[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6000]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      FIXING THE ISSUES AT THE VA

  (Mr. HUDSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are working through a 
bipartisan Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations 
bill that contains a lot of good measures, that keeps the VA under the 
magnifying glass, and helps guarantee topnotch care for our Nation's 
heroes, our veterans.
  Continuing to fix the issues at the VA needs to remain our top 
priority, but the solution is not throwing more money at it, Mr. 
Speaker. We spend more now on the VA than at any point in our history, 
but too much money is wasted on the bureaucracy here in Washington and 
doesn't get down to the caregivers and to our veterans who need the 
care.
  My constituents and veterans across the Nation are waiting months for 
routine exams, while others who need special care are stuck in 
backlogs. Mr. Speaker, it simply isn't fair, and it is not tolerable.
  Our veterans deserve the best, and we can deliver that by breaking up 
this bureaucracy in the VA. We should give our veterans the option to 
get health care at the VA if they choose, or to go to a private 
healthcare provider in their local community and have the VA pay for 
it.
  Until we move to that system, Mr. Speaker, the VA at the top is going 
to continue to soak up the money, and the veterans at the bottom are 
going to continue to not get the care that they deserve.
  I ask my colleagues to continue to work with me so that we provide 
the best health care in the world to our veterans, that we keep the 
promises we made.

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