies 
     account.
       Funds appropriated under this Act may be provided to 
     Arlington County, Virginia, for the relocation of the 
     federally-owned water main at Arlington National Cemetery 
     making additional land available for ground burials.

                      Armed Forces Retirement Home

                               trust fund

       For expenses necessary for the Armed Forces Retirement Home 
     to operate and maintain the Armed Forces Retirement Home--
     Washington, District of Columbia and the Armed Forces 
     Retirement Home--Gulfport, Mississippi, to be paid from funds 
     available in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund, 
     $134,000,000, of which $72,000,000 shall remain available 
     until expended for construction and renovation of the 
     physical plants at the Armed Forces Retirement Home--
     Washington, District of Columbia and the Armed Forces 
     Retirement Home--Gulfport, Mississippi.

                                TITLE IV

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

       Sec. 401.  No part of any appropriation contained in this 
     Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current 
     fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.
       Sec. 402.  Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 
     2010 for pay raises for programs funded by this Act shall be 
     absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act.
       Sec. 403.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used for any program, project, or activity, when it is 
     made known to the Federal entity or official to which the 
     funds are made available that the program, project, or 
     activity is not in compliance with any Federal law relating 
     to risk assessment, the protection of private property 
     rights, or unfunded mandates.
       Sec. 404.  No part of any funds appropriated in this Act 
     shall be used by an agency of the executive branch, other 
     than for normal and recognized executive-legislative 
     relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for 
     the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, 
     booklet, publication,

[[Page 17447]]

     radio, television, or film presentation designed to support 
     or defeat legislation pending before Congress, except in 
     presentation to Congress itself.
       Sec. 405.  All departments and agencies funded under this 
     Act are encouraged, within the limits of the existing 
     statutory authorities and funding, to expand their use of 
     ``E-Commerce'' technologies and procedures in the conduct of 
     their business practices and public service activities.
       Sec. 406.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality 
     of the United States Government except pursuant to a transfer 
     made by, or transfer authority provided in, this or any other 
     appropriations Act.
       Sec. 407.  Unless stated otherwise, all reports and 
     notifications required by this Act shall be submitted to the 
     Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and 
     Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives and the Subcommittee on Military 
     Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
       Sec. 408.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used for a project or program named for an individual 
     serving as a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner of 
     the United States Congress.

  The CHAIR. No amendment shall be in order except the amendments 
printed in House Report 111-195. Each amendment may be offered only in 
the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member 
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be 
debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the 
proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to a demand for 
division of the question.
  After disposition of the amendments specified in the first section of 
House Resolution 622, the Chair and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Appropriations or their designees each may offer one pro 
forma amendment to the bill for the purpose of debate, which shall be 
controlled by the proponent.


            Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Edwards of Texas

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to offer the amendment on behalf of Mr. Cohen of Tennessee. 
It's an important amendment. I don't think there's any objection to it.
  The CHAIR. The gentleman shall be considered the designee of the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
  The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 1 offered by Mr. Edwards of Texas:
       Page 33, line 16, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(increased by $1,000,000)''.
       Page 37, line 14, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(reduced by $1,000,000)''.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Edwards) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the Chair.
  I want to salute Mr. Cohen of Tennessee for his leadership in 
bringing this issue to the House. We are facing tremendous challenges. 
The number of veterans who need mental health care services, including 
PTSD services face a tremendous challenge finding enough psychiatrists, 
psychologists and mental health care professionals to provide the 
services that these great Americans so very much need. Mr. Cohen has 
taken the lead in this amendment in providing an additional $1 million 
for educational debt forgiveness for mental health care professionals 
who agree to employment at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I have 
actually had a number of discussions with VA employees in my district, 
and I think there is a sense that this kind of incentive might really 
encourage mental health care professionals who otherwise would not go 
into the VA system to do so. So I think this is a very important 
amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I claim the time in opposition but not to 
oppose this amendment but to support this amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Tennessee is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WAMP. I thank my colleague from the State of Tennessee (Mr. 
Cohen) for this amendment. We support the amendment, Mr. Chairman.
  Mr. COHEN. Madam Chair, my amendment offered by Mr. Edwards of Texas 
increases the Medical Services account at the Veterans Administration 
by $1M with an offset of the same amount to the General Operating 
Expenses account.
  It is my hope that this modest increase could be used toward the 
budget of the VA's Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP).
  Started in 1998, the Education and Debt Reduction Program is an 
excellent asset to VA. The program is a loan repayment and debt 
cancellation program specifically for VA medical personnel. It helps 
the VA to recruit and retain the most competitive and qualified 
professionals.
  Over the course of the year, I have encouraged the VA to review its 
processes for hiring and retaining its doctors, nurses, clinicians, 
psychologists, psychiatrists and other employees that are so critical 
to the treatment and care of our veterans.
  In years passed, more medical personnel have wanted to participate in 
EDRP but were unable to enroll because of funding restrictions.
  This amendment could directly address this program and I strongly 
encourage my colleagues to support it.
  In closing, Madam Chair, I want to thank Congresswoman Slaughter and 
staff for considering my amendment.
  I also want to applaud Chairman Obey, subcommittee Chair Chet Edwards 
and staff for crafting a fiscally responsible appropriations bill that 
will benefit military construction projects, the veterans' affairs 
administration, and veterans throughout this country.
  This appropriations bill took into consideration the most feasible 
parts of the President's requests as well as the concerns of our 
veterans and veterans groups.
  For years, the Veterans Administration, Veterans Service 
Organizations, and veterans across the country have fought for advanced 
funding to ensure that the VA Healthcare system is funded in a timely 
and predictable fashion.
  For the first time, Congress is providing advanced appropriations not 
just for the upcoming fiscal year but for two years ahead of time. This 
advanced funding will affect the medical services, medical support and 
compliance, and medical facilities accounts and will enable the 
Veterans Hospital in Memphis and Veterans Hospitals throughout the 
country to plan and implement its programs early.
  It offers $4.6 billion for mental health, the same as the President's 
request and $800 million above the budget for 2009. This increase will 
allow the VA to better deal with the mental health diagnosis, care, and 
treatment of our courageous veterans.
  I support this bill and again I ask for your support of my amendment 
as offered by Mr. Edwards of Texas.
  Mr. WAMP. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. All time for debate on the amendment having expired, the 
question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Edwards).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                 Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Filner

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Chair, I rise to offer amendment No. 2.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 2 offered by Mr. Filner:
       Page 35, line 4, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(reduced by $3,500,000)''.
       Page 37, line 14, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(increased by $3,500,000)''.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. FILNER. I thank the Chair. I would like to thank Chairman Edwards 
and Chairman Obey for the incredible work they have done on this budget 
for the last, now, 2\1/2\ years. As I understand it, we have increased 
the

