Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives U.S. House Of Representatives 20240713

The secretary madam speaker. Im directed by the president of the United States to deliver to the house of representatives messages in writing. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postponefurther proceedings to suspend the rules on which the the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to. The house will resume proceedings on the postponed questions at a later time. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano i move the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4625 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title the clerk a bill to amend title 38, United States code, to require that educational institutions abide by certain principles as a condition of approval for purposes of the Educational Assistance programs of the department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which trone their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h. R. 4625, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4625, as amended, to protect the protect the g. I. Bill act. In 2009, before the passage of the post9 11 veterans Education Assistance improvements act of 2010, the post9 11 g. I. Bill, the department of Veterans Affairs supplied educational benefits to over 14,000 veterans and paid schools over 36 million in educational benefits. Now v. A. Provides educational benefits to over 600,000 veterans and pays institutions of Higher Learning over 11 billion to cover the tuition fees tuition, fees and books for veterans on an annual basis. The inceded increased ducational benefits and the benefits from the bills has made pursuing an education a viable path for many veterans across the country. Schools across this country have embraced the influx of students to their campuses with open arms, and in return veterans have brought their knowledge, experience and ideas into the classroom and eventually the workplace. Since 2010, most institutions of Higher Learning have provided student veterans with a means to upward economic mobility through traditional education and vocational training. However, a small number of predatory schools have sought to expand their coughers by targeting veterans coffers by targeting veterans for their educational benefits, providing subpar educations in return. Not only do veterans lose precious time and benefits from being misled by these malicious actors, but it also costs taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Which is why we must pass the protect the g. I. Bill act today. The protect the g. I. Bill act would hold all schools to standards set forth by the principles of excellence outlined in executive order 13607. By codifying the principles of excellence, we are ensuring that schools can no longer misrepresent their student outcomes, job placement rates, and graduation rirnlts when marketing to veterans requirements when marketing to veterans and members of the military. The protect the g. I. Bill act also ensures that schools are up front and honest regarding the cost of attendance, Scholarships Available for veterans before they take loans, and whether additional training is needed after graduation to pass statebased licensure or certification tests. This will allow veterans to make informed choices about the schools they want to attend to start their new careers, and ensure that institutions are more accountable to veterans. This legislation also includes congressman bilirakis student veteran empowerment act, congresswoman susie lees forever g. I. Bill class evaluation act, congresswoman davis reserve and guard g. I. Bill housing fairness act, and congressman fosters g. I. Bill education fairness act. This Bipartisan Legislation empowers states approving states approving agencies to conduct targeted riskbased surveys, eliminates waste in the post9 11 g. I. Bill program, ensures that spouses of Service Members in the reserves and guard are not penalized when Service Members are called to duty, and clarifies that Service Members can transfer their education benefits to stepchildren, foster and adopted children and other minor dependents. As amended, the protect the g. I. Bill act also protects veterans by stopping them from incurring debt from post9 11 g. I. Bill overpayments. According to a g. A. O. Report in fiscal year 2014, the v. A. Approximately 10. 8 billion in Education Assistance through the post9 11 g. I. Bill. And made approximately 416 million in overpayments to veterans at about 6,000 schools. Approximately one in four veterans received an overpayment in fiscal year 2014. Now, saddling veterans with unexpected debt is an injustice that we cannot perpetuate. This bill delays payments to schools, mandates that veterans confirm their enrollment each month and prohibits late payment charges to students who are receiving g. I. Bill benefits. The protect the g. I. Bill act would also allow more veterans to restore their educational benefits in cases where schools they attend close, are disapproved by a state approving agency, or are discontinued for other reasons outside of their control. Current law only allows veterans to restore their education benefits if they attend schools that close or are disapproved by state pproving agencies and if these veterans do not transfer any credits to another school or institution. This requires these veterans to restart their education, to to ore the restore the benefits, which could erode their motivation and cost taxpayers more money. There is no reason that veterans should be forced to repeat basic classes or core credits in order to regain their educational benefits. This bill allows veterans to restore their education benefits while transferring up to 12 credits to another school. The expansion of eligibility in this bill is retroactive and will allow thousands of veterans to recover their educational benefits upon the enactment of this much had been muchneeded bill. Bill. Speaker, if madam speaker, if our goal as a legislative body is to improve veterans economic opportunities, and end veteran homelessness, we must empower veterans to develop new and marketable skill sets in Community Colleges, universities and trade schools. We must also be good if you douchearies of taxpayer fiduciaries of taxpayer funds by providing adequate oversight of institutions who seek to collect funds from veteran educational benefits, which is why i support this bill. This bill also has the support of the student veterans of america, and veterans education success. I want to thank representative levin for his hard work on this excellent bill and i would like to thank representative bilirakis, representative lee, representative davis, and representative foster for their contributions to this bill, and i urge my colleagues to support it. Thank you, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. Madam today speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 4625, as amended, the protect the g. I. Bill act. Earlier this year, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the original world war ii g. I. Bill that helped launch the modern middle class. In the past 75 years, the g. I. Bill has helped millions of transitioning Services Member Service Members get the training and education they need to be successful and help grow our economy. I use the g. I. Bill myself eyesed the g. I. Bill myself when i used the g. I. Bill myself when i got out of the military. Part of our role is to protect the g. I. Bills important legacy and ensure its incredible benefits that g. I. Bill provides for millions of generations to come. The protect the g. I. Bill act would advance that goal by putting important protections in place to help student veterans make the right choice when using the g. I. Benefits by helping regulators flag and, if necessary, remove bad schools and programs from being eligible for the g. I. Bill. This bill would double down on our support for veterans whose schools are closed by restoring the p entitlement if the student is unable to transfer their credits to another institution. I thank my friend and Gus Bilirakis from florida for his hard work on this bill. Gus is the ranking membeon the subcommittee of Economic Opportunity and this bill includes the text of his bill. R. 4085 and builds off of his work in the 113th congress. I would like to thank the student veterans of america, the veterans of foreign war and veterans education in helping craft this legislation. Their expert advice is critical to ensure to preserve the legacy of the g. I. Bill. I reserve the balance of my tile. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano at this time, i would like to yield three minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from illinois, mr. Foster. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Foster i thank the gentleman for yielding. I would like to thank the chairman and Ranking Member and members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs of their steadfast commitment to the men and women of Armed Services for their work on the protect the g. I. Bill act. Included in this bill is legislation of mine that also i ave been working on with representative mrs. Mcmorris rodgers to remedy the bureaucratic oversight affecting military families. Under current law, the department of defense includes \cxds wardswards and foster children in definition of eligible child who is authorized to use their parents unused education benefits. The department of veteran affairs does not. Unfortunately this misalignment has led to a nightmare to Service Members and their families. This issue came to my attention sergeant nt first angela des shared the story. They are not alone. To date, nearly 100 \cxds wardswards and foster children were initially approved by the department of defense for the transfer of g. I. Education benefits and money was paid out to their schools. In midsmessfer, the department of veteran affairs revoked their benefits and students and families were notified they would have to repay their education expenses. They face crippling debts. They are faced with outstanding bills. In many cases, the students had to drop out of school. Children of the men and women who serve honorably should not be denied the benefits they were promised because of bureaucratic oversight. They have honored the promise they made to serve our country and we need to honor the promises we make to them. This legislation would correct this discrepancy and would prevent this situation from happening in the future. Doing so would allow foster children like christopher who were approved only to have benefits revoked to receive the Education Funding they were promised. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this critical piece of legislation. Thank you. And i yield back. Mr. Takano i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe i would like to yield four minutes to Gus Bilirakis of florida, a tireless working member of the veteran affairs committee, he works hard on pt sd. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, mr. Ranking member. Of course, mr. Chairman, i appreciate you working with us on this very good bill and also chairman levin, who is not here at the time, but he does an outstanding job and i look forward to working with him on many more bills. As Ranking Member roe just mentioned, one of the most important jobs of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs is defending and protecting programs like the g. I. Bill that continue to provide lifechanging education and training benefits to our nation veterans and Service Members. Im proud the provisions in h. R. 625 wol continue this goal and a byproduct of the several bipartisan hearings that i have led with chairman levin, to improve oversight of the g. I. Bill. Im also pleased that this package includes all the provisions from my bill h. R. 4085, the student veteran empowerment act. Bill is designed to improve oversight of the g. I. Program by v. A. And stateapproving agencies and most importantly, extend the restoration of entitlement for students impacted by school closures. This last section extends benefits we originally provided to a limited number of students in the forever g. I. Bill to all students and extends to all students, thats important. It is critical to ensure that a students entitlement is not lost when a School Closes or is disapproved before the student completes their education. My provisions in this bill would make important structural improvements regarding the g. I. Bill oversight and accountability. These changes are important so we can do all we can to prevent Unnecessary School closures and ensure that a students benefits are used on training and Education Programs that will set up for, again, set up the veteran for longterm economic success. Again, like dr. Roe, i want to thank the veteran Service Associations for their advice and suggestions, especially the veterans education success. I also want to thank the bills sponsor, as i said before, chairman of the Economic Opportunity subcommittee, my friend, mike levin from california. It has been my pleasure as a Ranking Member to work with him on this bill. And on other issues that come before our subcommittee. He is a thoughtful legislator and i thank him for including the provisions of my bill in this legislation before us. So i urge passage of this great bill, h. R. 4625. And i yield back. Thank you, madam chair, i appreciate it. Mr. Roe i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. Let me just say that this bill, the protect the g. I. Bill act, contains so many elements offered by both sides of the aisle and i have to just point out for the record, the coincidence of having the interest of foster children being protected by a man named bill foster. There is not enough people in here to get that joke. But i thought that that was worth pointing out. I also want to say that in the language in this bill also contains enhancements to the thorities of stateapproving agencies. E of the broken parts of our of how our schools, our forprofit schools, all schools get their programs approved is because our stateapproving agencies lack sufficient authority to intervene when they know that a certain forprofit operation, which has had a shady open inis about to ever their state. This legislation would allow a stateapproving agency to act bad acting profit, forprofit school is actually charged, formally charged. With that, madam speaker, i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i have no further witnesses. And i am ready to close. I want to say that this bill is indicative of how when we work together, we can solve problems. You heard various issues from various sides are brought to bear and work in the committee and subcommittee to solve these problems for constituents all across the country. With that, i encourage all members to support this bill. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4625. Both sides of the aisle worked carefully together and we are i am pleased to recommend we pass this bill on suspension. So i yield the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 4625 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4477 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4477, a bill to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to congress a plan to address certain highrisk areas identified by the comptroller general of the United States regarding the department of Veterans Affairs on the high risk list of Government Accountability office and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes mr. Takano. Mr. Takano i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to resize and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h. R. 4477 as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano i rise in support of h. R. 4477 as amended, the reducing high risk to Veterans Services act. The Government Accountability office provides oversight. G. A. O. Audits and examines department of Veterans Affairs program and spending sm the comptroller general and his staff provides hundreds of recommendations on how to improve services and benefits. However, too often, g. A. O. Recommendations are ignored by the department. H. R. 4477 as amended, is Bipartisan Legislation offered by oversight and investigations chairman pappas and Ranking Member bergman, which seeks to ddress in a system attic manner, g. A. O. s findings and recommendations. The act requires the department of Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to address the two areas within v. A. Identified as high risk by the Government Accountability office. These are the Veterans Health administration and Acquisition Management. Every two years, the Government Accountability Office Releases their highrisk list of federal Government Programs most vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. Included in 2015, the Veterans Health Administration Remains on g. A. O. s 2019 list. This was the first year that placed on tion was the list as well as numerous contracting challenges. V. A. s Acquisition Management is vital because of its role in medical supplies procurement and construction, both of which relate directly to v. A. s ability to serve veterans and provide quality medical care. By reducing high risk to Veterans Services act requires the to address two areas within v. A. Identified as high risk by the Government Accountability office. This plan will address the root causes of why these programs are at high risk and includes specific time lines to correct the problems. V. A. Will report to congress on progress and ongoing challenges sm the department will also provide their views on whether Congress Needs to take legislative action or provide additional resources. Now this bill has the support of the American Legion, veterans of foreign wars and the d. A. V. I urge my i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 4477, as amended, the reducing highrisk to veterans and Veterans Services act. This bill was introduced by congressman chris papis from New Hampshire and my good friend, congressman bergman from michigan. The chairman and Ranking Member respectively have the subcommittee on oversight and investigation, every two years the Government Accountability office, the g. A. O. , publishes its high risk list of identifying those activities that are considered highrisk due to their vullnirblets to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement or the need to transformation. G. A. O. Added managing risks and improving department of Veterans Affairs health care to its highrisk list in 2015, and it remains there today. Last congress the Committee Held a round table discussion with representatives from v. A. And g. A. O. To address v. A. s progress toward addressing g. A. O. s concerns. While it takes an agency on average seven years to be removed from the list, v. A. Has demonstrated little progress. Additionally, g. A. O. Added that v. A. Acquisition management to its 2019 list. H. R. 4477, as amended, would require v. A. To develop a plan of action to address deficiencies in Acquisition Management, and health care that led g. A. O. To place v. A. On their highrisk list in 2015 and again in 2017 and again in 2019. It would also incorporate a provision under h. R. 698, a bill introduced by representative banks of indiana, to direct v. A. To report on its efforts to address g. A. O. s priority recommendations and g. A. O. s top 30 open recommendations. Our nations veterans and taxpayers deserve a v. A. That is high performing and that acts quickly to address areas of concern as they arise. This help will help ensure that they get it done. Im grateful to congressman pappas and general bergman for responsering this bill which has my sfull sponsoring this bill which has my full support. But i would be remiss if i did not point out that this is another bill that did not go through regular order. