Dan Benishek

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Nice comments, Mr. Cartwright. I appreciate it. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski), my colleague on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Yes. It was great. It was a wonderful Special Order this evening. I want to thank all of my colleagues who took the time to come down and talk about this serious issue that faces our country. Mr. Lamborn discusses a case of suicide that he is very familiar with in his district. That story moves each and every one of us, and it is emblematic of the 22 suicides that occur every day amongst our veterans. There are stories as moving as this one and as tragic as this one as Mr. Lamborn brings up the fact that this patient was seen at the VA and was not helped at the VA. We need to make sure that the Veterans Administration and this administration puts our veterans not on the back burner as something that is ongoing, but make this a crisis. This is an emergency. This needs to be dealt with now not with reassurances from bureaucrats that it is all going to be better or ``We are changing our policies.'' They have been changing their policies for a long time and nothing has happened. This needs to be an emergency response. As friends and family members of our veterans and those serving our country, there are some things that we can do. We can work to recognize the symptoms that could indicate serious problems and identify where and how to get assistance when we may need it. To all veterans struggling with whether to take your own life, know that there is no shame in asking for help. You are not broken, and God has not forgotten you. You have volunteered to go to war for us, and we have failed to provide you adequate support when you have returned home. That is changing. I beg you to reach out to your local VA, your veterans center, your veterans service organization, or your Congressman to ask for help. I mean, I had two calls today on my cell phone, which I give my number out freely, from veterans that did not get appropriate help at the VA, and I refer them to my staff to get the ball rolling, get moving. Together we can begin to turn the tide on veterans' suicide. Everyone, though, can help fight this epidemic and be there for those that were there for us. I thank my colleague from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) for closing this Special Order hour for us.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of H.R. 1994, legislation to allow the VA Secretary to fire employees because of poor performance or misconduct. I want to thank Chairman Miller for his strong leadership on this bill. The VA Committee has been relentless in our pursuit of answers and accountability for our veterans since the wait time scandal first surfaced. And, yet, the VA has only held three individuals responsible for these unacceptable failings. I am the father of a veteran, and I served our returning heroes as a doctor at the Iron Mountain VA hospital for 20 years. I know exactly the quality of our veterans, and they deserve so much better. In northern Michigan, we all know that, if you don't do your job, you get fired. It is that simple. The VA needs to remember that it is not there to serve the VA, it is there to serve our veterans. Until we refocus the VA on this fundamental and sacred mission, we will continue to have the issues of mismanagement and incompetence that have plagued the Department. This bill takes an important step in that direction. I am pleased to support it. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk made in order under the rule.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have a real opportunity here to inject accountability into the VA's culture of mismanagement. The Benishek-Sinema amendment would help ensure that, when a VA inspector general identifies a problem and offers recommendations to fix it, the changes are made, and the job gets done. Today, the IG regularly issues reports on problems at the Department, and most of the time, the VA agrees with many of the recommendations and promises to change. The problem is no manager is actually named as being responsible for making those changes. When no one is in charge, nothing gets done, and there is no one to hold responsible. This amendment makes key changes that will give the IG's reports teeth, that will bring to the VA the solutions our veterans deserve. It increases transparency, and it allows the public to see the IG's report related to alleged employee misconduct. It requires the release of any modifications that the VA has asked the IG to make. It also requires the IG to identify specific managers who are responsible for fixing the problems identified in the reports. Their names will not be released, but this will allow Congress and the VA to know who is responsible for fixing the problem. Those individuals will not be able to receive a bonus or any performance award until the IG certifies that the problem is resolved. Finally, it reduces the burden on a supervisor when it is necessary to fire a bad employee. A supervisor cannot effectively manage if his hands are tied. This amendment has a history of bipartisan support, passing as a stand-alone bill by voice vote in the last Congress. It has also garnered the support of veterans' service organizations, including the American Legion, the VFW, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. I thank my colleague and friend, Congresswoman Sinema, for her leadership and for joining me on the issue. I am grateful for Chairman Miller's support and for that of the entire Veterans' Affairs Committee. Chairman Miller has been an incredible voice and advocate for our veterans. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), the chairman of the committee.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining on both sides?

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello).