[[Page 17448]]

health care budget in that time 60 percent. In this bill we have raised 
the health care budget 11 percent; and in a revolutionary kind of 
approach, I think, we forward fund the health care items for the VA, 
and the increase is 8 percent. This is an incredible victory for 
veterans; and we thank, again, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obey for leading the 
charge on this.
  You know, in the last 22 years I think we've only had the VA budget 
approved on time in three out of those 22 years. From now on that VA 
budget will be approved a year in advance. It will make sure that we 
have timely and adequate funding, for the VA health care system needs 
to know what its budget is in order to be able to run efficiently and 
at high quality. So we thank Mr. Edwards for these items. I know there 
are numerable things in here that we're going to pass that will 
strengthen health care for our Nation's veterans.
  Some of my colleagues may recall that last year we authorized the VA 
to fund the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special 
Events at a $10-million authorization which we believe is the 
appropriate amount to enhance and improve the quality of life for the 
men and women who have made a tremendous sacrifice for our country. The 
underlying bill provides $6.5 million, as requested by the 
administration, but it does not provide the full authorized amount. But 
what this amount does is it increases the level of funding by $3.5 
million. I strongly believe that providing this program the needed 
funding to assist our injured servicemembers and veterans will enhance 
and improve the quality of life for these men and women while they heal 
from their wounds.
  Madam Chair, I think all of us have been inspired whenever we have a 
chance to watch these warrior athletes, those who have been 
``disabled''--and I put that in quotes--perform at an incredibly high 
level in these Paralympics with their training. It obviously 
strengthens their quality of life and their optimism, but it helps us 
all as we realize not only do people sacrifice life and limb for their 
country, but we can provide the resources to make sure that they have a 
full and productive life. So I ask my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this amendment.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. FILNER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I would like to take this time to thank the 
gentleman and Mr. Langevin for their leadership on this amendment. I 
also want to thank the gentleman for everything he has done in the past 
2\1/2\ years. Our subcommittee cannot appropriate without his 
subcommittee authorizing it, and all the accomplishments we've listed 
absolutely would not have happened without the leadership of Mr. 
Filner. And a particular thanks to Mr. Filner who has been the national 
champion in the Congress for advance funding. It's truly a historic 
initiative this year.

                              {time}  1215

  Mr. FILNER. I thank the gentleman.
  I would yield the balance of my time to the cosponsor of this 
amendment, Madam Chair, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). 
I thank him for his leadership on these issues.
  The CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 1\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Filner-Langevin 
amendment to provide full funding to the United States Olympic 
Committee's Paralympic Veterans Program.
  I would like to thank in particular Chairman Edwards for his great 
work in support of our service men and women through increased funding 
levels in the underlying bill and Chairman Filner for his continued 
advocacy for our disabled veterans especially.
  The USOC Paralympic program provides a unique opportunity for 
personal recovery and achievement for our wounded servicemembers who 
return from combat with serious and life-changing injuries.
  Daily physical activity is often the most critical mental and 
physical aspect of the rehabilitation process. It reduces stress, 
depression and secondary medical conditions while increasing self-
esteem, employment rates and quality of life.
  Full funding of the U.S. Paralympic Adaptive Sports Program will 
expedite the expansion of services and programs to injured veterans.
  The USOC has created Paralympic programs in 99 communities, providing 
access to physical activity and sports opportunities, regardless of 
skill level, for over 5,000 injured servicemembers and veterans.
  Paralympic, community and veteran organizations are partnering with 
the USOC to invest more than $40 million in private resources annually 
to develop programs, provide Paralympic mentors and expand to 250 U.S. 
communities serving over 8,000 injured servicemembers by 2012.
  After all our servicemembers have sacrificed for our country, we have 
an obligation to provide services and opportunities for them as they 
return home.
  The Paralympic program has already touched thousands of lives, and 
with additional resources, it can help countless more veterans regain 
both physical strength and self-esteem. And I urge my colleagues to 
support the Filner-Langevin amendment.
  Mr. WAMP. Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, 
even though we support the amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Tennessee is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WAMP. I yield our time to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).
  Mr. BUYER. Is there any remaining time on the majority side?
  The CHAIR. No.
  Mr. BUYER. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this amendment to 
increase funding for the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs 
and Special Events by $3.5 million.
  Seven or eight years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the U.S. 
Olympic training center in San Diego, and I was inspired by the 
attitude and positive example that our Olympians that train there 
continue to set for all Americans. It is truly a remarkable place.
  Then as I drove away from the training center, I was also upset. I 
was upset because at that time in history the United States Olympic 
Committee was embroiled in a scandal. I was very bothered that 
individuals were seeking to profit off of someone else's ideal, the 
pursuit of excellence. I then set the course to help reorganize the 
United States Olympic Committee. I am very pleased that the committee 
was reorganized. They did great things as we went into the 2004 
Olympics and then the 2008 Olympics, summer Olympics on both. Based on 
the experience and the relationships that developed with the Olympic 
Committee and the relationships of the VA, we were able to create a 
memorandum of understanding between the Olympic Committee and the VA to 
further create these sports programs. That led then to our bipartisan 
legislation, Public Law 110-389, to authorize a total of $10 million to 
fund a VA grant program to increase participation in sports at all 
levels by disabled athletes.
  This program creates a partnership between the VA and the United 
States Paralympic program and grassroots disabled sports programs such 
as those sponsored by the Veterans Service Organizations, Disabled 
Sports U.S.A., and local parks and recreation organizations.
  Madam Chair, it is well known that sports are a great venue to 
rehabilitate a wounded veteran both physically and mentally. We need to 
offer every possible avenue for our wounded heroes to regain their 
self-esteem in the face of what are often severe disabilities. By 
increasing the funding to the full authorization, we will ensure a fast 
start for the program and maximize its impact on the disabled veteran 
community.
  I want to thank Chairman Edwards and Mr. Wamp for meeting this 
request. I ask all Members to support my amendment. You say, Steve, 
``my'' amendment? What do you mean? Well, the amendment before the 
House--are you ready for this--is word for word,

