Mike Bost

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. 2721, as amended. This bill would establish a 7-year pilot program to allow eligible survivors or veteran representatives to request a VA-furnished headstone or marker for veterans buried in private cemeteries, who died during or after World War II. Under current law, the National Cemetery Administration may only furnish a headstone or marker for graves of eligible veterans who died on or after November 1, 1990. If this veteran and their family have not already received an equivalent benefit, this bill would allow the veteran's family to honor their military service. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2721, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. In closing, once again, I stand in strong support of this legislation, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3579) to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to the Veterans Readiness and Employment program of Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3579, as amended.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3579 offered by my friend and colleague, Representative Ciscomani of Arizona. This bill would make needed modernizations to the VA's Veterans Readiness and Employment program, the VR&E program. Over the last 2 years, our committee has uncovered disastrous wait times, fraud, waste, and abuse in the VA's VR&E program. This bill would steer the ship in the right direction by establishing more oversight of the program. It is the duty of Congress to make sure that veterans who complete this workforce program are earning more and are in a better spot than they were before entering the program. VR&E currently does not track those results. At a recent hearing, VA told the committee that 45 percent of veterans who successfully complete the program reenter it later. This does not show that the program is working for veterans. In fact, Mr. Speaker, it shows that the VR&E needs an overhaul. It is time to reform VR&E so that veterans can receive the training they need to find a meaningful career field that is fit for them. This bill would also implement better practices for transparency on wait times to allow veterans to better plan for their future. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Representative Ciscomani, for sponsoring this bill to improve job training access for veterans. My committee will continue to seek ways to level the playing field for veterans seeking employment so that every veteran has access to the opportunity they want all the while protecting the taxpayers' investment in these programs. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3579, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the great State of Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani).

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I, once again, encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3951) to amend the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1996 and the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 to improve the temporary licensure requirements for contract health care professionals who perform medical disability examinations for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BOST. 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. 3951, as amended.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3951, introduced by my colleague Representative Ciscomani from Arizona. This bill would extend the license portability authority for contracted medical professionals conducting compensation and pension examinations for veterans until 2031. These exams are a vitally important part of going through the VA benefits process. Veterans living in rural or underserved areas often need to travel far distances for their exams. Veterans in my district know this hurdle firsthand and the impact it can have on dragging out the timeline for them to receive their disability benefits. Congress created the authority to expand the net for qualified, contracted medical professionals. By ensuring more contracted medical professionals can perform these exams, veterans would have greater access to their benefits closer to home. Under current law, license portability only applies to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, audiologists, and psychologists. This bill would expand that authority to include even more providers who are eligible for employment at the VA to perform medical disability examinations. This is a necessary expansion to the VA's exam programs to get even more qualified people serving veterans. I thank Representative Ciscomani for his leadership on this bill and his efforts to increase access to disability benefits for our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 3951, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3854) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a plan to expand the use of certain automation tools in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BOST. 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. 3854, as amended.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3854, as amended, sponsored by Representative Valadao. This bill would require the VA to review existing claims, automation tools, and submit a plan to Congress on improving, modifying, or creating new tools to support claims processors. These improvements would, in return, help the VA automatically retrieve veterans' records, compile evidence, automate Federal Government data sharing, and generate notice letters to veterans. These improvements are common sense and would lead to more efficient and accurate decisions on benefit claims. This bill would require the VA to detail how it would provide these improvements to other benefit programs in the Veterans Benefits Administration. This bill also includes Representative Edwards' bill, the Justice for American Veterans and Survivors Act of 2025. Importantly, this provision would require the VA to publish an annual report for the next 5 years on the cause and manner of death among veterans rated 100 percent, our totally disabled veteran community. The VA currently supports over 506,000 surviving spouses. However, the VA does not track the cause and manner of death among recently deceased totally disabled veterans. Data like this is critical to ensuring that the VA programs for surviving family members meet their needs. The report would also require the VA to publish the total number of prevalent causes and manners of death among these veterans to better identify trends. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their work to ensure that the VA continues to develop the tools it needs to effectively deliver benefits. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3854, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao), my good friend.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards).

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2034) to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, as amended.

Mr. BOST. 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. 2034, as amended.

Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2034, as amended, offered by my colleague, Representative Nikki Budzinski of Illinois. This bill would make needed improvements to the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship education benefits program. Currently, the program is underused because of bureaucratic red tape that limits who is eligible for the scholarship. This mistake made by previous Congresses has prevented the STEM scholarship from helping those who are most in need. While I believe more information is necessary to fully improve the program, this bill is a step in the right direction. I thank our colleague, Nikki Budzinski, for her support of this legislation. Additionally, I thank my friend and fellow Representative, Abraham Hamadeh of Arizona, for cosponsoring this legislation. Representative Hamadeh's advocacy on this bill has been pivotal to getting it on the House floor today to cut through the red tape and improve education benefit access. Finally, I thank The American Legion and Paralyzed Veterans of America for their support of this legislation. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 2034, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers at this time. I am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.