Mike Bost

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Evertt Atkinson of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, who turns 99 tomorrow. Evertt was born on June 5, 1922, in Jefferson County to Emery Pearl and Hallie Winnifred Morre Atkinson. Upon the death of his mother, Evertt dropped out of school at the age of 13 to help his father tend to the family dairy farm and help raise his three younger brothers. Upon hearing of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Evertt hitchhiked from Mt. Vernon to Scott Air Force Base to enlist in the military. However, he was only 19 at the time, and he was forced to return home to get his father's written permission to enlist. By November of 1942, he became an Aviation Cadet. He went on to take additional training as an electronic specialist, became a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant and then a Flight Instructor in the Army Air Force. He was also elected to the Honor Committee and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. While on a 10-day leave, he met and fell in love with Doris Louise McCauley, whom he married on December 3, 1943. Three years later, Evertt was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. Upon returning home to Mt. Vernon with Doris, they raised their three children: Ruth Ann Clark-Wheeler, Rebecca Louise Hill, and Dennis Dale Atkinson. In 1948, Evertt acquired his high school diploma and worked on his wife's family's dairy farm until 1965. He then worked for Sturdi-Built as a salesman for the next 28 years. Those who know Evertt are familiar with his outgoing, positive approach to life and loss. He continues to volunteer for numerous charitable causes in his community. Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring Evertt Atkinson on his 99th birthday. On behalf of Southern Illinois, happy birthday.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2878, as amended, the Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act. This bill would direct the VA to carry out pilot programs on at least two Tribal colleges or university campuses. During the pilot, a VetSuccess counselor would be assigned to these campuses to help eligible veterans navigate VA programs and benefits. I support the underlying bill. I am also pleased that the bill, as amended, included many Republican provisions. This bill includes the revised text of Congresswoman Miller-Meeks' bill, H.R. 2335, the VET TEC Enhancement Act of 2021. Her bill would increase funding for the popular VET TEC pilot program to ensure that funding does not run out before the end of the fiscal year. The bill also provides additional funding for those programs in fiscal year 2022 and 2023. Madam Speaker, I am glad we authorized additional funds for this important program that is putting veterans back to work with a 70 percent placement rate. I think we would be hard-pressed to find another program with such a high rate of success. This bill also includes the text of Congressman Mann's bill, H.R. 2419, the Affordable Housing for Homeless Veterans Act of 2021. Congressman Mann's provision would authorize the VA to sell, lease, rent or donate homes to homeless veterans providers. These homes were acquired by the VA due to veterans defaulting on their VA-guaranteed home loans. This change would increase the stock of affordable housing that is available to house homeless veterans. Finally, this bill would provide authorization for the VA to continue the practice of rounding out the semester for GI Bill students. This practice ensures that the students who are finishing their education early are able to take an additional class to receive their full housing stipend. I am dismayed that, without this legislative fix, the Biden administration is poised to end the decades-long practice on August 1. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Levin for working with us to ensure rounding out continues and students are not hurt by the VA's decision. I also thank Congresswoman Miller-Meeks and Congressman Mann for their hard work on both of these bills. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2494, which would direct the VA to create a new fourth administration. This new administration would oversee programs that support economic opportunity for our veterans. During my time in Congress, I have seen repeated instances of mismanagement within the programs. I believe it is time for this new administration to be created so that more focus can be placed on economic opportunities for our veterans. This new focus is even more important today as we are trying to help veterans get back on the right economic track following the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank Congressman Wenstrup for his dedication and hard work on this bill. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues. I urge them to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), from the Second Congressional District.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2441, the Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I am pleased to commemorate it today by passing this bill to expand mental healthcare to veterans in rural areas. The Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act would expand VA's RANGE program. The RANGE program provides veterans who have serious mental illness or who are at risk of homelessness with intense case management. Almost a quarter of our Nation's veterans reside in rural communities. I am one of those veterans who does. While I wouldn't have it any other way, I know firsthand that living in a rural area can be a barrier to care. This bill will help remove that barrier for some of our most vulnerable veterans. It will help ensure that they do not fall through the cracks. It will help them heal. It will also require GAO to assess whether VA has sufficient resources to support mental health in rural areas. That will help identify any other barriers to care that may exist for these veterans so that we can break them down. This bill is supported by the entire Iowa delegation, including by my friend, fellow veteran, and fellow committee member, Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks. It is named after Brandon Ketchum, an Iowa veteran who died by suicide in 2016. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. I am honored to support this bill today in Brandon's memory. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson), from the First Congressional District.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Madam Speaker, I just encourage everyone to support this piece of legislation. There should be no one that would vote against this. Like all of the pieces of legislation that we have worked on this afternoon, Madam Speaker, I do want to thank the chairman and his staff for the job of working together. This is truly a case where this committee has done its bipartisan work the way it should. I also want to thank our staff for the hard work that they have put in with each one of these bills, as well as each of the Members today who have presented these pieces of legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore).

