states. all of our veterans have provided a great service to our country through their personal sacrifice. as a nation we owe them our gratitude for their service. section 6103 of title 5 united states code provides that veterans day, november 1 1, is a legal public -- 11, is a legal public holiday. it reaffirms the nation's obligations to support our veterans and their families. h.r. 1622 would resolve that the house of representatives recognize the honor, courage, sacrifice and -- of all veterans and their historic contributions to the united states. it encourages the people of the united states to demonstrate their support for veterans day each year by treating that day as a special day of reflection. it encourages schools and teachers to educate students on the historic contributions have vet advance have made to the country and its history, both while serving as members of the united states armed forces and after completing their service and request that the president issue a proclamation each year in connection with the observance of veterans day. calling on the people of the united states to recognize the historic contribution of all veterans by deserving -- observer that date with appropriate ceremonies and activities. however, i am saddened that the house of representatives was unable to pass this worthy resolution before veterans day, november 11. again, i encourage my colleagues to support h.r. 1622 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. filner: i have no further requests for time and am prepared to yield back if he is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back -- mr. filner: i haven't yielded back, i said i'm prepared to yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i do want to again say that in our district and in many districts around the country it's not just veterans day, it's veterans week. we spend an entire week celebrating the service and sacrifice made by our veterans. during this past -- two weeks ago we had veterans day, during the entire week, because most of us as congressmen like to attend as many of these as we can, to show the support in one small community of tennessee, there were almost 6,000 people in the event for veterans. our key note speaker was general livingston, a medal of honor winner, a marine. i attended children the following sunday with a colonel who lost his arm in vietnam, who is a baptist pastor there. and on and on we see stories of these heroes who have served our nation. so i would encourage all of us to support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. filner: mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to unanimously support house resolution 1622 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. and the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1622. 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 resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. filner: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5953 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5953, a bill to correct the secretary of veterans affairs to display in each facility of the department of veterans affairs a women veterans bill of rights. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. filner, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5953 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: and i would yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. filner: thank you, mr. speaker. this bill before us is an important piece of legislation establishing a bill of rights on the one hand for women veterans and on the other hand for injured and amp tee veterans -- ampity veterans. this has been a subject of over a year of discussion. to try to refine the legislation to one that everyone can support. let me speak on the first half and that is women veterans. there are almost two million women veterans now, mr. speaker, and they are one of the fastest growing subgroups of veterans in our nation. it is estimated that the number of female veterans who use the v.a. health care system will double, assuming that the current enrollment rates remain constant. the v.a. health care system as we know it was built to accommodate the war-related illnesses and injuries of male veterans. it's a male institution as was created. in fact, many of the v.a. providers, many of the v.a. customers are veterans, have little or no exposure to women veterans. as women are serving in combat conditions alongside their male counterparts, it's important that the department embrace and recognize the needs of all veterans, both men and women alike. through hearings and round table discussions that we have held during this year, women veterans have come forward to share their personal stories from their accounts, it is clear that while the v.a. has made some strides in caring for women veterans, significant gaps remain. the veterans testifying before the committee have shared stories of feeling unwelcome, alienated, disrespected in some of our v.a. medical centers, so that they are now reluctant to pursue the benefits and services that they have earned, with service to their country. we have heard about women veterans walking into the lobby of madecal center and having cat calls come from all corners that have lobby. we have heard that a woman who had her arm amputated from a battle there fallujah when she appeared before a doctorate her v.a., the doctor thought she had cancer. he couldn't imagine her having lost an arm due to combat conditions. we have had single women who have had to bring their children because they could not get child care and doctors refusing to see them. we have got to change this institution to meet the needs, the real needs of the women veterans of our nation. the v.a. must recognize and be equipped to treat the unique medical concerns that women veterans have. they must respect privacy concerns and eliminate cultural incensitytive -- insensitivity. in most of the v.a. medical centers, they're not even changing in privacy curtains so that women may