Dan Benishek

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment I co- introduced with my friend, Mr. Barrow, to prevent the closure of Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs across this country. ROTC programs not only benefit the Army, they strengthen communities and provide opportunities to promising young students. However, in October of this past year, the Army released a list of 13 ROTC programs slated for closure following the 2014-2015 school year. Following advocacy from Members, including Chairman Rogers, we were able instead to get the Army to institute a new evaluation system for ROTC programs. This amendment simply holds the Army to their promise of giving these programs enough time to institute changes. One of these valuable programs is located at Northern Michigan University. Over the 45-year history of the program, Northern Michigan has seen 400 students graduate and go on to military service. A closure of the NMU ROTC program next school year would prove especially unfair to the cadets currently in the program. These young men and women have worked hard in order to be accepted and maintain their spot. Let's give them a chance to succeed and serve the country they love. Support this amendment. Please vote for it.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. Today, I rise in support of going to a conference committee with the Senate on VA reform. I am pleased that the Senate has followed our lead in swiftly passing legislation that will help the thousands of veterans waiting for care in a dysfunctional VA system. While I don't agree with everything in the Senate bill, we all agree that our veterans deserve better than the VA has been giving them. Today, Congress will renew its commitment, on a bipartisan basis, to overhauling the VA and working to give our veterans the care they have earned. I was a surgeon at the VA for 20 years treating our veterans, and today I am grateful for the opportunity to continue that care by working to get a VA reform bill to the President's desk. The bottom line is this: we cannot allow the VA to continue operating as a failed, bloated bureaucracy. I believe we can give the VA the tools to be smarter, leaner, and much more responsive to the needs of our veterans. As a father of a veteran, I am dedicated to making this a reality. The time for excuses is over, the time for action is now.

Mr. BENISHEK

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

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of a very simple amendment, in which I am joined and sponsored by Mr. Lowenthal of California. I believe strongly that there is an epidemic, commonly referred to as Alzheimer's disease, that is sweeping our country. My amendment would increase funding for the Defense Health Program by $2 million, with the intent of providing more peer-reviewed research to fight this devastating disease. As a doctor who served at the Iron Mountain VA for 20 years, I know how important the health research programs at the Department of Defense are. These programs provide groundbreaking research into the health challenges that our veterans face. These health research programs help us to provide better quality of care to those who have served our country and frequently lead to advances in treatment that benefit the rest of the population. According to the Alzheimer's Association, over 5 million Americans are currently living with this disease. This number is expected to continue to rise, resulting in increased suffering for patients and their families and a dramatic rise in health care costs. As a representative for a district with a large population of veterans and a large population of seniors, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of Alzheimer's. We must do more to combat this terrible disease. This amendment will cut $2 million in funding for the Secretary of Defense's general operation and maintenance fund, an account which I believe can take a small cut, and applies those funds to the Defense Health Program for medical research. By voting for this amendment, you will be supporting more research and development on the ground, rather than the salaries of bureaucrats in Washington. I believe this amendment is a good, commonsense effort, and I hope my colleagues will support me in this effort to increase research into treating and eventually curing Alzheimer's. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. BENISHEK. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.