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee reserves his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i have no further speakers and im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from tennessee, youre recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. Its my privilege at this point to yield as much time as he may consume to lieutenant general, for those of you all who dont know what that is, thats three stars. I only made it to major. So im going to yield as much time to my good friend, jack bergman, to describe his bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bergman madam speaker, first of all, thank you to Ranking Member roe and chairman takano, basically when you have three stars, it just means you outlasted a lot of folks. But the point is the honor of having to serve being able to serve amongst marine, sailors marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and coastguardsmen is enough to make us all swell with pride. Yesterday was veterans day. Its a real special day, thanking veterans of all wars for the service to our country. I rise today in support of h. R. 4477, as amended. The reducing high risk to veterans and Veterans Services act, a bill introduced by oversight and investigation cub investigation subcommittee, chairman chris pappas, and coled by myself. Every two years g. A. O. Published its highrisk list, identifying those activities which are considered high risk due to their vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, or their need for transformation. Sometimes things dont always stay the same and we need to move forward with the change. As Ranking Member roe stated, g. A. O. Added managing risks and improving v. A. Health care to its lists in 2015, and added v. A. Acquisition management in 2019. This past may, the comptroller general of the United States testified before the o. N. I. Subcommittee where i am proud to serve as Ranking Member, concerning the departments efforts to add g. A. O. Recommendations. Comptroller general testified during the hearing, quote, i want to emphasize, hardly any anywhere in the highrisk area gets off the list area in the highrisk area gets off the list with sustained congressional oversight, and action by the congress. The engagement by the congress is absolutely critical to the success of agencies coming off the highrisk list. End quote. The intent of this bill is to focus v. A. On its efforts to remove these two programs from g. A. O. s highrisk list and give congress the information needed to provide the sustained congressional oversight the comp controller general said was absolutely necessary and needed to remove programs from the highrisk list. H. R. 4477 was amended in committee to incorporate provisions of h. R. 698, a bill introduced by representative banks, which would require v. A. To report on its efforts to implement g. A. O. s priority recommendations for v. A. I strongly encourage all members to support h. R. 4477, as amend, and i yield back the balance of my time as amended, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe i encourage all members to support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i urge all my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4477, as amended, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the ill, h. R. 447, as amended 4477, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4771, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4771, a bill to amend title 38, United States code, to permit appellates to appear in disability compensation cases before the board of veterans appeals by picture and voice transmission from locations other than facilities of the department of Veterans Affairs. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. D tennessee, mr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to encertificate extraneous material on h. R. 4771, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4771, as introduced by representative cunningham. I support this legislation that creates an easy technological fix so veterans can quickly and conveniently attend their hearings before the board of veterans appeals. Applying for disability compensation and benefits through v. A. Can be a long and confusing ordeal, which is further complicated in the appeals process. Currently, veterans often face difficulties traveling to v. A. Regional offices for their board hearings. Difficulties include long wait times, scheduling challenges or simply the distance in elderly or an elderly or disabled veteran may have to travel. Madam speaker, the b. V. A. Telehearing modernization act permits veterans to provide testimony before a veterans law judge Via Video Conference from a location outside of a v. A. Facility. This means a veteran could testify in support of his or her claim from the comfort of their own home. Now, v. A. Told us this piece of legislation could have an especially positive impact on hearing case on hearing access for homebound or rural veterans. This bill ensures veterans have the flexibility to appeal v. A. s decisions in a comfortable, accessible location, without affecting the security of their personal information. The telehearing program is modeled after the existing Telehealth Program at the Veterans Health administration, and will likely improve hearing attendance and help veterans receive their benefits. A telehearing Pilot Program conducted by the board showed increased participation in hearings, as well as increased efficiency and timeliness of requested hearings. Under this bill, v. A. s required to provide annual reports to congress with information about how often the telehearing option is used by veterans, and whether those claimants are as likely to have their claims granted as veterans using the traditional hearing methods. This report allows congress to ensure this program is working the way it should. I thank representative cunningham for introducing this bill, and i support this legislation for the step it takes to simplify the appeals process for our veterans. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, madam speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 4771, as amended, the department of Veterans Affairs telehearing modernization act. This bill would expand the board of veterans appeals hearing options to include telehearings. I appreciate my colleagues, chairman isaacson, chairman takano and Ranking Members at theler for working with me on this bill to ensure that the virtual hearing concept included in this bill represents the input of all four corners of congress. Madam speaker, we all depend on and use our smartphones for just about everything we do these days. This legislation would allow veterans to use their personal device for a v. A. Hearing. Im happy that were moving this legislation to make hearings more accessible to veterans, especially those in rural areas where i live or from whom travel might be physically challenging. This bill was amended in committee to include additional reporting requirements that will help congress monitor the implementation of this program. Specifically, the board would be required to report on its outreach to veterans and stakeholders on the option for a telehearing, including the advantages and potential technological challenges of a telehearing. The i. T. Modifications needed to conduct telehearings and the partnership between the board and the Veterans Health administration, v. H. A. , to share lessoned learned from their programs, since the telehearing program is modeled after the Telehealth Program that v. A. Uses to increase access to care for veteran patients. The amended bill would also require v. A. To collaborate with Veterans Service organizations and other stakeholders to ensure that those who represent veterans at these hearings will have input into how the program is developed so that it can best meet the needs of our veterans. This bill has my full support and with that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, at this time id like to yield four noins minutes to my good friend and an author of h. R. 4771, representative cunningham from South Carolina. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cunningham thank you, madam speaker. Today im proud to rise in support of my bill, the v. A. Telehearing modernization act, which will make it easier for our nations veterans to appeal their claims with the department of Veterans Affairs. Currently, the board of Veterans Affairs only conducts telehearings from certain v. A. Locations, meaning veterans have to travel to testify in support of their claims, and in many cases this forces lowcountry veterans to drive all the way to columbia. My bill offers a commonsense solution to this problem by allowing veterans to teleconference into these hearings from the comfort of their own homes, using their personal computers. Further, this legislation will require these hearings to take place via a secure platform so that veterans do not have to sacrifice the security of their sensitive, personal information to take advantage of this new process. This change will not only benefit those veterans who may be otherwise unable to travel for their hearing, but will also help to expedite the appeals process for veterans across the board. With veterans given the freedom to participate in their appeals hearing from a place of their own choosing, noshows, which add to the appeals backlog and slow down the process for everyone, will be significantly reduced. All with no additional cost to taxpayers. The v. A. Telehearing modernization act is exemplary of the sorts of advances we can make when both parties come together for the sake of our veterans. I i thank congressman katko and i thank chairman takano and Ranking Member roe for their leadership on the committee and expediting this legislation and their staffs for all their hard work. I urge my colleagues on both sides to support this legislation for our veterans who have sacrificed too much to need to jump through hoops to get a fair hearing on their claim. I yield back. Mr. Takano i thank the gentleman from South Carolina for his hard work and i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. I would encourage everyone to support this. This is obviously in Rural America how we are going to have access to health care in the future. It absolutely makes sense this technology is available to almost everyone and no sense to make an infirmed veteran or other patients go miles and miles and hours. It just makes sense that we have the technology to do it today and i support this and i encourage my colleagues to do so and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano i urge my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation h. R. 4771 as amended. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 4771 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Without objection, the title is amended. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4360. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4360, a bill to amend title 38 United States code to improve the due process accorded veterans with respect to recovery of overpayments made by the department and other amounts owed by veterans to the United States, to improve the processing of Veterans Benefits by the department of Veterans Affairs and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h. R. 4360. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4360, v. A. Overpayment accountability act introduced by representative kim. This bill protects veterans by ensuring that the department of Veterans Affairs reviews and updates its policies to minimize overpayments in the future and mitigate negative effects on veterans. If the department of veterans fairs makes accounting problems, veterans are left saddled with debt and then they are required to pay these overpailts back to v. A. Placing an extraordinary financial burden on them. V. A. Can and sometimes does withhold part of veterans monthly benefit checks to cover the overpayments. In some cases, v. A. May send these debts to a Debt Collection agency, compounding veterans financial stress. If the information submitted by v. A. To a Consumer Reporting Agency is incorrect either because v. A. Later determines its payment was not in error or v. A. Decides to waive the debt, veterans may suffer harm to their credit. This bill makes sure v. A. Rights this wrong. Under this legislation, v. A. Would be required to instruct the Consumer Reporting Agency to remove any reasonous information from veteran consumer reports. And if v. A. Employs a Debt Collection agency and that agency then reports reasonous information to a Consumer Reporting Agency, v. A. Must instruct that agency to fix the area. Importantly, this bill also requires v. A. To maintain future tracking metrics. This information tracks the number of v. A. Overpayments, average of overpayment and how v. A. Grants or denies veteran requests for relief from this debt. As we know, v. A. s Information Technology system hinders its ability to manage reasonous or duplicate payments. This legislation requires an audit of overpayments so whether it is staffing shortages or i. T. Failures, data can guide v. A. And congress on where resources should be directed. I support this legislation to financially protect veterans because it is an essential step we need to take to ensure that veterans arent facing severe consequences due to v. A. s mistakes. I resevere the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe i rise today in support f h. R. 4360 v. A. Overpayment accountability act. A veteran may receive drill pay and disability compensation at the same time. A veteran may reduce their course load after the g. I. Payment has been sent to the department of veteran affairs to the school or the marital may have changed but receive additional compensation for depend events. In some instances, the veteran may be aware that he or she may have overpaid and v. A. Will ask them to return the money, but in some circumstances they may not. Im concerned that many overpayments and receiving a debt notification letter can create big problems for veterans and their families especially if they cant afford to pay v. A. Back. It is critical that the v. A. Has the tools it needs to prevent overpayments and if certain overpayments are unavoidable, v. A. s recruitment is fair and krt for veterans. This is sponsored by andy kim of new jersey to ensure that veterans are not harmed by the speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano at this time, i would like to yield five minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Kim. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Kim i rise today because americas veterans deserve americas best and deserve the best health care and i introduced this bipartisan v. A. Overpayment accountability act with congressman french hill because sometimes our veterans do not receive the best. Through several programs of department of veteran affairs provides Monthly Payments to veterans and other beneficiaries because the v. A. Relies on outdated systems to provide those payments. The recipients sometimes receive overpayments through no fault of their own. The veteran pays a price. The v. A. Will withhold payments from veterans and at a time in which 1. 4 million veterans across the United States are struggling with poverty issues, withholding payment can have severe consequences for americans who earned these benefits. Because there is no limit how much the v. A. To ask a vet how much to pay and how far back it can go to collect the debt, the sums can affect the Financial Stability of veterans. This aims to fix these issues by mproving v. A. I. T. Systems and provides credit protection for veterans who are the victims of overpayments and become targets of unfair practices. As a grateful nation, we should aim to honor our veterans and not send debt collectors after them because of the failures of the department of veteran affairs. State commander of the department of foreign wars said that it is imperative that Congress Work to correct harsh v. A. Procedures in recouping overpayments to veterans who are barely living paycheck to paycheck. On behalf of the thousands of veterans and the millions across our country who sacrifice in their service, i call my colleagues to join me and congressman hill in this bipartisan bill. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe i would like to yield three minutes to my good friend, french hill from car can saw. He is committed to our veterans. I towered two veteran centers in his home state of arkansas and i yield three minutes. Mr. Hill i thank my friend from tennessee and good friend from california for their leadership of our Veterans Affairs committee. They are a dynamic duo and i appreciate the opportunity to be on the floor to be on this list of good bills tonight. I want to thank my friend from new jersey, mr. Kim, for his hard work and collaboration on this important bill for our veterans. Mr. Speaker, i have in the last five years i served in this house had over 3,200 cases completed and closed for veterans in my district. And as a former community banker, when i look at those cases and listen to these stories, this is a challenge for our veterans and its a crazy challenge, mr. Speaker. That withholding a payment can have severe consequences for our brave veterans who are out there just doing their jobs, through no fault of their own and through a computer messup or an i. T. Problem, our veterans receive an overpayment and suddenly get a letter saying, hey, we made a mistake. You owe us 5,000 back. Well, the normal american, mr. Speaker, doesnt have that kind of Financial Planning expertise and relies on the quality of our v. A. Services to not make mistakes like that. So its a pleasure to work with mr. Kim on this measure to try to improve that situation and answer the i. G. s own report at the v. A. That this is a serious problem affecting nilion and a half veterans. This improves veteran i. T. Systems which are often the cause of this challenge and offers that veterans unknowingly that are forced to go without their earned benefits for a period of time, have some recourse of being a victim of being a victim and have their credit repaired. I represent veterans in our Central Arkansas area and proud to work on something that recktive fisa common problem across this country. I thank my friend from new jersey for his work and the leadersh of the committee to ring this bill to the house floor. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i rerve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemaneserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Takano mr. Speaker, i want to extend again my gratitude for the inciteful and hard work that the the gentleman from new jersey has done with this legislation to correct an injustice which has been occurring. So i thank congressman kim for this very important legislation. I also want to extend my gratitude to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. Hill, whose district i visited and whose Medical Center i also visited. I have to say, he runs a crack operation that came out wrong not a crack operation, but an amazing constituent services for his veterans. Nd, you know, this unfortunate situation with the v. A. Over pays veterans and then claws back those payments, will be corrected by this legislation. So i want to say i have no further speakers. And im prepared to close and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I dont know about new jersey and california, a crack operation is a good one. I take that as a compliment. I thank mr. Kim and thank french hill for their work on this. It does create as the chairman said, tremendous anxiety. It is needless and it is just a bureaucratic mistake. All of us who have suffered from the i. R. S. Or whom ever. I thank the members for bringing it up. I urge my members to support this bill and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4360 and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Will the house suspend the rules 0. Pass the bill h. R. 43 those opposed, no. Those opposed, no. In the 2 3. The the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . The clerk h. R. 4656, a bill a bill to amend the Service Members civil relief act to allow certain individuals to terminate contracts for video ne, multichannel programming, or Internet Access service, and for other purposes. He speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert h. R. Eous material on 4356, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i rise support of h. R. 4356, as amended, the protecting families fallen Service Members act. By his bill was introduced representative josh harder of california, and i thank him for is work with the committee on the bill. It expands on the work the ommittee did last congress in partnership with representative bustos to improve the Service Relief act. L this bill ensures that spouses active ndents of both and reserve component Service Members who are catastrophically injured or pass away while in service to this nation have service ns under the act, s civil