have that deserved privacy. we made a lot of progress this congress in addressing the needs of women veterans with the enactment of s. 1963, the caregivers and veterans omnibus health services act of 2010. this bill, h.r. 5953, would bring the v.a. another step closer to providing equal care for women and their -- to their male counterparts. my bill would require the v.a. to display in all of its facilities the 24 fundamental principles governing the treatment of women veterans as well as require v.a. to widely distribute the bill of rights to women veterans. among the key principles of this bill of rights is the right to coordinated, comprehensive primary women's health care at every v.a. medical center. the right to receive care from clinicians who have special training and experience in women health issues. and gender equity in accessing all clinical services. my hope is that this legislation will lead to bold changes that will effectively tackle the needs of our brave and honored women veterans. this bill as amended mandates also another bill of rights. let me just say one last thing, though, on the women's bill of rights. there was some concern raised in recent days about the relationship to this bill and the rights conferred on women veterans and therefore the bringing of abortion services into the v.a. medical facilities. this bill did not do that. it made no reference to all the laws on the books that prevent federal facilities from doing that but in a discussion with the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, who previously chaired this v.a. committee, who is a leader of the so-called pro-life forces in this congress, he said, we can fix that for you. all you have to do is add a line that he gave us and we have put in this bill. so nobody need be concerned that this bill somehow overrides all previous laws and mandates abortion services in the v.a. clinics. it says and it is included in this bill by manager's amendment, that nothing in this act shall be construed to establish a right to any service excluded under 38 code of federal regulations 17.38 as an effect on the date of enactment of this act. that is, that's the regulations that ban abortions in federal facilities. so just to make sure that people feel that they can vote for this without violating some other principles, this sentence is in there and the gentleman from new jersey feels that that adequately eliminates that problem that had been brought up in recent days. let me, if i may, mr. chairman, -- mr. speaker, go on to the injured and amputee bill of rights. there's not many of white house have not heard of the horrific battleground stories of the men and women who have been in operation enduring freedom. these tales reveal a gruse some war in which -- gruse am war -- gruesome war. none is more deafening than the amputations undergone by service men members as a direct result of a widespread use of the roadside bombs otherwise known as i.e.d.'s, improvised explosive devices. this class of injury which has spiked drastically since the onset of operation new dawn requires special contribution within the department of veterans affairs. these individuals must embark upon a long road to recovery that includes extensive rehabilitation and specialized treatment. this bill instructs the v.a. to inform veterans and educate employees at each v.a. clinic that there is an injured and amputee veterans bill of rights. it requires the v.a. to monitor and resolve complaints of amputee veterans alleging mistreatment. i believe this bill will do much to protect the rights of our amputee veterans and bolster the consistency of care throughout the v.a. health care system. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. we have been working on these bills for a long, long time. and i'm pleased that we have been allowed to bring these bills even in this lame duck session, to allow the v.a. to move into the 21st century in terms of treatment of our women veterans and in treatment of our veterans who have undergone ampletations. i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee voiced. roadway row i thank the speaker -- mr. roe: i thank the speaker. this is amended to display in each v.a. facility a women's veterans bill of rights, included as part of the manager's amendment is language, a bill to direct v.a. to create educate and inform staff and veterans about injured and amp tee veterans bill of rights. until the bill is laudable, the sacrifices of women injured and amputee veterans should be recognized and respected and unquestionably they have unique needs that require specialized care and services. but h.r. 5953 is a flawed bill that has been brought to the floor under flawed process. in congress, certain procedures are put in place to ensure that policy is done correctly. under regular order, once a bill has been introduced, it's referred to a committee of jurisdiction. once in committee, it may be referred to a particular subcommittee or held in full committee where hearings and markups and that for the public would be votes are held and members and interested stakeholders are given the opportunity to examine legislation for sound policy and unintended consequences. if members desire they may offer amendments to improve a bill before it's voted out of committee and brought to the house floor for further debate before being voted on by the full house. this is a time-tested democratic process and i've seen numerous bills made better when we follow regular order. instead this bill is being brought to the floor in a closed process, it bypasses regular order in spite of numerous and serious objections, including those of our ranking member, congressman buyer. who were supposed to have debated and voted on it yesterday but it was pulled from the consideration at the very last minute after grave concerns were raised by the pro-life caucus, national right to life committee, the concerned women of america and the united states conference of catholic bishops, among others, over language that could