[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               FUNDING THE VA IS A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, recently, I met with two veterans and their 
families who traveled to Buffalo for medical treatment. Initially, I 
thought they were receiving care at our highly-regarded VA hospital, 
but in fact, they were brought to Buffalo by Operation Backbone, an 
organization that works with private doctors to provide specialty care 
that is not available within the VA system.
  The families expressed frustration that they could not obtain through 
the VA the highly specialized and efficient care they were receiving in 
Buffalo. It was not until Operation Backbone arranged their treatments 
and the Buffalo Sabres hockey team facilitated recovery that these men 
received the care they needed.
  I commend Operation Backbone and the Buffalo Sabres for their 
commitment to our veterans, but their work is necessary only because 
Congress is failing in its responsibility to these men and women. When 
we ask our servicemembers to put their bodies on the line, we incur a 
moral obligation to get them the best possible care when injury occurs.
  Last year, Congress provided funding for the VA to hire more 
physician specialists. It was a good first step, but making sure the VA 
has the resources to care for our veterans is a sacred responsibility 
that will require our attention this year and for many years to come.

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