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on H.R. 2256, as amended.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 2256, as amended, the Veterans Information Modernization Act. I developed and introduced this legislation following an oversight hearing in January where the subcommittee attempted to determine the cost and value of the care that the Department of Veterans Affairs provides to our Nation's veterans. Through the course of that hearing, it became painfully obvious that VA leaders were unable to provide basic information about, for example, how much the VA spends on a single patient encounter in a VA primary care clinic. As a doctor who served veterans at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in my hometown of Iron Mountain, Michigan, for 20 years, it is unbelievable to me that the VA either does not have or is unwilling to share key information about the care that it provides. The Congressional Budget Office testified in January that the VA ``. . . provided limited data to Congress and the public about its costs and operational performance.'' The CBO went on to state, ``. . . if this data was provided on a regular and systemic basis, it could help inform policymakers about the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of VA's services.'' Similar sentiments about the need for the VA to be more forthcoming were echoed at that hearing by witnesses from the American Legion and the Independent Budget. We are all too well aware of the many--seemingly endless--scandals that have plagued the Department over the last year and a half. A lack of transparency is at the heart of all of these scandals, and one of the keys to overcoming them is requiring the Department to regularly provide specific information about the care that the VA provides. H.R. 2256, as amended, would accomplish that goal by requiring the VA to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the provision of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care by the VA health care system. The report would encompass critical information about the operations of the Veterans Health Administration, including data regarding access, quality, workload, patient demographics and utilization, physician compensation and productivity, purchase care, and pharmaceutical prices. The VA would also be required to detail third-party billings and collections, including information on both small and large claims. This would ensure that the growing disparity between the amounts that the VA bills for and the amount that the VA collects is accounted for and that the VA receives every available dollar that it is owed and uses it to improve the services that the VA provides. Many of the data points included in this report are already provided by the Department of Defense for TRICARE. The regular receipt of this information would allow Congress, veterans, and the American taxpayers to make better informed decisions about the services that the Department is offering and to assist in creating the VA healthcare system that our veterans truly deserve. Other provisions included in the Veterans Information Modernization Act would broaden the VA's definition of a ``homeless veteran'' to include veterans and their families who are fleeing violent homes, improve the VA's processes for tracking and procuring biological implants, and establish a commission to examine the VA's mental health treatment model and the benefits of incorporating complementary and alternative treatments. I would like to offer my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my friends and colleagues--Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Congressman Phil Roe, and Congresswoman Janice Hahn--who have sponsored provisions of this bill. I would also like to thank Chairman Miller; Ranking Member Brown; Congresswoman Julia Brownley, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health; and all of the members of the Subcommittee on Health on both sides of the aisle for their hard work and leadership on this bill. I am proud to say that this bill, which was reported favorably out of the full committee earlier this summer and is fully offset, is supported by many veteran service organizations, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Concerned Veterans for America, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the Veterans Information Modernization Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2256) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report on the Veterans Health Administration and the furnishing of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care by the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my colleague and friend and the vice chairman of the committee.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), my colleague and a fellow physician on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman's support, and I again encourage all Members to support H.R. 2256, as amended. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015. I represent northern Michigan, which has over 20 million acres of Federal, State, and private forest land. Our forests are a vital part of the economy in northern Michigan that generate over $16.3 billion per year and creates more than 77,000 jobs. In addition to forestry, the outdoor recreation industry also contributes $18 billion to Michigan's economy and over 190,000 jobs to our State. Healthy forests are vital to our way of life in northern Michigan. Like most in my district, I grew up exploring these forests, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling. It is a way of life for so many, not only for those who live up north, but for the millions who visit the forests every year from all around the country. Sadly, many of our Federal forests are in a state of disrepair these days; they are overgrown, and especially in the Western United States, they are consumed by wildfire. The Forest Service, which is entrusted with managing 10 percent of the continental United States land base, has identified approximately 58 million acres as being at high risk for catastrophic fire. Even worse, by conservative estimates, over 56 billion board feet of timber have simply burned away in wildfires on Forest Service lands over the last 10 years. Over the past 10 years, over a billion dollars of timber rotted on the stump instead of being sold. Those revenues aren't available to the U.S. Treasury. The Forest Service couldn't use the funds to buy seedlings to replant our devastated national forests. We are literally allowing jobs for American families to burn away in our poorly managed Federal lands. Nothing about the current process is working. H.R. 2647 takes some very simple steps to allow our forests to become healthier and better managed for the future. This bill would streamline timber harvesting on Federal forests in existing land use plans, while reducing the threat of frivolous lawsuits related to forest management.