[[Page 17449]]

comma for comma, period for period the amendment that I submitted to 
the Rules Committee.
  Now bipartisanship is an affirmative act. It requires two people. It 
is a choice. You can either do things the partisan way or you can do 
things the bipartisan way. You see, when I drafted this amendment, I 
sent my staff down to speak with Mr. Filner's staff. I made an offer to 
him that if he wanted to be on this amendment. His staff then said, Mr. 
Filner is working on an amendment. The two staffs then exchanged both 
amendments. My staff said to Mr. Filner's staff, Your amendment could 
be subject to a point of order, but if you would like Mr. Buyer to be 
on your amendment, that's fine.
  Mr. Filner made a choice. He wanted to have his own amendment. So he 
submitted his amendment to the Rules Committee, which was subject to a 
point of order. I submitted my amendment to the Rules Committee clean. 
Clean. It is mystical, almost magical, how my amendment ends up with 
somebody else's name on it before the House floor. It is truly magic. 
But in the end, bipartisanship is a wonderful thing, because through 
that magic and mystery that is what we have here, Mr. Chairman. We got 
our bipartisanship in the end because the most important thing is these 
disabled veterans will have an opportunity to use a platform of 
healing. That is what we are about.
  So it is important that we get rid of the politics. That is my quest 
here. That is why I enjoy working with you, Mr. Edwards and Zack. Stop 
the games. And I would yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I don't know all the processes of the timing and who had what 
amendment, but what I do want to make clear is Mr. Buyer obviously 
clearly has been a real leader on this effort. So I salute you for your 
leadership on it and commend you for it.
  There was no intention of any partisan politics being involved in 
this. I'm glad, as you are, at the end of the day because of your work 
and Mr. Filner's work and Mr. Langevin's work that these great 
Americans will be honored. I salute the gentleman for that.
  Mr. BUYER. I reclaim my time, you are absolutely right. I applaud Mr. 
Filner for his legislation. He worked with me to create that 
legislation.
  But, Mr. Filner, I want to work with you, and it is a choice. You 
chose not to, but in the end, through mystery and magic, we got our 
bipartisanship. So I will continue to extend my arm of the magic dust.
  I ask for everyone to support this mystical and magical amendment.
  I yield back.
  The CHAIR. All time for debate on the amendment has expired.
  The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                 Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mrs. Capito

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 3 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 3 offered by Mrs. Capito:
       Page 39, line 14, after the first dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(reduced by $1,000,000)''.
       Page 54, line 21, after each dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(increased by $1,000,000)''.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Chairwoman, I would like to thank the chairman of 
the subcommittee and the ranking member for the great work they do for 
veterans and our military construction around the world.
  I appreciate the opportunity today to rise to offer an amendment to 
the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill that 
would increase funding for a program that provides free legal services 
to our veterans under the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 
Account.
  I am sure all of us as Members of Congress have talked to a veteran 
that has not received the benefits that they feel they are fairly 
entitled to. And if that happens, they can appeal the decision in the 
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. However, as many veterans are on 
fixed incomes, they cannot afford the costly legal services associated 
with appealing a Department of Veterans Affairs decision.
  The present law entitles certain veterans who wish to appeal to free 
legal services so that they can receive a fair hearing that they are 
entitled to without the burden of huge legal fees.
  Veterans from throughout my district have expressed their concern 
that many veterans are struggling with the appeals process, and with so 
many of our warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we must take 
measures to ensure that all of our veterans' needs are provided for.
  My amendment would increase the veterans' legal services account by 
$1 million, providing for more services for our brave veterans.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this very important amendment. 
I appreciate the opportunity to offer it.
  I reserve my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in 
opposition. I want to clarify that I support this amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. It is a good amendment. I thank the gentlewoman 
for offering it. I just want to say I think it is important to send a 
message that we want all veterans, regardless of their income levels, 
to have access to the full appeals process. That is what this amendment 
is about. I support it.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAPITO. I appreciate the chairman's support and the support of 
the ranking member. I yield back my time.
  The CHAIR. All time for debate on the amendment has expired.
  The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from West 
Virginia (Mrs. Capito).
  The amendment was agreed to.


          Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Garrett of New Jersey

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 4 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 4 offered by Mr. Garrett of New Jersey:

       Page 42, line 5, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(decreased by $4,000,000)''.
       Page 43, line 6, after the dollar amount insert the 
     following: ``(increased by $4,000,000)''.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Garrett) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. My amendment seeks to increase funding for 
the Grants for Construction of State Veterans Cemeteries account by $4 
million and decrease funding for the Grants for Construction, Minor 
Projects account by $4 million.
  I have met with a number of veterans in my district for a period of 
time, and one of the topics we have discussed at length was funding for 
our veterans cemeteries. There are basically two types of veterans 
cemeteries: Federal and State. When the original Federal cemeteries 
began to run out of room, the Federal Government created an optional 
program, the State Cemetery Grant Program that is administered by the 
Veterans' Administration.
  The Veterans' Administration provides funding for State Cemeteries 
through this grant program. And all pending projects are evaluated by 
the VA and ranked in priority of order. This is not an earmarked 
program. It is a competitive type and ranking process.

[[Page 17450]]

  The current priority list, however, shows there are $151 million 
worth of projects where the State matching funds are in place and ready 
to go. In other words, there are at present more than $150 million 
worth of unfunded State Cemetery Projects waiting for the Federal 
matching grant.
  Yet the appropriations bill that we now consider provides only $42 
million. Of course the very first priority for the State Cemetery 
Program is to provide funding for new cemeteries and existing 
cemeteries that are in need right now. However, this means that many 
cemeteries which require expansion, and improvement projects will not 
receive the funding if we keep it at the current level.
  To make matters worse, the program has been underfunded for years 
even though the number of World War II veterans needing interments will 
increase rapidly.
  My State of New Jersey is home to the BGWC Doyle Veterans Memorial 
Cemetery. This cemetery has two improvement projects that are waiting 
for Federal funding.
  I communicated this with several VA officials in New Jersey, and they 
agreed that there is a need for an overall increase in the annual 
budget for this program, and my amendment would do just that. My 
amendment will simultaneously decrease the Grants for Construction for 
Minor Projects. It basically means we will put the money today for the 
use of the veterans that need it today and deal later with some 
administrative changes and costs like that.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim my time in 
opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the 
amendment. I commend the gentleman for this. I have seen firsthand what 
it means to our living veterans to know that they will have a place of 
honor to be remembered by their loved ones and the country which they 
served.
  The State Veterans Cemetery Program is a great State-Federal 
partnership. This is a tremendously important amendment. I'm glad to 
support it.
  I yield back the rest of my time.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Before the gentleman sits down, I wanted 
to say thank you to the gentleman on the area of cemeteries and dealing 
with our heroes in the past for the work we have done together here, 
and the comments he made years ago in the Budget Committee dealing with 
the situation of spouses of our veterans as well and making sure that 
they are adequately taken care of as well. Besides this matter that is 
before us today, I just want to say thanks for your work in those areas 
as well.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his leadership.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Sessions