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

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

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two deputies of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Michael Jacobi and Deputy Matthew Swope on the distinction of earning the Police Officers Association of Michigan's Police Officers of the Year Award. Deputy Jacobi and Deputy Swope are two of five officers to be honored by the Police Officers Association of Michigan for 2014. On behalf of all residents of Northern Michigan, we are honored to have two officers such as Deputy Jacobi and Deputy Swope to be serving and earn this distinction. On the night of Jan. 16-17, a woman was abducted at gunpoint from the campus of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant and forced to the home of a male suspect, later identified as recently-paroled Eric Lee Ramsey, who bound her and sexually assaulted her. He returned her to the car and began driving, stating that he intended to murder her. The woman managed to open the door and jump out of the moving vehicle, taking refuge in a nearby home. The suspect poured gasoline on the home and attempted to set it ablaze before fleeing the scene. The police were notified, and several hours later the suspect rammed a state police cruiser. After being pursued by more state troopers, Ramsey was able to flee and take control of a large flatbed truck. The word was put out to be on watch for the vehicle, and Crawford County Deputy Michael Jacobi turned around to give pursuit after passing by in the opposite direction. Jacobi became the only officer on his trail after the suspect rammed an additional state police cruiser, disabling it and injuring the officers inside. Seeing a roadblock, Ramsey turned the vehicle around while Jacobi checked on the status of the injured officers, and crashed head-on into Jacobi's cruiser. He repeatedly backed up and continued ramming the patrol car until the vehicles became jammed together. At this point Jacobi took hold of his M-16 rifle, which he set to full automatic, and fired a burst, holding the gun over his head. However, the gun jammed, and Ramsey exited his vehicle. It was then that Jacobi saw Ramsey holding what he believed to be a firearm. He dropped his jammed M-16 and drew his Glock pistol. During this time, Deputy Matthew Swope arrived on the scene, and Ramsey moved out of sight of Jacobi. Swope placed his vehicle between the truck and Jacobi, a brave action which provided protection to his exposed partner while risking his own safety. Ramsey then began trying to free his vehicle, and Deputy Jacobi approached the cab. Through the window, he could see that the suspect was pointing the gun at him. Jacobi determined that his partner and himself were in imminent danger, and fired into the vehicle several times. There was no response or movement from within the truck, leading the deputies to secure Ramsey. They found that the suspect was deceased, and had been brandishing an air-pistol designed to look like a firearm. Eric Lee Ramsey, after sexually assaulting and attempting to murder a woman, fleeing police and exposing many on the road to extreme danger, and threatening officers with bodily harm, was subdued due to the bravery and service of officers Matthew Swope and Michael Jacobi, who put themselves at great personal risk to protect the public and each other. For this action in which they put themselves at great risk, they are honored by the Police Officers Association of Michigan and earned the 2014 Police Officers of the Year Award. This is their second time being honored for their dedication, after receiving this award in 2013 for previous actions of bravery. I wish to commend Deputy Jacobi and Deputy Swope for their heroism and well deserved honor of earning the Police Officers Association of Michigan's Police Officers of the Year Award, the second time they have been honored by the Police Officers Association of Michigan for going above and beyond the call of duty. Furthermore, I salute all Michigan law enforcement officials from Isle Royale to Monroe County and Gogebic County to Port Huron in the work they do every day to protect the residents of our state.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4360) to designate the facility of the United States Forest Service for the Grandfather Ranger District located at 109 Lawing Drive in Nebo, North Carolina, as the ``Jason Crisp Forest Service Building''.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill H.R. 4360.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4360, a bill that would name the administrative building for the Grandfather District of the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina for Officer Jason Crisp. Officer Crisp spent 8 years serving in the McDowell County Sheriff's Office and serving in different roles in the community where he grew up. He graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in 2005, when he returned to western North Carolina to begin his career marking timber for the Forest Service and, later, to work in a K-9 unit, along with his partner, Maros. Like other Forest Service officers, Officer Crisp and Maros were charged with protecting the National Forest and those in its boundaries, which they did with distinction. Officer Crisp and Maros often assisted in manhunts and other searches in the National Forest and surrounding community as part of their duty. Officer Crisp was not on duty on March 12 when he received a phone call about a murder suspect on the loose. Nevertheless, he selflessly agreed to assist, demonstrating his commitment to keeping his community safe. This selfless attitude of dedication is prevalent among the men and women of the Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations division. Officer Crisp's life was senselessly taken in the line of duty on March 12, while assisting local and State police forces in the manhunt. He leaves behind a wife, Amanda, and two sons, Garrett and Logan. As we mourn the loss of Officer Crisp, we want to thank the Crisp family for Officer Crisp's years of service. Naming this building is a small token of thanks to Officer Crisp's family, in order to honor his memory and his service. While Officer Crisp will be missed, naming the Forest Service building in his honor will be a reminder to the citizens of western North Carolina of all that he meant to the community. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows), the author of this legislation.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 4360 and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in support of the amendment.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support a very commonsense amendment. I think we can all agree that no disabled veteran should go hungry. Those who have served our Nation with honor and distinction, and come home as wounded veterans deserve great honor, not a life of hardship. Unfortunately, not all of our veterans have fared well following their tours of duty. From the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone, 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans are applying for benefits with the VA. Only about one-third have been granted benefits so far. The VA has almost 600,000 pending disability claims as of April 2014, with 23 percent of those from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. This amendment would allow veterans to apply for SNAP benefits while their disability claims are pending with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Just like all Americans, veterans would still be required to meet income eligibility requirements for SNAP. However, they would no longer have to wait on the backlog that is so prevalent at the VA to find out if they would be eligible for these specific benefits. Mr. Chairman, our Nation's veterans should never live under the threat of hunger due to an administrative backlog in Washington. They deserve better. This amendment is fully paid for and just makes sense. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 4810, the Veteran Access to Care Act. This bill simply says to our veterans, you will receive the care you earned in a timely manner, whether it is at a VA facility or at your local hospital. I am proud to be an original cosponsor. By passing this legislation, we give a helping hand to those veterans stuck in a broken bureaucracy. We will not allow them to sit and wait for an appointment that they should have gotten immediately. They fought to defend our right to freedom. Today we defend their right to the care they were promised. The 2-year authorization for private care in this bill will give Congress time to work with the VA to overhaul the system. As a former VA doctor, I pledge to you that the VA that emerges from this process will be leaner, smarter, and far more responsive to the needs of our veterans. We know 35 veterans have died while awaiting care in the Phoenix area alone. We know the recent deaths of at least 23 veterans have been linked to delayed VA medical care. The time for excuses is over. The time for action is now. I support, and I urge all my colleagues to support, H.R. 4810.