Mr. BENISHEK. In addition, this legislation would allow States and Federal forests to react faster to catastrophic wildfire events, thereby reducing the future risk to public lands. Finally, this legislation includes a number of collaborative processes for tribal, State, and private contracting, which will lead to healthier and better managed forests. I understand that many of my friends here today may live in areas with a few forests or low risk of wildfire. I ask all my colleagues here today, especially those not in heavily forested areas, to listen to your friends from forested districts. Support this bipartisan, commonsense legislation and help improve the health of our forests.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 2822, the fiscal year 2016 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. Mr. Chairman, my district covers nearly half the State of Michigan and includes three Federal forests. These forests are a major vacation destination for people, not only in my district, but in districts of Members all across the country. Yet, sadly, many of our constituents arrive to the Federal forests of northern Michigan to find that the road to their favorite fishing spot or hiking trail or ORV path has been arbitrarily closed by the Forest Service, with no warning and no input from the local community. Mr. Chairman, the last thing that people want to do when they travel to the woods of northern Michigan with their families is to learn about the obscure policies of the U.S. Forest Service, a Federal agency that treats the forests like their personal property instead of a public resource for everyone to enjoy. Activities like hunting, snowmobiling, fishing, and hiking all depend on access to these forests. And it is important to note that the outdoor economy contributes over $5.5 billion and 194,000 jobs to Michigan, most of which are in my district. My amendment is an opportunity to demonstrate to the Forest Service that their focus should be on making our forests more open and accessible to the American people. In practice, the amendment would reduce spending from the National Forest System vegetation and watershed program by $2 million and transfer those funds into the capital improvement and maintenance fund. Now, you might ask yourself, What does that have to do with opening forest roads? Well, I will tell you. According to the Forest Service, when work is necessary to open a road for access, they use the capital improvement and maintenance fund. If the Forest Service is working to close a road to appease environmentalists who don't want anyone to visit the forest, they use the vegetation and watershed line item. My amendment is simple. It gives more dollars to the Forest Service to keep roads open rather than closed. In addition, the CBO says that this change would save taxpayers $1 million for fiscal year 2016. Mr. Chairman, today I am standing up on behalf of my constituents in my district who want to use their forests responsibly, who want to teach their kids and grandkids how to hunt, fish, and snowmobile. They want to enjoy nature. Furthermore, I am standing up today for the small businesses that employ families throughout the outdoor economy. For example, I recently visited Extreme Power Sports in Gaylord, where they sell a variety of all-terrain vehicles, sleds, and safety gear. This small business sells ATVs and sleds to users all over the country who come to enjoy the trails and forests in our State and beyond. In addition to businesses like Extreme Power Sports, the hotels and restaurants around northern Michigan are supported by those who come to visit our forests year-round. Healthy, accessible forests are important for our way of life in northern Michigan and across the United States. All of our constituents deserve improved access to the forests, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. BENISHEK. I yield to the gentleman from Idaho.

Mr. BENISHEK. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 160, the Protect Medical Innovation Act. H.R. 160 will permanently repeal the misguided excise tax on medical devices that was imposed by the President's healthcare law. I am a cosponsor of this important legislation, along with over 280 Members of this House of Representatives. In the 113th Congress, the Senate endorsed getting rid of this burdensome tax by an overwhelming margin. It is clearly time for this tax to go. The medical device tax discourages innovation, lowers the quality of medical care available to the American people, and cuts jobs while driving production overseas. Companies like RTI Surgical, based in my district, are being harmed by this burdensome tax. Instead of hamstringing these manufacturers, we should be allowing them to produce new medical devices and create jobs. I am a doctor who treated patients in northern Michigan for 30 years. I know how important medical devices are for providing quality health care, and I believe that getting rid of this tax will improve our Nation's healthcare system. I hope all my colleagues will join me in supporting this commonsense and long overdue fix for the train wreck that is the President's healthcare law.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2393, the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015, as well as the rule. Mr. Speaker, we oftentimes hear the debate that the mandatory COOL label is about food safety and protecting our food supply. Let me be clear. Mandatory COOL labeling is not about food safety. No matter where our food comes from, regulations remain in place to ensure safety and traceability, regardless of origin. This debate is about the cost that a government-mandated marketing program is having on our economy. The World Trade Organization has ruled against the United States four times in favor of Mexico and Canada, our largest trading partners. Over the next month, Canada and Mexico will begin seeking retaliatory damages against U.S. products from all over the country. In fact, Canada has already announced that it will seek more than $3 billion in retaliatory sanctions. These damages are real. They will affect farmers, manufacturers, and small-business owners in my State of Michigan and around the country. Michigan's First District produces 70 percent of the tart cherries in the country. We export a lot of these cherries to Canada. Canada has placed cherries on the list for retaliatory sanctions. We also produce other things in my district, like apples, pork, wine, maple syrup. Michigan is also famous for its auto and steel industry. Canada plans to target all of these things. These penalties are real. They will cost jobs, which is the last thing we can afford to lose right now. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.