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 5 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 5 offered by Mr. Sessions:
       Page 58, after line 6, insert the following:
       Sec. 409.  Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall submit to Congress a report detailing the current and 
     planned use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (hereinafter in this 
     section referred to as ``HBOT'') in Department of Veterans 
     Affairs medical facilities. Such report shall include the 
     number of veterans being treated with HBOT, the types of 
     conditions being treated with HBOT and their respective 
     success rates, and the current inventory of hyperbaric 
     chambers.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Sessions) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Chairman, the amendment that I bring forth today 
requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to 
Congress on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, commonly known as 
HBOT, in VA medical facilities. My active interests in hyperbaric 
therapy over the last 3 years has led me to more understanding of the 
critical function it has performed and performs even today, and the 
promising potential it has for injured active-duty soldiers and 
veterans.
  I would like to briefly comment on the currently approved uses of 
HBOT and the promising research into hyperbaric therapy as a possible 
treatment for traumatic brain injury, known as TBI.
  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy uses a chamber to administer oxygen in 
particular dosages for already FDA-approved treatments, many of which 
provide remarkable benefits to our injured veterans. The oxygen acts as 
a catalyst in healing wounds which often fail to respond to other 
medical and surgical procedures and usually lack the blood circulation 
and blood oxygen levels necessary to heal.
  These treatments include, but are not limited to: treating nonhealing 
diabetic foot wounds; advancing healing for crush injuries such as 
gunshot wounds, falls, and vehicle accidents; support for individuals 
suffering from exceptional blood loss; and advanced assistance in 
reconstructing complex wounds which require the transferring of tissues 
from one part of the body to another.
  HBOT frequently saves a veteran from an expensive, painful, life-
altering, and potentially life-threatening amputation of an arm, a leg 
or a foot. This therapy has been extremely impressive, and I look 
forward to hearing the VA's report on its current and planned use of 
hyperbaric therapy in its medical facilities.
  Since 2006, I have been actively engaged in researching a new cross-
application of hyperbaric therapy for treating another very common and 
life-threatening nonhealing wound: TBI, traumatic brain injury. I have 
held numerous meetings with physicians, Ph.D.'s, scientists, government 
officials, and our service men and women, the Department of Defense, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, all regarding the treatment of TBI 
with hyperbaric therapy being available to them.
  Over the past year, I have seen a multitude of evidence from numerous 
cases that show substantial progress in brain function of our injured 
soldiers after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.
  As we speak today, veterans all across our country are suffering from 
TBI, and they are in the process of receiving hyperbaric therapy from 
private physicians with amazing real-world results. Many of these 
soldiers who could not hold a job or properly care for their families, 
they sometimes can't even leave their own bed, or others who have 
suicidal tendencies, have returned to active duty, employment, school, 
and perhaps more importantly, to the life of their own families.
  These results have led me to believe in the promising potential of 
healing our brain-injured soldiers suffering from TBI and PTSD.
  The Defense Center on Excellence for Psychological Health and 
Traumatic Brain Injury, under the command of Brigadier General Loree 
Sutton, is conducting a study into hyperbaric therapy for the treatment 
of TBI, and it is scheduled to be delivering study results in December 
of 2010. I highly encourage my colleague to join me over the next few 
months in engaging with General Sutton and the Department of Defense on 
this promising new application of hyperbaric therapy.
  My amendment today is very simple. It asks for the VA to submit a 
report on their current and planned use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. 
By knowing today how it is used, we can have a greater understanding of 
how we can assist our injured veterans tomorrow. So we are asking how 
the VA uses it

[[Page 17451]]

today and where those facilities are so we can be prepared to work, 
when the Department of Defense has their answer available soon, to 
where we then coincide that with the veterans who are home with us 
today.
  Madam Chairman, I want to say that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Edwards) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) both engaged me 
yesterday in the Rules Committee on this amendment. I believe there 
could be widespread agreement that this is a good application for both 
of us to vote for.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in 
opposition to the amendment, but let me make it clear I am very honored 
to support this amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I commend Mr. Sessions for his interest in 
pursing innovative health care procedures for our veterans. We provided 
tremendous increases for health care funding for our veterans over the 
last 2\1/2\ years. In addition to that funding and the oversight of 
that funding, we need to encourage the VA to be innovative. We want 
them to be prudent and careful. Perhaps, as we go through to 
conference, we should encourage the VA not only to provide a report on 
where it is used and how often it is using hyperbaric oxygen therapy, 
but perhaps we ought to work with them, encouraging them to do some 
studies to look into the potential opportunities of this type of care 
making a real difference in the lives of our veterans.
  I am proud to join with the gentleman in support of his amendment.
  I yield to the ranking member, Mr. Wamp, for any comments he would 
care to make.
  Mr. WAMP. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to thank, 
actually, the Rules Committee yesterday for agreeing to this amendment 
coming before the House today.
  Mr. Sessions has persevered on this issue now for some time. He 
deserves great credit. It has tremendous potential, and I look forward 
to working with the chairman and Mr. Sessions as we go forward. I also 
support the amendment.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Sessions).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                  Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Flake