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2072) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the accountability of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2072, as amended.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2072, as amended, the Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act. This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general--the IG--to determine whether appropriate action has been taken by the VA in response to an IG report concerning public health or patient safety. It would require the IG to notify the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees and the Secretary of any failure of VA to respond appropriately. The bill would require the Secretary, following such notification, to report the names of managers responsible for implementing the relevant action plan to the IG within 15 days and prohibit the IG from making such names public. It would require the Secretary to promptly notify each responsible manager of an issue in a covered report, direct that responsible manager to resolve the issue, and provide such manager with counseling and a mitigation plan to resolve the issue. It also would require the VA to include an evaluation of whether such manager took appropriate action to a covered report in his or her performance review, and it would prohibit the VA from paying a bonus or performance award to any responsible manager if an issue in a covered report is left unresolved. Other provisions of the bill will authorize the VA for 3 years, beginning on October 1, 2014, to enter into a contract or agreement with certified medical foster homes to pay for long-term care for certain veterans already eligible for VA-paid nursing home care and require an eligible veteran to receive VA home health services as a component of such payment. It would require per diem payment recipients under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program to provide VA with certification of compliance with all relevant fire, safety, and building codes; and it would allow entities already receiving grants or assistance under the program to submit such certification within 2 years of enactment, require the VA to determine the code requirement for a facility in a location without a code requirement, and also to determine how such facility would be inspected. It would require VA to include an accounting and evaluation of the safety and accessibility of facilities used for homeless veterans in the annual report on assistance to homeless veterans. It would also extend the current rate of certain VA housing loan guarantee funding fees from October 1, 2017, to October 1, 2018, and extend VA's authority to receive information from the Internal Revenue Service for pension income verification purposes from September 30, 2016, to May 31, 2017. H.R. 2072, as amended, was reported out of the full committee last year with full support and is fully offset. I would like to offer my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all the Members who cosponsored the provisions in this bill, particularly Chairman Miller and Representative David McKinley from West Virginia, who we will be hearing from shortly. I also commend Chairman Miller; Ranking Member Michaud; the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, Julia Brownley; and all the members of the Subcommittee on Health, for their hard work and leadership on behalf of our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago today, our Nation commemorated Memorial Day in remembrance of the brave men and women throughout history who paid the ultimate price in defense of our freedoms. One of the best ways we can honor these heroes is to ensure that their fellow servicemembers--those they fought side by side with-- receive the best possible health care when they return home. Unfortunately, it has become painfully clear that the VA is not only failing to reach the standard, they are not even coming close. It is a sad legacy that I have seen firsthand as a VA surgeon for 20 years. From my first day on this committee, we have been working to identify the problems at VA and provide solutions for our veterans. It has been more than a year since we on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee first began investigating delays in care and seeking answers, and it has been 2 months since public awareness of these problems took off, after CNN highlighted the tragedy in Phoenix, allegations which were first brought to light by the committee; yet we still cannot get clear answers from the VA and are still waiting for key VA officials to be held accountable. I am sick and tired of these bureaucrats and undersecretaries coming before us to say: We know there's a problem, and we're working on it. We take this seriously. We're going to have a fix in a little while. Yet there never seems to be a fix. Veterans are dying. The time for excuses and delays is long past. The time for action is now. Two weeks ago, the VA IG released an interim report on the alleged negligence and mismanagement at the Phoenix VA health care system. In that report, the IG states that they have issued reports to call attention to problems in analyzing critical data for almost a decade and called for a system to monitor VA's corrective action. That system is exactly what we are creating today. No longer will VA officials be able to hide behind excuses. Instead, with this bill, we will take bold steps toward ending the culture of mismanagement and complacency at VA. When the VA concurs with an inspector general's recommendation on an issue that needs to be fixed and, indeed, nothing happens, who was the person responsible for following through on that fix? Why is the fact that they didn't reply to an IG report and stated via a VA concurrence that an action would be completed, not punished? Why are they still getting bonuses if they don't comply? Why are they getting promotions for not getting the job done? Anywhere else in America, these questions would already have been answered, but not in bureaucracies like VA. The Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act will correct this injustice. Let me be clear. I know the people that are providing direct patient care for our veterans--the nurses and the doctors--are good people who work hard, but their leadership has failed them, and it has failed our veterans, and it must stop now. I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and, in doing so, take a needed step to ensure that responsible individuals are held accountable for correcting any lapses in care that impact the health and well-being of our veterans. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Indiana, Mrs. Jackie Walorski, my colleague on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and a member of the Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia, Mr. David McKinley, my colleague on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. BENISHEK. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from New York (Mr. Collins).

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 2072, as amended, the Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act, and, in turn, to support our veteran heroes. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BENISHEK

Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, in the real world, if you fail to do your job, you get fired. Not at the VA. Today, I rise in support of H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill because it simply allows the Secretary to fire senior VA executives when they fail to do their job. I am sick and tired of hauling VA officials in front of the committee to hear tired excuses and explanations. President Obama has allowed the VA leadership to operate without accountability. Veterans are dying. The time for excuses has passed. The time for taking action to fix these problems is now. This legislation is just the beginning. Severe mismanagement at the VA will not be tolerated by me or this Congress. We will overturn every rock and use every tool at our disposal in the pursuit of the truth of what is happening at the VA.