relief otherwise known as scra. Impacted Service Members or their families to terminate cable, internet, and phone service. Members and families undergo difficult life a nsitions because of catastrophic injury or death of loved ones. Families should have the be at their o Service Members side during recovery. Spouses and ving Family Members of Fallen Service tobers should easily be able move closer to family and friends or other support networks. Families dealing with the difficult loss or injury of have loved ones should not to worry about contracts or cancellation fees. That this e to note legislation unanimously passed the house last congress and has to reflect by ovements recommended Veterans Service organizations. Id like to thank dr. Wenstrup, us on the with committee for several congresss, congresses, for bill. G with us on this finally, id like to thank the paralyzed veterans of america for highlighting the need to catastrophical loedis abled veterans and disabled ically veterans and their families. Id applaud the work f congressman levin and bilirakis on moving this bill through committee. I urge my colleagues to join me 4356, as amended. I reserve the balance of my time, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the reserves. The chair recognizing the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 4356, as amended, the protecting families of Fallen Service act. Rs this bill would amend the Service Members civil relief act to give a spouse or dependent of member who experiences dies strophic injury or while in service to terminate telephone, r multichannel video programs, or Internet Service contracts. Would extend this to members of the National Guard and reserve who are executing duty orders or performing inactive duty training. Protectionsrthwhile for our Service Members and are worthy of our support. By bill is sponsored congressman josh harder from california, and i appreciate his work. Urge my colleagues to support this bill and, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i have further speakers, and i am prepared to close. Reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from tennessee, be mr. Roe, is recognized. Mr. Oe thank you, speaker. At this time id like to yield hree minutes to my good friend and dr. Colonel brad wenstrup, combat veteran of iraq, still on at rve duty and has served walter reed hospital. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Wenstrup thank you. I rise in support of h. R. 4356, he protecting families of fallen Service Members act. As a member of the Armed Services, i know how important ofis to protect the families those who serve when tragedy strikes. Join why i was proud to representative harder to introduce this legislation, which will allow the spouses and Service Members who are killed or catastrophically injured in the ine of duty to terminate their phone, internet, and tv contracts without penalty. Year, the Veterans Benefits and transition act of 2018, assed the house with overwhelming support. That legislation included a number of changes to existing to protect our Service Members and our gold star families. A drafting due to error, the bill only allowed Service Members, not their to end and dependents, their phone, internet, and tv contracts without penalty. That error rrects and ensures that grieving families are able to terminate ontracts, giving them the freedom to relocate based on the needs of their family. The house hank Veterans Affairs committee for advancing this legislation to the floor, and i urge all to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The peaker pro tempore gentleman yields back. Senator from tennessee. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the reserves. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from tennessee. Of mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. Legislation. Nsense i talk about this a lot when i go home about a grieving spouse, husband or wife, whos lost a Family Member in combat in country. O our i saw many of those through this past weekend as many of us did attended veterans events. I cant think of anything worse is in a g a spouse who city thats unfamiliar to them, these om family and have ontractual obligations for our catastrophically injured veteran or deceased veteran. Everywhere i talk about this the our ountry, fellow americans want this done. I strongly encourage my support this muchneeded legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Speaker, i mr. Agree with my friend and tennessee, rom Ranking Member roe. This is commonsense legislation. Compound the suffering of a family, whether or are caretakers grieving who are grieving, complications that they may not be aware of, which are continuing contractual agreements for cable or internet or other types of contractual sort. Ents of the for bill addresses a way families to easily terminate these contracts. I, again, urge all of my to join me in passing h. R. 4356, as amended, and i yield back the balance of my time. The peaker pro tempore gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is will the house the nd the rules and pass bill h. R. 4356, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the ffirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and 4162. R. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. Does the gentleman move to pass the bill as amended . Amended, yes. As i move to pass the house i 4162, as ss h. R. Amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. 4162, a bill. R. Assistance under the allvolunteer Educational Assistance program of department of Veterans Affairs, to phase , andhe use of such program for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from ennessee, mr. Roe, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks insert extraneous material on h. R. 4162, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. R. Takano i rise in support of h. R. 4162, as amended, the 2019. Ill planning act of this bill was introduced by representative jack bergman and Kathleen Rice. Both of them are great members of our committee and tireless fighters for veterans. Want to thank representative bergman for his work on this legislation and his commitment working with me on several issues related to veterans care. Ion and health mr. Speaker, with the enactment the e post9 11 g. I. Bill, montgome montgomery g. I. Bill has become attractive option for many Service Members. N most cases, the benefits are worse for Service Members when choosing montgomery g. I. Bill forever g. I. Bill. But the issue is many Service Without knowing what they are signing up for. Service member to receive benefits through the dont montgomery g. I. Bill, they must elect to pay into it when they go into the military. Chaotic period in a Service Members life, to ay the least, and they are unable to give the decision much thought or do not fully impact of the full this decision at the time. Will be ongoing reports that some Service Members are pressured to sign up at initial rs entry at initial entry benefit. Or lose the this bill addresses this concern by moving the date when a to join ember elects the program so they can better understand and make a better decision. Many end up signing up for the bill benefits only to never use them and never refunded. This is wrong and a waste of our Service Members money. He committee will work to ensure the post9 11 g. I. Bill is updated to ensure that future generations who may have benefited more from the the omery g. I. Bill than post9 11 g. I. Bill do not see droppoff in potential ben dropoff in potential benefits. Work were trying to improve the quality of time ion, be now is the for us also to improve the quality of benefits for our Service Members. Thank representative bergman and representative rice for their leadership, and i urge of my colleagues to support 4162. Ssage of h. R. I reserve the balance of my time, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The hair recognizes gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe i rise in support of amended, the g. I. Bill planning act of 2019. Eligible for the Sonny Montgomery g. I. Bill, Service Members automatically deducted from th their paycheck for the first 12 onths of their service for a total of 1200. They have to elect opt out of few short nts just a days into basic training or boot camp. From personal experience, i can the time to be making such an important decision. This bill would extend the time has to elect er out of the montgomery g. I. Bill period beginning 180 days after the date the Service Member enters training. Gives you six months to give you to think about it a little bit and then some time. Y delaying the decision to elect out of the montgomery g. I. Bill, Service Members will have more of an opportunity to g. I. Bill ich post9 11 or the montgomery ill, is best suited to meet their Educational Needs in the future outside of their pressure and constraints of boot camp. This bill would responsibly sunset the montgomery g. I. Bill benefit for enlistees in 2029. This would mean that current members or anyone who chooses this benefit before 2029 impacted. Be while the legacy of the montgomery g. I. Benefit has thousands, it only makes ense to the more generous postnoye g. I. Bill. Post9 11 g. I. Bill. Easier forake things the department of veterans administer a to the benefit. H. R. 3608, my bill, which would instate tuition to veterans, is included in this bill. Choice act required Public Schools charge veterans who are within three years of their instate tuition rates, regardless of whether they meet the state residency to be ments in order eligible for g. I. Bill programs. Hat all Public Schools are complying with it. Last congress, i coauthored the eliminate. Bill and requirements that 36 months of benefits be expired 15 years after their last discharge. Now that this change has become law, it makes no sense to receive instate tuition rates if they have the entire lives to use their g. I. Benefits. I thank jack bergman from michigan for his hard work and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i have no further speakers and am prepared to close and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i yield to general jack bergman, three minutes, to debate his bill and he served as the chairman of the oversight and investigation and Ranking Member. And jack, i didnt get a chance to wish you a happy veterans day. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bergman i rise today on behalf of h. R. 4162 but i would like to rise on behalf not only on behalf of veterans but the day before veterans day was the 244th birthday of the United States marine corps. And the point is, all of the members of the military who have served no matter which branch of service, we are proudly serving in the culture that we chose, that would be in my case, the marine corps and honored that many so many of our fellow veterans have chosen to join us in the celebration of service to our country. Its an honor to be here and more of an honor to represent the veterans on the Veterans Affairs committee. 4162, the g. I. Bill planning act of 2019, the support we have gotten across the committee on this is nothing short of spectacular, bipartisan. I would like to thank congresswoman Kathleen Rice for her support in making this happen. As Ranking Member roe mentioned, during the first two weeks of boot camp, recruits arent focused on making Big Decisions other than staying with the program and getting through boot camp. They are required to make a consequential decision at a time of extreme fatigue. They must decide whether to opt out of their montgomery g. I. 1,000 200. Or pay 70 of these are choosing to pay this large expense but few will use the month gentlewomanny g. I. Bill. 90 of veterans are choosing the newer post9 11 g. I. Bill which amounts to a higher benefit. My bill would delay this decision and not require it to no earlier than six months after these young men and women have completed boot camp and entered service instead of the first two weeks, again critical for their time for success in boot camp. This bill would end new enlisted enrollments to october 2029. While this has helped veterans, it is time to simplify benefits and sunset this bill. Mr. Speaker, not only can this legislation save enlisteys money but they are more informed in their educational benefits decisions. It is important these young men and women know that we in congress have their backs and thinking of them as they plan their Bright Futures and service to our great nation. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 4162 as amended. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i wish the marine krps corps birthday but they are behind the army. And the army is older than the marine corps. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i wish to extend a belated happy veterans day to both of my colleagues, dr. Roe and general berg men and we appreciate your service and extend this congratulations and gratitude to all our Service Members and i underscore our it to the marine, air force, the navy, army and coast guard. And i understand the friendly rivalry and make sure everyone knows whatever service they engaged, that america appreciates them. Mr. Speaker, i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. And i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I have no further speakers and am prepared to close and recommend that all my colleagues support this very commonsense legislation. The g. I. Bill, i used it in 19751976 when i got out of the army. Amazing piece of legislation. Helped me then and appreciative that my country invested 300 a month for two years. It helped me a lot. And this bill that we have now, forever g. I. Bill is a phenomenal benefit to young people. We know the g. I. Bill helped transform a generation after world war ii. The forever g. I. Bill will transform a new generation. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Wish kano mr. Speaker, i to associate myself with the remarks of the Ranking Member regarding the transformative power of the g. I. Bill during right after world war ii, what it did for a generation. And i want to also take note that the forever g. I. Bill as shepherded by Ranking Member roe when he was the chairman and still is an amazing remarkable accomplishment that we have made the g. I. Bill a Lifetime Benefit that can be used at any point in a Service Member in a veterans lifetime and if they dont use it, they can transfer it to a spouse or their children. And it took the cooperation of a nority working in good faith during the last session of congress. And i think its a remarkable accomplishment. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4162 and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is will the house suspend the ruse and pass the bill h. R. 4162 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair in the opinion of the chair, the rules are suspended and without objection mr. Takano i ask for the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman asks for the yeas and nays. All those in favor of taking this vote will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano i move that the house suspend the ruse and pass h. R. 3996. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3996, a bill to amend title 38 United States code to provide for certain requirements relating to the use of the Design Build Construction method for department of Veterans Affairs Construction Projects and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california and the gentleman from tennessee, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h. R. 3996. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. I rise in support of h. R. 3996, v. A. Design build construction act of 2019. This bipartisan bill encourages v. A. To use a method of managing Construction Projects termed design build inappropriate circumstances. In addition, this bill incorpts design build training in the curriculum. There have been internal v. A. And Government Accountability reports that have been critical documenting serious delays and cost overruns in v. A. Construction projects. Both veterans and taxpayers are suffering from the cumbersome v. A. Construction process. Im confident this piece of legislation will help deliver stateoftheart facilities to our veterans in a more effective and expeditious manner. Design build is a way to deliver projects in an efficient and timely manner. This is used in the private sect or and in parts of the federal government. Those who are unfamiliar with this tech teek. This is a method that combines the architectural engineering. Nd single contract and where design and construction are sequential and performed by different contractors thus creating costly time lines for delivering sites of care for our veterans. Over the years, the department of Veterans Affairs faced numerous challenges when it comes to managing Construction Projects. Im aware some of these challenges are caused by congress due to the time it takes to authorize and secure funds for new builds. However, a good portion of these construction challenges are selfinflicted. Is committee is intimently aware of the Rocky Mountain v. A. Center in aurora, colorado. Not only was it several years delayed, but it was 1 billion over budget. This is a tragic disservice to our nations veterans and taxpayers. Aurora, colorado is only one of several examples of challenged v. A. Construction projects. V. A. Is currently facing a backlog of Construction Projects. Im confident that a shift design build inappropriate circumstances could tremendously decrease the costs and shorten the time of v. A. Projects. I urge our members tore support h. R. 3996. And i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i rise in support of h. R. 3996. This bill is sponsored by my good friend, congressman jim banks from indiana. He is a former chairman and current Ranking Member of the subcommittee on technology tireless on and a advocate tireless advocate for his fellow veteran. His bill would encourage the use of design build in the department of Veterans Affairs by adding reference to the statute to government design build. Prohibiting v. A. From discouraging other federal agencies that manage Construction Projects on behalf from using design build and incorporating design build into v. A. s Management Training curriculum program. This is a delivery method that is characterized by combining architectural, engineering and Construction Services into a single contract. It has been used successfully across the federal government since the mid1990s. It accelerates of Construction Projects and increases warrant protections. Design build has been used infrequently by v. A. After it was unfairly blamed by the troubles that the project in aurora, colorado. Despite not being used four years into that project and the majority of the design build has been used. The project was a billion dollars and put it in perspective for regular folks, thats a thousand Million Dollars over budget. Thats how much a billion is. V. A. Could have avoided these issues that caused the delays and cost overruns that became to characterize the denver project if they incorporated design build much earlier. And we do not want to shy away using design build to deliver high quality Construction Projects to serve our nations veterans. I thank congressman banks for his work. And i wish he used regular order to bring it forward im pleased to support its passage and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. The gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe. Id like at this time to yield to jim banks of indiana. I had a chance to visit his talked to many groups in his district. Theres no more passionate ember of our committee than congressman banks. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. Mr. Banks i thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of my legislation, h. R. V. A. Designbuild construction enhancement act. I first want to thank mr. My colleague on the other side of the aisle, for his tireless support and advocacy the denver area and beyond and for cosponsoring with me. Slation designbuild has proven itself o be an innovative and effective method for managing Construction Projects in the private sector and in some key federal agencies. The most designbuild was the in agon which was completed less than one year. V. A. Has a multibilliondollar Construction Projects, but has never made designbuild e method, despite it being available for over 20 years. Few tunately, one of the times the v. A. Did use a method was ar to designbuild during the tushld aurora aurora, e troubled colorado, Medical Center we talked about today. V. A. Involved the Construction Contractor in the design decisions after the esign was already nearly complete. Designbuild seems to have been the v. A. D name in unfairly as a result. My legislation today makes it designbuild is available to the v. A. And to useges the department it when appropriate as is already stipulated by the law. Incorporates designbuild training into the v. A. Onstruction management curriculum. I want to make sure the v. A. Is to g every available tool deliver worldclass facilities to our veterans. Correctly, d designbuild can speed up construction and minimize costly orders. Thats exactly what we need in the v. A. , and im committed to making sure that happens. Thank you. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I have no further witnesses id like to close prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has the floor. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I think this is commence legs legs. Ertainly commonsense legislation. That thousand Million Dollars ould have been spent on muchneeded projects in the v. A. We dont have an Endless Supply of money. Banks work on this. With that i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Speaker, let me just say as a former community ollege trustee that had responsibilities for overseeing that were ts undertaken to build out the Community College district, esignbuild was employed in those instances and were i agree tely used and with the comments by my friends rom the other side of the aisle. This can make v. A. Future projects more on efficient and more cost effectively for our taxpayers. Urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 3996, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Question is suspend the ules and pass the question is will the house suspend the 3996. And pass h. R. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano i ask that the suspend the rules and pass h. R. 1424. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. 1424, ak h. R. Amend title 38, United States code, to ensure the secretary of Veterans Affairs permits the display of fallen soldier displays in national cemetaries. He speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the semth m a bill to amend title 38, United States code, to ensure the secretary of veterans permits the display of fallen soldier displace in National Cemeteries. The speaker pro tempore the ant to the rule, gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from each will mr. Roe, control 20 minutes. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano i rise in support 1424, the fallen warrior memorial act. Oss will ttle cross memorial be in National Cemeteries. Battlefield crosses honor Fallen Soldiers using symbols of their service. Sincesymbols have evolved their first use in the revolutionary war when it was marker as a de position of a fallen soldier. Remains ral tradition today as units in theater hold a remembrance ceremony in country the unit to pay last respects to those killed in action. Displays are meant to honor those who lost their lives replicase by featuring of inverted rifles, boots, helmets, and identification tags. A u. S. Army field manual states, uote, the helmet and identification tags signify the dead soldier. Inverted rifle with bayonet signals a time for prayer. A a break in the action to our comrade. O the combat boots represent the inal march of the last battle, end quote. V. A. s National Cemetery Administration Currently allows of a cross, but does not specifically address the memorial. D cross in fact, in 2017, a battlefield removed als with memorial was removed from ohios estern reserve National Cemetery. Though the cemetery ultimately decided to restore the memorial, ensure islation would the battle cross memorial would lways be permitted at national emeteries and prevent future misinterpretations. We recognize the sacrifices of gave theirnd men who lives in service to our nation and the right of a community to its fallen heroes. I urge all members to support and i reserve the h. R. 1424,my time and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you. I rise in support of h. R. 1424, the fallen warrior battlefield memorial act. This bill would require the affairs of Veterans National cemeteries allow the display of the battlefield cross monument that depicts a Fallen Service member by an inverted rifle with a helmet and tags on top and a pair of combat boots at the bottom. Weve all seen these. 2017, a v. A. Employee misinterpreted v. A. Policy and removed a battlefield cross from the ohio western reserve National Cemetery as well as two memorials in cemeteries in illinois and michigan. The objection to the memorials contained realistic depictions of firearms. S one ohio veteran descrid this image is one that veterans, uote, have seen in ships, on son aircraft carriers, wherever we symbol of s a respect and thanks. It means a lot to veterans. End quo. Could not have said it better mysel mr. Speaker, although i battlefld t the cross is a powerful symbol that is used to honor all of our warriorsboth men and wom, in response to veterans, the congressional concerns over incident, the department reinstated the memorial clarified v. A. Cemeteries can display this image. However, this bill is necessary that policy and to ensure v. A. Does not ban this again. Ver this bill has my full support, i appreciate congressman Anthony Gonzalez from ohio for introducing it and for his leadership on this issue. With that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker. And i no further speakers am prepared to close. Of i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from tennessee. You, mr. Thank speaker. At this time id like to ecognize the author of this bill, congressman Anthony Gonzalez of ohio, and i appreciate hes a new member but didnt take him long to jump into gear and to recognize a wrong. Nd right that i yield three minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Gonzalez thank you, mr. Speaker. Of h. R. This is the first piece of legislation i introduced as a member of congress and fitting we discuss it on the floor today, one day after veterans day. This Bipartisan Legislation would protect the display of our memorials at our National Cemeteries and bar the department of Veterans Affairs from remofinge these like they did across the midwest in 2017. This legislation comes from the veteran community. Over the past several years, this biller, the made his mission as erected the memorial. He and the honors detachments collected the spent brass they oversaw at the cemetery with the goal to melt them down and give them as a tribute. When battlefield memorials were removed in 2017. His work was put at risk. He wrote to my predecessor and said that the cross is a symbol for caring. Elton passed away last month. But he is looking upon this house today proud of the vote we are about to take. His efforts were not in vein. Battlefield cross memorials stand in cemeteries as a tribute to Fallen Soldiers. Hey depict the soldiers boots and rifle and has been a timehonored tradition. As a commander told me, its imperative this custom continues to be displayed as long as the sons and daughters give their lives. Ichael conn. The battlefield cross has so many of the important things to a combat vet, rifle, boots, tags and most of all, a fallen comrade. It is extremely important to have those things wrapped up for us to kneel to, grieve with and talk to our brothers in arms. As a combat vet, you relate to outside of that world and feel like an outsider. Whenever you see that combat cross, it brings peace for that moment. I would like to thank the chairman and Ranking Member for bringing this bill to the floor today and recognizing how important this legislation is. I urge support of the bill and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio yields back. Mr. Roe i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has the floor. Mr. Roe i can think of no other better time to vote on this legislation. I have lost friends in combat in the vietnam war and know many families. As most of us have visited with families who lost members. I also want to say that no where in the world do we honor our cemeteries more than the v. A. The v. A. Does a phenomenal job in our National Cemeteries and i traveled to europe and visited those cemeteries at normandy and flanders field and many others. And it is a place of sacred honor, these cemeteries are and only appropriate that we allow and have this symbol there codified by law. And i thank congressman gonzalez, take great pride in having this bill and signed into law by the president. I urge my members to support this. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i associate myself with the remarks of the Ranking Member regarding the beautiful work that our Cemetery Administration does for our veteran cemeteries and national battlemon youments commission with the work they do with our cemeteries abroad. They are the pride of our country and fitting ways to show our gratitude and respect for those who have fallen in the service of our country. And i thank representative gonzalez for his work. I urge my colleagues to pass h. R. 1424. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 1424. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3224 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk a bill to amend title 38 United States code to provide for increased access for medical care for Women Veterans. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from tennessee, dr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous remarks on h. R. 3224 as amended. I rise in support of h. R. 3224 e Deborah Sampson act, introduced by representative brownley. This bill comprises 15 bipartisan bills to transform and improve comprehensive to health care for americas two million Women Veterans. This bill is named after a revolutionary war veteran from massachusetts who served in the Continental Army for 17 months and was wounded in battle more than once. Deborah sampson was neither the first or the only women to serve in the he Continental Army. She was the most persistent. Over 38 years, Congress Granted her a pension, back pay and her husband was granted a survivors pension after her death. Mr. Speaker, it is because of similar persistence of womens veterans and women warriors who followed in her footsteps that we are now considering this bill today. Creates ah sampson act a office of Womens Health. This office will be responsible responsible for internal oversight and resource allocation including inputs into the budgeting process. 