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 6 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Mr. FLAKE. Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 6 offered by Mr. Flake:
       At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the 
     following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds provided in this Act shall be 
     available from the following Department of Defense military 
     construction accounts for the following projects:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Account                           Location                    Project                Amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Army...................................  Alabama: Anniston Depot...  Industrial Area Electric         $3,300,000
                                                                      System Upgrade.
Army...................................   Alabama: Fort Rucker.....   Water Survival Training           $401,000
                                                                      Facility.
Army...................................  Alabama: Redstone Arsenal.  Gate 7 Access Control            $3,550,000
                                                                      Point.
Air Force..............................  Arkansas: Little Rock AFB.  Security Forces                  $1,400,000
                                                                      Operations Facility.
Army NG................................  Arkansas: West Memphis....  Readiness Center.........        $1,240,000
Army...................................  Arizona: Fort Huachuca....   Fire Station, Two               $6,700,000
                                                                      Company.
Navy...................................  California: Bridgeport      Commissary...............        $6,830,000
                                          MWTC.
Air Force..............................  California: Los Angeles     Consolidated Parking Area        $8,000,000
                                          AFB.                        Ph 1.
Air Reserve............................  California: March ARB.....  Small Arms Firing Range..        $9,800,000
Navy...................................  California: Monterey NSA..  Marine Meteorology Center       $10,240,000
Navy...................................  California: Point Loma NB.  Add/Alt Marine Mammal            $2,330,000
                                                                      Surgical Center.
Air Force..............................  California: Travis AFB....  Taxiway Mike Bypass Road.        $6,000,000
Air Force..............................  Colorado: Peterson AFB....  East Gate Realignment....        $7,200,000
Air NG.................................  Connecticut: Bradley IAP..  CNAF Beddown--Upgrade            $9,000,000
                                                                      Facilities.
Navy...................................  Connecticut: New London     MK-48 Torpedo Magazine...        $6,570,000
                                          NSB.
Air Force..............................  Florida: Eglin AFB........  Flight Test Operations           $9,400,000
                                                                      Facility (413 FLTS).
Air Force..............................  Florida: MacDill AFB......  Mission Support Facility.          $384,000
Air Force..............................  Florida: MacDill AFB......  Consolidated                    $21,000,000
                                                                      Communications Facility.
Navy...................................  Florida: Mayport NS.......  Fitness Center...........       $26,360,000
Navy...................................  Florida: Panama City NSA..  Joint Diver A-School               $520,000
                                                                      Dormitory.
Navy...................................  Georgia: Albany MCLB......  Weapons Maintenance              $4,870,000
                                                                      Hardstand Facility.
Army NG................................  Georgia: Hunter AAF.......  Readiness Center.........        $8,967,000
Air Force..............................  Georgia: Robins AFB.......  Hot Cargo Pad/Taxiway....        $6,200,000
Air Force..............................  Hawaii: Hickam AFB........  Ground Control Tower.....        $4,000,000
Army NG................................  Hawaii: Kapolei...........  Readiness Center (JFHQ)..        $5,446,000
Navy...................................  Hawaii: Pearl Harbor NSY..  Drydock 2 Starboard                $850,000
                                                                      Waterfront Facility.
Army NG................................  Iowa: Camp Dodge..........  Motor Vehicle Storage            $1,963,000
                                                                      Buildings, Freedom
                                                                      Center.
Army NG................................  Iowa: Davenport...........  Army Aviation Support            $2,000,000
                                                                      Facility Add/Alt.
Army NG................................  Iowa: Fairfield...........  Field Maintenance Shop           $2,000,000
                                                                      Add/Alt.
Army NG................................  Iowa: Iowa Falls..........  Add/Alt Readiness Center.        $2,000,000
Air Force..............................  Idaho: Mountain Home AFB..  Civil Engineer                     $690,000
                                                                      Maintenance Complex.
Air NG.................................  Illinois: Lincoln Capital   Relocate Base Entrance...        $3,000,000
                                          Airport.
Air Force..............................  Illinois: Scott AFB.......  Aeromedical Evacuation           $7,400,000
                                                                      Facility.
Navy...................................  Indiana: Crane NSWC.......  Strategic Weapons System           $510,000
                                                                      Engineering Facility.
Air NG.................................  Kansas: McConnell AFB.....  Upgrade DCGS.............        $8,700,000
Army...................................  Kentucky: Fort Campbell...  Physical Fitness Complex.          $900,000
Army...................................  Kentucky: Fort Campbell...  Chapel Complex...........       $14,400,000
Army NG................................  Kentucky: Frankfort.......  Joint Forces Headquarters          $334,000
Army NG................................  Kentucky: London..........  Phase IV Aviation                $1,805,000
                                                                      Operations Facility.
Air NG.................................  Kentucky: Standiford Field  Contingency Response               $600,000
                                                                      Group Facility.
Army...................................  Louisiana: Fort Polk......  Multipurpose Machine Gun         $6,400,000
                                                                      Range.
Navy...................................  Maine: Portsmouth NSY.....  Consolidation of                 $2,000,000
                                                                      Structural Shops.

[[Page 17452]]