have created a legal basis to require government-funded abortions at v.a. medical centers. i am pleased that a new section was added to the bill, we'll consider today, and it is intended to address these particular concerns and i have the copy of the part of the -- right. however, h.r. 5953 is amended still continues to raise significant policy questions considering whether rights are consistent with current veterans health care eligibility under title 38 of the united states code, among these rights in question are the right to equal consideration this hiring and employment. this right seems to create an unfounded expectation regarding employment in both public and private sectors. but leaves remaining of equal crucial unknown. equal to whom or what? do existing employment laws and regulations meet this new undefined standard or will additional regulations be required?9mbe required. the right to have female veterans assist them in their claims process. it is unclear whether it refers to veterans' service organizations and others who may assist in filing a claim or all of the above groups, but v.a. has no control over the geppeder of third parties that represent claimants before the v.a. the right for female compensation to be made available to women veterans is problematic. there are several locations where a female examiner may not be present and may place the claimant at a disadvantage. correcting issues like these is why we have a hearing process. the committee on veterans affairs has never held a hearing on h.r. 5953. consequently members have not been able to amend the legislation to recktive eye -- rectify. the v.a. has not been provided the opportunity to present their official views and none of the veteran service organizations have been provided the opportunity to comment on the bill which could directly impact so many of their daily lives. additionally, we are going to vote on the bill without knowing what it will cost because the congressional budget office was not given the opportunity to prepare a cost estimate. yesterday, a last-minute fix was needed to ensure this bill would not provide a basis for federally-funded abortions. what else is in the bill? we don't know, because we weren't able to properly vet it before it was brought to the floor. how would this bill of rights be enforced? what would happen if the personnel didn't comply? what would happen if the v.a. has a comprehensive list of patients' rights in each facility. existing bill of rights applies to each and every veteran and includes the right to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect. the v.a. benefits to which they may be entitled and other rights including women veterans and a.m. pew tees, we are committed to meaningful oversight for the benefits and services we provide for our veterans. i would have appreciated the opportunity to have a voice in the process of bringing h.r. 5953 to the floor today. that is why the voters of tennessee sent me to congress and i infend to ask for hearings on these questions. and i just want to say the chairman has -- we have worked on many things together, many good issues. i'm a veteran and i'm an ob-gyn physician who has treated veteran patients over 30 years in my community which has a veterans' hospital. i'm aware of these issues. but i certainly agree with a bill of rights. the problem is we had no way and no process in which to look through this. so i understand what the chairman -- it's laudable what he wants to do and i agree with many of the issues and i have no problem with that. i'm discussing the process of how we got here to the floor. and i will reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, mr. speaker. i do want to assure the gentleman as he knows, we have had several round tables. we call them round tables rather than hearings, because we sit around the table and have discussion rather than just have people questioning. and we have had people from all over the country testify on this bill. we have sent the bill to every single set set van service organization, to -- veteran service organization, to everyone who has complained about treatment and had enormous input from around the country probably more than any other bill we have done and this bill has undergone a whole lot of changes and has responded to a lot of the input that we had. including from members of the opposite party, who have been at some of the round table discussions. it is time to move into the 21st century on this. the v.a. has been a male institution. we cannot keep waiting for change. it has to come. the women are performing an incredible role in the conflicts that we have ongoing. we should not say thank you by an unwelcomed response to their coming to a v.a. facility. it's time that we had a bill of rights for women veterans. and i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: i thank the speaker. again, this bill, 5953 did not come in front of the full veterans affairs committee, which other bills i have seen -- again i'm new as your i'm here as you are. these bills come up and we have a markup and that's to vote on the bill and then the chairman will ask, are there any amendments at the table? we'll discuss those amendments and vote them up or down. we didn't have a chance to vet that with this process and i think it's a laudable thing to do. i certainly see many things in here and i have got the bill of rights right here that the v.a. has posted on the wall. and i would have liked the opportunity to go over the bill of rights. this particular bill was introduced july 29, 2010, but it never did make -- i was at all the veterans' markups and i certainly didn't miss this one and didn't come through the regular order and that's my complaint, not the content so much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5953 as amended and i have no further requests for time and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. so the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5953 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