10 of v. A. Facilities do not have genderspecific care for women. H. R. 3224 as amended increases staffing and training for Womens Health primary care, so that every single woman veteran has access to genderspecific care at their nearest v. A. Facility. 75 of women do not use v. A. Care because they dont realize they are eligible. This seeks to expand outreach and capabilities to connect more women to v. A. Benefits and health care. The Deborah Sampson act has counseling and expands counseling for members of the reserve and National Guard who are survivors of military sexual trauma and those who are experiencing Partner Violence and those facing homelessness. Throughout this congress we have addressed the issue of widespread Sexual Assault. One in four Women Veterans experience this at v. A. Facilities and that must end. Veteran caregiveremployee, contractor should experience Sexual Assault or harassment at v. A. This bill requires that v. A. Develop a comprehensive policy that includes by stander intervention, mandatory reporting and holds leadership accountable for addressing Sexual Harassment and assault at v. A. Facilities. Today, nearly one in four new recruits joining the military is a woman. Women veterans are the Fastest Growing demographic and v. A. Must be prepared to welcome them. I urge all members to support h. R. 3224. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. Mr. Roe i rise in support of h. R. 3224 the Deborah Sampson act. For as long as the United States has been a reality, brave women have been stepping up to serve on behalf of her and defending her from her enemies. This bill is named after Deborah Sampson who so believed in the ideals of the American Revolution that she disguised herself as a man to join in the fight for freedom and independence. Her spirit of bravery, patriotism and commitment to service are still very much alive in the two million veterans in the United States today and the almost 400,000 women serving in active duty or in the guard and reserves. Those women have fought in the defense of the american dream, on the front lines, in the pentagon and everywhere in between in every branch of the Armed Services. Once they leave the military, he they are seeking care from the department of Veterans Affairs. In fact, the number of women using the v. A. Health care system has more than tripled since 2001 and expected to continue to rise significantly in the years ahead. V. A. Leaders have made the department more welcoming, but the fact remains that the v. A. System was designed for men. That is perhaps most upsettingly evidenced by v. A. Study that found that a full quarter of the Women Veterans who seek care are subjected to inappropriate or unwanted comments from male veterans on v. A. Grounds. That is tragic and unacceptable. The v. A. Provides high quality and benefits that women earned and deserve. This is legislation introduced by Julia Brownley and ought to be applauded, the chair woman on the subcommittee on health that would help put an end to this. The bill would create an office of Womens Health and require v. A. To establish an environment of care standards and ensure that v. A. Facilities are retrofitted to meet those standards and train providers to v. A. Medical facilities on Womens Health and improve access to women and newborn children. It includes those who experience sexual trauma, Sexual Assault or harassment to get the support and care they need. Mr. Speaker, there have been a lot of allegations made by by chairman takano. There have been a lot of allegations made by chairman takano in the two weeks since this was marked up about how and my republican colleagues feel about this legislation and the women that it is infended to serve. Let me crystal clear, i stand here in strong support of the depp ra sampson act and the good it would do for the millions of women. I intend to call for a recorded vote and i vote to prove there is overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation. Mr. Speaker, when i left the army in 1974, i returned home to tennessee to finish my residency and spend the better part of my life caring for women in my private practice. Women, whether it be civilian or veteran, have the care they need is personal, deeply felt and informed by three decades of direct action on the women who were my patients, my friends, my family, my neighbors, colleagues and fellow veterans. And thats why it is so disappointing when my republican colleagues walked out of the committee markup, they decided to launch a fueled attack on me and other republican members by alleging we were walking on Women Veterans. Nothing can be further from the truth. The chairman knows full well our decision to leave that markup had nothing to do with the Deborah Sampson act. And everything to do with the unprecedented partisanship that he displayed when this bill was being considered. I would like to take the opportunity to correct the record. Chairman takano has called this bill historic and monumental. Yet during the committees consideration of it, he allowed one member, exactly four minutes to talk about it before cutting off debate by invoking a procedural tactic that hadnt been used by our committee in a decade. Never used this by chairman miller. He avoided debate and he said it was toxic and partisan. They were offered in good faith to address barriers to care for veteran women and men. If we had been requesting the chairman to act on for a better part of the year. One of the amendments that the chairman refused to debate on bower, mendment by andy including sexual crimes against children for caring children while their parent is receiving care from v. A. Until their case has been resolved. The lack of Child Care Services is a serious barrier to care for veterans including many Women Veterans. Our committee rightly acted on the bill, h. R. 840, which passed the house in february to break down that barrier to authorizing v. A. To provide child care for veterans who are engaged in v. A. Treatment. If the veterans cant rest assured that their children arent safe, they wont use the care. The lack of Child Care Services will prevent veterans from getting the care they need. Congressman barrs amendment would allow an individual charged with a serious offense like child molestation or awaiting his or her day in court to be responsible for caring for a child in the v. A. Child program before their case in the courts. There are a lot of things we cant agree on, but protecting Vulnerable Children shouldnt be one of those things. He has refused to address this issue and employed a procedural tactic in our committee to disallow and votes on it twice. And he has failed to respond to 11 Committee Members who wrote him in july asking for a legislative hearing orp congressman barrs legislation. It defies understanding. And another amendment was offered by chip roy from tech as to prohibit v. A. From sending the name of an veteran to the National Instant background system solely because v. A. Has determined that a person has a serviceconnected disability or solely because a fiduciary has been appointed on their behalf. A magistrate of a Judicial Authority that the person is in danger to themselves or others. Infringing on a lawabiding citizen constitutional protected rights should never occur in a free society unless a very high bar has been met. For example, criminals must be convicted in a court of law before their names are provided to the nics list. They send veterans names to the nics list if they have appointed a fiduciary. This is because once v. A. Decides that an individual needs help with their finances even though there are no evidence that an individual is a danger to themselves or anybody else, they send that persons name to the f. B. I. To be added to the nics list and they lose their Second Amendment right to own a firearm. These are the very people who gave us those rights, protected those rights. Legislation that the house passed on a partyline vote h. R. 1112. This would compound this injustice for the v. A. To report a veteran if they have been adjudicated by having a Mental Illness when they file for ptsd or depression. I have heard from veterans across the country from long island to los angeles to tell me they dont seek v. A. Care because the benefits they have earned and because they fear they will lose their Second Amendment rights if they do so. This is unacceptable at any time and particularly unacceptable during a National Suicide crisis when we know of 1420 veterans and Service Member suicide deaths already occur among those who are not engaged in veteran care. Veterans risk their lives to protect our rights. We need to protect theirs. The chairman has refused to do that despite making a speech before the American Legion that he would protect the Second Amendment rights of our nations veterans and he failed to respond to 12 Committee Members who wrote him in july asking for a legislative earg to discuss Second Amendment issues. There are pressure few avenues to influence the legislative agenda. Since february, we have been asking the chairman publicly and privately to address these issues in our committee. Our requests and letters have gone unanswered. So that we can have an open debate, an up or down vote on these issues. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. We attempted to amend the Deborah Sampson act with these amendments two weeks ago on the advice of the parliamentarian about the appropriateness of these particular amendments. Which addresses serious issues facing female and male veterans alike in each one of our states and districts. And this of course bill. But the chairman denied us even this opportunity. That kind of partisanship has never been how this committee has operated, as long