 
Navy...................................  Maine: Portsmouth NSY.....  Gate 2 Security                  $7,090,000
                                                                      Improvements.
Army...................................  Maryland: Aberdeen Proving  Information Processing             $956,000
                                          Ground.                     Node, Ph 2.
Air Force..............................  Maryland: Andrews AFB.....  Physical Fitness Facility          $930,000
Navy...................................  Maryland: Carderock NSWC    RDTE Support Facility, Ph        $6,520,000
                                          DET.                        2.
Army...................................  Maryland: Fort Detrick....  Auditorium and Training          $7,400,000
                                                                      Center Expansion.
Army...................................  Maryland: Fort Meade......  Intersection, Rockenbach         $2,350,000
                                                                      Road & Cooper Avenue.
Navy...................................  Maryland: Indian Head NSWC  Advanced Energetics             $16,460,000
                                                                      Research Lab Complex, Ph
                                                                      2.
Air NG.................................  Massachusetts: Barnes ANGB  F-15 Aircraft Ready              $8,100,000
                                                                      Shelters.
Air NG.................................  Massachusetts: Hanscom AFB  Joint Forces Operations          $1,500,000
                                                                      Center--ANG Share.
Army NG................................  Michigan: Camp Grayling...  Barracks Replacement, Ph           $440,000
                                                                      2.
Army NG................................  Michigan: Fort Custer       Organizational                   $7,732,000
                                          (Augusta).                  Maintenance Shop (ADRS).
Air NG.................................  Minnesota: Minneapolis-     Add/Alt Starbase Facility        $1,900,000
                                          St.Paul IAP.
Air NG.................................  Mississippi: Gulfport-      Relocate Base Entrance...        $6,500,000
                                          Biloxi RAP.
Army...................................  Missouri: Fort Leonard      Health Clinic............        $7,800,000
                                          Wood.
Air Force..............................  Missouri: Whiteman AFB....  EOD Operations Complex...        $7,400,000
Air Force..............................  Missouri: Whiteman AFB....  Land Acquisition North           $5,500,000
                                                                      and South Boundaries.
Army NG................................  Montana: Fort Harrison....  Add/Alt Troop Medical            $1,750,000
                                                                      Facility.
Army NG................................  Nevada: Las Vegas.........  Civil Support Team Ready           $727,000
                                                                      Building.
Air NG.................................  New Jersey: Atlantic City   Munitions Administration         $1,700,000
                                          IAP.                        Facility.
Air Force..............................  New Jersey: McGuire AFB...  Warfighter and Family            $7,900,000
                                                                      Support Center.
Army...................................   New Jersey: Picatinny      Ballistic Evaluation            $10,200,000
                                          Arsenal.                    Facility, Ph 2.
Air Force..............................  New Mexico: Cannon AFB....  Dormitory (96 RM)........          $450,000
Air Force..............................  New Mexico: Holloman AFB..  Fire/Crash Rescue Station       $10,400,000
Air Force..............................  New Mexico: Kirtland AFB..  Add to Space RDTE                $5,800,000
                                                                      Operations Center.
Army...................................  New York: Fort Drum.......   All Weather Marksmanship        $8,200,000
                                                                      Facility.
Air NG.................................  New York: Fort Drum.......  Reaper LRE Beddown               $2,700,000
                                                                      (Wheeler Sack AAF).
Air Reserve............................  New York: Niagara Falls     Indoor Small Arms Range..        $5,700,000
                                          ARS.
Army NG................................  North Carolina: East Flat   Readiness Center Add/Alt.        $2,516,000
                                          Rock.
Army...................................  North Carolina: Fort Bragg  Field Support Brigade              $720,000
                                                                      Headquarters.
Army NG................................  North Carolina: Fort Bragg  Tactical UAS Support             $6,038,000
                                                                      Facility.
Air Force..............................  North Carolina: Seymour     Radar Approach Control           $6,900,000
                                          Johnson AFB.                Complex, Ph 1.
Air Force..............................  North Dakota: Minot AFB...  Control Tower/Base               $1,710,000
                                                                      Operations Facility.
Army NG................................  Ohio: Beightler Armory....  Joint Forces Headquarters        $2,000,000
                                                                      (JOC) Addition.
Army NG................................  Ohio: Ravenna.............  Shoot House..............        $2,000,000
Air NG.................................  Ohio: Toledo Express        Multi-Use Instructional          $2,000,000
                                          Airport.                    Facility.
Air Force..............................  Ohio: Wright-Patterson AFB  Replace West Ramp, Ph 2..       $10,600,000
Air NG.................................  Ohio: Zanesville ANGS.....  New Supply Warehouse.....        $1,000,000
Air Force..............................  Oklahoma: Tinker AFB......  T-9 Noise Suppressor.....        $5,100,000
Army NG................................  Oregon: Camp Rilea........  Water Supply System......          $368,000
Army NG................................  Oregon: Polk County.......  Readiness Center.........       $12,100,000
Army NG................................  Pennsylvania: Luzerne.....  Readiness Center.........          $924,000
Navy...................................  Rhode Island: Newport NS..  Renovate Perry Hall......        $8,530,000
Air NG.................................  South Carolina: McEntire    Joint Use Armed Forces           $1,300,000
                                          JRB.                        Reserve Center.
Air Force..............................  South Carolina: Shaw AFB..  Add/Alter USAFCENT              $21,183,000
                                                                      Headquarters.
Air NG.................................  South Dakota: Joe Foss      Add to Munitions                 $1,300,000
                                          Field.                      Maintenance Complex.
Army Reserve...........................  Texas: Bryan..............   Army Reserve Center.....       $12,200,000
Army...................................  Texas: Fort Bliss.........  Access Control Points....        $6,500,000
Army...................................  Texas: Fort Hood..........  Family Life Center.......        $8,500,000
Navy Reserve...........................  Texas: Fort Worth NAS/JRB.  Replace Joint Base               $6,170,000
                                                                      Communications Building.
Air NG.................................  Texas: Kelly Field Annex..  Add/Alt Aircraft                 $7,900,000
                                                                      Maintenance Shops.
Navy...................................  Texas: Kingsville NAS.....  Solar Panel Array........        $4,470,000
Army Reserve...........................  Texas: Robstown...........  Tactical Equipment              $10,200,000
                                                                      Maintenance Facility.
Air Force..............................   Utah: Hill AFB...........  PCC Apron NW End Taxiway         $5,100,000
                                                                      A.
Army NG................................  Vermont: Ethan Allen Range  BOQ Add/Alt..............        $1,996,000
Navy...................................  Virginia: Dahlgren NSWC...  Electromagnetic Research         $3,660,000
                                                                      & Engineering Fac Ph 2.
Defense-Wide...........................  Virginia: Dam Neck Annex..  SOF Force Protection             $4,100,000
                                                                      Improvements.
Army...................................  Virginia: Fort Lee........  Defense Access Roads.....        $5,000,000
Navy...................................  Washington: Everett NS....  Small Craft Launch.......        $3,810,000
Air Force..............................  Washington: Fairchild AFB.  Refueling Vehicle                $4,150,000
                                                                      Maintenance Facility.
Army...................................  Washington: Fort Lewis....   Fort Lewis-McChord AFB          $9,000,000
                                                                      Joint Access.
Navy...................................  Washington: Indian Island   Ordnance Storage Pads           $13,130,000
                                          NM.                         with Covers.
Army NG................................  West Virginia: Logan/Mingo  Readiness Center.........          $501,000
                                          County.
Army NG................................  West Virginia: Parkersburg  Readiness Center.........        $2,234,000
Army NG................................  West Virginia: Parkersburg  Field Maintenance Shop...          $967,000
Air NG.................................  Wisconsin: General          Add/Alt KC-135 Corrosion         $5,000,000
                                          Mitchell IAP.               Control Hangar.
Air Force..............................  Guam: Andersen AFB........  Postal Service Center....        $3,500,000
Army NG................................  Puerto Rico: Camp Santiago  Urban Assault Course.....        $1,669,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 17453]]

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Flake) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
  Mr. FLAKE. Madam Chairman, this amendment would simply strike funding 
for all of the Member-requested earmarks for military construction 
projects and would return the money to the various accounts.
  I am not here to dispute the merits of any of the earmarks in this 
account. I have no doubt that each of these projects will vastly 
improve the quality of life for military servicemembers and for their 
families, but that is not the issue here. I am here to draw attention 
to what we have talked about before, and that is the spoils system that 
these earmarks represent.
  There are 109 Member-requested earmarks in the bill; 43 of them are 
going to powerful Members of Congress who serve in leadership or as 
appropriators, committee chairs, or ranking members. That represents 
about 40 percent of the share of earmarks being taken by less than 24 
percent of the Members of the House.
  I am sure my colleagues will tell me that these projects are sorely 
needed at the military bases they are earmarked for and that 
servicemembers will suffer without them, but what about the many 
installations that don't receive Member-requested earmarks in the bill 
and the servicemembers stationed there?
  Neither Camp Lejeune nor Camp Pendleton received any Member-requested 
earmarks in the bill. Each of these camps houses a Marine Expeditionary 
Force comprised of tens of thousands of marines who deploy with great 
frequency. I am willing to bet that each of these installations have 
suggestions for new structures to build. Why haven't they received any 
earmarks in this bill? The answer is pretty simple: Neither of them 
resides in a district represented by a powerful Member of Congress.
  The earmarks in this bill total more than $578 million. That is just 
a little bit less than the earmark totals for the CJS and Ag bills put 
together. Of that dollar amount, more than $240 million are being taken 
home by powerful Members of Congress. That is nearly 41 percent. When 
you take into account earmark dollars secured by rank-and-file Members 
in conjunction with powerful Members, that number jumps to more than 
$300 million, or 52 percent.
  So just to reiterate, the earmarks in this bill favor powerful 
Members by a ratio of 2 to 1. One-quarter of the Members of this House 
are associated with more than half of the earmark dollars in this bill.
  I wish I could say that this is an anomaly, but this is pretty 
consistent with the rest of the appropriation bills we have considered 
so far this year, and I have a chart that demonstrates that.
  Earmark dollars associated with powerful Members of Congress. Again, 
those are committee chairs, leadership, or those on the Appropriations 
Committee, representing 24 percent of the Members in this body. In the 
CJS bill that we considered earlier, 58 percent of the earmarked 
dollars went to just 24 percent of the Members.
  In the Homeland Security bill, 68 percent of the earmarked dollars 
went to just 24 percent of the Members of the House.
  In the Interior bill, 64 percent of the earmarked dollars went to 
just 24 percent of the Members of the House.
  In the Agriculture bill, 67 percent of the earmarked dollars go to 
just 24 percent of the Members of the House.
  And in this bill, 52 percent of the earmarked dollars go to just 24 
percent of the Members of this House. That is a pretty stark pattern.
  There are different types of earmarks, obviously. There are those 
that are simply wasteful. We see those for the Rock and Roll Hall of 
Fame and whatever else that is easy to laugh at. Sometimes it is small 
amounts of money and sometimes it is a lot larger.
  And then there are those, particularly in defense bills, where you 
are giving no-bid contracts to private companies. There is often a 
pattern of campaign contributions coming back to Members who secure no-
bid contracts in private companies. That does not describe what is 
going on here.
  These earmarks, as I mentioned, I have no doubt that they are for a 
legitimate purpose. But here is another problem with earmarking: It 
represents a spoils system where rank-and-file Members of the House are 
not given access to those that others are.
  In the Homeland Security bill, it was particularly stark. As I 
mentioned, a huge percentage, nearly 70 percent, went to just 24 
percent of the body. In fact, more than 50 percent went to just 14 
percent, those represented on the Appropriations Committee, and these 
were for predisaster mitigation programs, flood control districts and 
the like. I don't think Mother Nature decides, I'm going to hit those 
districts represented by appropriators more than I am going to hit 
other districts. It is just because they are able to do it, and so they 
do it. So the rest of the country that competes for these grants on a 
competitive basis has, at least in that case, 25 percent of that 
account is earmarked before they can even compete for the rest of the 
grants that are given out on a competitive basis. Madam Chair, that is 
just not fair. That is just not the way we should do this. I think we 
ought to rethink this and we ought to strike that funding in this bill.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim the time in strong 
opposition to this ill-advised amendment.
  The CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I would like to begin by yielding to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz), the chairman of the House Armed 
Services Readiness Subcommittee.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Edwards and my 
good friend, Mr. Wamp--and to my other good friend, Mr. Flake--for 
bringing this responsible bill to the floor.