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2167, as amended, the GI Bill National Emergency Extended Deadlines--or NEED--Act. This bill would extend time limitations for the use of entitlement for VA education programs due to an emergency. I am supportive of the underlying bill. I also thank Chairman Takano, Congresswoman Sherrill, for including several Republican provisions in this legislation. This bill includes the text of two of Congressman Moore's bill, H.R. 2420, the Overseeing the GI Bill Act of 2021; and H.R. 2457, the Colonel John McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act. H.R. 2420 would require VA to submit regular reports to Congress on the progress of the Digital GI Bill program. This is a system that the VA is purchasing to overhaul the antiquated system that processes GI bill claims. The failed implementation of the Forever GI Bill in 2018 led to thousands of veterans waiting weeks for their claims to be processed. This provision would provide the needed oversight to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. H.R. 2457 would require institutions of higher learning to provide an in-State tuition to participants in the Survivors' and Dependents' Education Assistance Program. This would bring the benefits in line with other GI Bill programs that require that veterans be provided in- State tuition. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Moore for his hard work on both of these bills. H.R. 2167, as amended, also includes texts from Congresswoman Mace's bill, H.R. 2327. Congresswoman Mace's provisions would ensure that benefits through the Dependents' Education Assistance GI Bill program will never expire for eligible students. This would bring this program in line with the way the post-9/11 GI bill benefits work for most other veterans. I commend Congresswoman Mace for her hard work on this bill to expand benefits to dependents and survivors. Finally, this bill also includes the text of Congressman Cawthorn's bill, H.R. 2391, the Veterans Fellowship Act. This bill would direct the Department of Labor to carry out a pilot program to help veterans find meaningful employment through short-term fellowships. The DOL would provide a stipend for the veterans to participate in the pilot program. Madam Speaker, I thank all of these Members for their hard work drafting these important pieces of legislation. I am pleased to support the bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 711, as amended, the West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act. In 2016, Congress gave the West Los Angeles VA campus the authority to carry out leases with third parties. These leases have the potential to create revenue for the VA. However, the funds generated by these leases could only be used for renovation and maintenance. This bill would change that. It would require that any land use revenues received by the VA from a third party be credited to the medical facility's account. The funding in these accounts would be used to meet existing needs and new services for homeless veterans. Revenues would now be available for the medical center to provide emergency shelter and supportive housing services for homeless or at- risk veterans and their families. These funds would be available without fiscal year limitations and further appropriations. It makes sense that the medical center receives these funds and can use them to improve its campus and help homeless veterans. I thank Congresswoman Brownley for her amendment at the markup which eliminated the mandatory score for this bill. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H.R. 711, as amended. I thank the gentleman and his staff for the hard work they have done on this bill to get it right. I appreciate it very much. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 240, the Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Act. This legislation would direct the Secretary of Labor to prioritize homeless veterans with dependents when administering homeless reintegration programs. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released 2020's Point-in-Time count for homeless veterans. This count showed that on a single night in 2020, there were 37,252 veterans living on the street. This is a slight increase of 0.4 percent from 2019. With COVID-19 impacting the economy and increasing unemployment, we must do everything we can to help our homeless veterans find work. By passing this bill to prioritize job training for homeless veterans with dependents, we are ensuring this vulnerable population is at the front of the line for help. I thank Congresswoman Brownley for her hard work on drafting this bill, and I am proud to support it today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2911, the VA Transparency & Trust Act of 2021. In the American Rescue Plan, the VA requested and received $17.1 billion in emergency funding. I demanded justification from the VA to support that funding, and very little came. I asked why the VA needed additional money since roughly $10 billion in CARES Act funding was still available, and no one answered. Ranking Member Tracey Mann offered an amendment to oversee the use of those funds during the committee's markup of the American Rescue Plan. It was voted down on party lines. What I feared at that time I can now confirm. The American Rescue Plan has essentially become a blank check for the VA to the tune of $17.1 billion. H.R. 2911 would establish strict oversight and reporting requirements over all remaining COVID supplemental funds. It would also require the VA inspector general to conduct regular audits of these funds. Lastly, it would require the GAO to conduct a complete review after all funds have been spent. I believe these requirements are appropriate given that we are talking about tens of billions in taxpayer dollars. We should all expect full transparency on the use of these funds. I thank Chairman Pappas and Ranking Member Mann for joining me in introducing this bill. I encourage all my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2788, the VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act. Current law prohibits VA from having more than 40 full-time EEO counselors. With a workforce of around 400,000, that is only one counselor for every 10,000 employees. This arbitrary cap has hamstrung VA, and we have heard from the Department and stakeholders that the lack of counselors prevents VA from addressing complaints quickly. H.R. 2788 would remove this cap and finally allow VA to rightsize its need for EEO counselors. I thank Congressman Conor Lamb and Ranking Member Tracey Mann for introducing and leading this commonsense legislation. I am pleased to support it this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson), the cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2704, the Improving VA Accountability to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Act of 2021. It is a terrible reality that, according to a recent study, roughly 26 percent of female employees and 14 percent of male employees at VA have reported experiencing sexual harassment over a 2-year period. Sadly, an even higher percentage of employees reported some type of discrimination, such as reprisal or racial discrimination. Though these problems are large, I applaud the work of the VA Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion and what they do. They are taking these issues on headfirst, but there is still a long way to go. That is why I am proud to support H.R. 2704, which would eliminate the potential conflict of interest in VA's chain of command; require stricter reporting of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination; and require VA to finalize and deploy the Harassment Prevention Program, along with increasing training and reviews. I am grateful to Chairman Chris Pappas and Congresswoman Ashley Hinson for introducing this bill and leading it. The bill has my full support. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.