                              {time}  1245

  I rise in opposition to the Flake amendment. The Military 
Construction authorization and appropriations process is a tedious 
process, and it requires close coordination with my good friends on 
both sides of the aisle, Chairman Edwards and Mr. Wamp, and members of 
the committee. It also requires extensive coordination with the 
Department of Defense.
  The committees critically review the administration's request and 
ensure that facilities are built for a sound requirement. The 
committees also ensure that the projects are executable and validated 
for the correct costs.
  This process forces a dialogue with the local installation commanders 
that requires that they communicate their needs to their 
Representatives in Congress. This dialogue is critical to ensuring 
Members of Congress that they have a complete understanding of local 
military requirements and can correctly advocate for our Nation's 
defense. It is a hard process, but in the end it ensures that the right 
facilities are built at the right time and at the right location. I 
would not be executing my oath of office if we did anything else.
  I would remind my colleagues that each of these projects has already 
been debated in the National Defense Authorization Act.
  I recommend that my colleagues vote ``no'' on the Flake amendment.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, reclaiming the rest of my time, I 
have great respect for the principled position of Mr. Flake. I disagree 
with it. He believes that basically the administration should decide in 
100 percent of the cases where America's tax dollars should go. I 
believe article I of the Constitution gives the Congress the 
responsibility for that.
  And I feel very strongly that, while he has a principled position, he 
misstates and inaccurately states the process by which these project 
decisions were made. These were made based on what was right for our 
military troops and their families. The vast majority of these 
congressionally designated projects have gone through the Department of 
Defense approval process, and the Department of Defense said they were 
needed.

[[Page 17454]]

  Now, he said he simply wanted to strike the earmarks. Despite his 
intentions, let me tell you the impact, because it's not simple 
intentions; it's actual impact where amendments make a difference.
  If his amendment passes, we will cut $56 million for 16 National 
Guard readiness centers and Reserve centers. We will cut $44 million 
for nine military ranges and training facilities. We will cut $83 
million for 16 quality-of-life facilities such as housing, clinics, and 
military family centers. We will cut $98 million for 16 projects to 
improve force protection, facilities for emergency responders, and 
flightline safety. We will cut $86 million for 18 equipment maintenance 
and storage facilities and $47 million for seven military research and 
testing facilities.
  We will cut a project to provide properly sized and configured 
storage space for Mark-48 torpedoes at one of our key submarine bases, 
and a new hardstand for weapons maintenance at the Marine Corps' East 
Coast Logistics Base will be lost.
  The gentleman would cut a new chapel complex to replace more than 
15,000 square feet of trailers and World War II-era facilities. And he 
would cut a platoon-sized machine gun range at the Army's Joint 
Readiness Training Center.
  I know he has no intention of harming our military--I would never 
accuse him of that--but in my opinion, he misrepresented the process by 
which these decisions were made. And I think not only Democrats, but my 
Republican colleagues, would agree that this has been a fair, 
legitimate process.
  And by the way, it should be no surprise to anyone that Members of 
Congress who ask to be on the Armed Services Committee and the Military 
Construction Appropriations Committee are Members who represent 
military installations. So the allegation that because they get a 
higher percentage of congressionally designated funding compared to 
other Members somehow suggests a spoils system is just simply dead 
wrong, and I reject it categorically.
  I would yield any time to my friend, the ranking member, Mr. Wamp, 
for any comments he would care to make.
  Mr. FLAKE. Will the gentleman yield for a 15-second clarification?
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I will yield the gentleman 15 seconds.
  Mr. FLAKE. I thank the gentleman.
  The gentleman mentioned that this would cut several programs. This 
does not cut one dollar. It simply returns the money to the account and 
the military services would decide where to best----
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Reclaiming my time, the amendment would cut 
these projects out of this bill.
  I would be glad to yield to Mr. Wamp for any comments he would like 
to make.
  The CHAIR. All time for debate on this amendment has expired.
  The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Flake).
  The question was taken; and the Chair announced that the noes 
appeared to have it.
  Mr. FLAKE. Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on 
the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will be postponed.
  The Chair understands that amendment No. 7 will not be offered.


           Amendment No. 8 Offered by Ms. Moore of Wisconsin

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 8 printed in 
House Report 111-195.
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 8 offered by Ms. Moore of Wisconsin:
       At the end of the bill (before the short title) insert the 
     following:
       Sec. __.  None of the funds made available in this Act may 
     be used for the processing of new enhanced use leases in the 
     three original National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 
     (soldier's home branches) established before 1868.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the gentlewoman from 
Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer my 
amendment which would prohibit the use of funds in this bill for the 
processing of enhanced use leases at the original National Homes for 
Disabled Volunteer Soldiers or Soldiers' Homes established before 1868.
  My amendment would protect these soldiers' homes established before 
1868, these historic Civil War-era buildings or the campuses on which 
they reside, from diversion from veteran activities to commercial 
purposes and it would retain these national treasures for future 
generations of veterans, their families, and an interested public.
  The concept of a National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was 
first established by congressional legislation and approved by 
President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1865. The National Asylum was 
established for officers and men of the volunteer forces of the United 
States who had been totally disabled by wounds received or sickness 
contracted while in the line of duty during the Civil War. In all, 11 
national soldiers' homes across the country were opened and eventually 
integrated into the newly established Veterans Administration in 1930. 
These old homes reflect how the Forefathers chose to care for and honor 
the soldiers who fought to keep the country united as one Nation. Their 
creation changed the Nation's attitude toward the care of soldiers 
after battle.
  Built in 1867, the Milwaukee Soldiers' Home, located in my district 
in the Fourth Congressional District of Wisconsin, was one of the three 
original soldiers' homes; the other two are located in Maine and Ohio.
  In late 2005, I learned that the VA and the city of Milwaukee were 
aggressively pursuing an enhanced use lease proposal that included the 
possible commercial development of several 19th century soldiers' homes 
buildings located on the Milwaukee VA grounds, much to the dismay and 
against the wishes of the Milwaukee veterans community, who wanted to 
protect these historic buildings for veterans purposes.
  The Allied Council of Veterans and their membership approached my 
office with their concerns and they alerted me to the potential 
outcomes of the proposal and reported that they had had no input in the 
ongoing lease discussions.
  Currently, the Milwaukee Soldiers' Home is on the National Park 
Service list to be designated for a place on its National Register of 
Historic Places. This will give the veterans an even stronger voice 
against any attempts to lease out for commercial purposes these 
historic buildings.
  I urge my colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, to join me in standing 
with veterans to protect these historic soldiers' homes grounds for 
veterans' uses by voting ``yes'' on my amendment.
  Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim the time in 
opposition to the amendment, although I don't oppose this amendment. I 
support this amendment.
  The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I want to thank the gentlewoman for raising 
this issue, and I am glad to support her effort on this.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                  Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Flake

  The CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a recorded vote 
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake) on 
which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes 
prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.

[[Page 17455]]

  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 62, 
noes 358, not voting 18, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 528]

                                AYES--62

     Bachmann
     Barton (TX)
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Campbell
     Cantor
     Cassidy
     Chaffetz
     Coffman (CO)
     Conaway
     Cooper
     Deal (GA)
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Flake
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Hall (TX)
     Hensarling
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Kirk
     Kline (MN)
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Linder
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Marchant
     Marshall
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     Minnick
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Price (GA)
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ryan (WI)
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Tiberi
     Westmoreland
     Wilson (SC)

                               NOES--358

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Adler (NJ)
     Akin
     Alexander
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Austria
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bartlett
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blackburn
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Bordallo
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Bright
     Brown, Corrine
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Butterfield
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cao
     Capito
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Carter
     Castle
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Childers
     Christensen
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Cohen
     Cole
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crenshaw
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (KY)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Emerson
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Fallin
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gerlach
     Giffords
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Guthrie
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Harper
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Heinrich
     Herger
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Hunter
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan (OH)
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NY)
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Lujan
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Manzullo
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McMahon
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Mica
     Michaud
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (NY)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murphy, Tim
     Murtha
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olson
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Paulsen
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pierluisi
     Pingree (ME)
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Posey
     Price (NC)
     Putnam
     Quigley
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sablan
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Scalise
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Taylor
     Teague
     Terry
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Turner
     Upton
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walden
     Walz
     Wamp
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch
     Wexler
     Whitfield
     Wilson (OH)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Barrett (SC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blunt
     Engel
     Faleomavaega
     Fudge
     Granger
     Graves
     Heller
     Hoekstra
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Kaptur
     Klein (FL)
     Mack
     McHugh
     Norton
     Paul
     Payne


                       Announcement by the Chair

  The CHAIR (during the vote). There are 2 minutes remaining in this 
vote.

                              {time}  1320

  Messrs. DAVIS of Illinois, BOEHNER, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Messrs. MOORE of 
Kansas, JOHNSON of Georgia, BURTON of Indiana, AKIN and MORAN of Kansas 
changed their vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
  Messrs. BROWN of South Carolina and HALL of Texas changed their vote 
from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated for:
  Mr. HELLER. Madam Chair, on rollcall No. 528, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``aye.''
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will read.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       This Act may be cited as the ``Military Construction and 
     Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2010''.

  The CHAIR. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Weiner) having assumed the chair, Ms. Baldwin, Chair of the Committee 
of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that 
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3082) making 
appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2010, and for other purposes, pursuant to House Resolution 622, she 
reported the bill back to the House with sundry amendments adopted by 
the Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 622, the question on adoption of the 
amendments will be put en gros.
  The question is on the amendments.
  The amendments were agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  Under clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 415, 
nays 3, not voting 14, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 529]

                               YEAS--415

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Akin
     Alexander
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Austria
     Baca
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boccieri
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boustany
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Braley (IA)
     Bright
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown, Corrine
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Butterfield
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Castor (FL)
     Chaffetz
     Chandler
     Childers
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cohen
     Cole
     Conaway
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crenshaw
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)

[[Page 17456]]


     Davis (IL)
     Davis (KY)
     Davis (TN)
     Deal (GA)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Driehaus
     Duncan
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ehlers
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Emerson
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Fallin
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Foxx
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Giffords
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez
     Goodlatte
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Guthrie
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Hall (TX)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Harper
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Heinrich
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Inslee
     Israel
     Issa
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jenkins
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan (OH)
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilroy
     Kind
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Kline (MN)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NY)
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lujan
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Lynch
     Mack
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Manzullo
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCollum
     McCotter
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHenry
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McMahon
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Mica
     Michaud
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (NY)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murphy, Tim
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olson
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Paulsen
     Payne
     Pence
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Petri
     Pingree (ME)
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Price (NC)
     Putnam
     Quigley
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Ryan (WI)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Scalise
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Sestak
     Shadegg
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stearns
     Stupak
     Sullivan
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Taylor
     Teague
     Terry
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Turner
     Upton
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walden
     Walz
     Wamp
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch
     Westmoreland
     Wexler
     Whitfield
     Wilson (OH)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--3

     Campbell
     Flake
     Stark

                             NOT VOTING--14

     Aderholt
     Barrett (SC)
     Fudge
     Granger
     Graves
     Heller
     Hoekstra
     Kaptur
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Klein (FL)
     Marchant
     Marshall
     McHugh
     Paul


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Members are reminded there 
are less than 2 minutes remaining in this vote.

                              {time}  1337

  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. HELLER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 529, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``yea.''

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