Chet Edwards

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I share the gentleman's concerns and look forward to working with him and the VA to see that we address those problems. Veterans serving out of the Houston office should not have to wait the amount of time they are having to wait to receive their earned benefits. Backlog of VA Claims in Houston One of Country's Highest Houston.--Houston has one of the biggest backlogs and some of the longest waiting times in processing veterans' claims for disability benefits in the nation, according to the most recent data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Nearly 18,000 veterans are waiting for the Houston VA Regional Office to process their applications for disability benefits, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday. Also, 26 percent of the Houston claims have been pending for more than half a year, compared with the national average of 21 percent. Total claims in Houston, including nondisability compensations and pensions, add up to almost 24,000, with 24 percent pending for more than six months. That percentage is also higher than the national average. The number of claims on appeal from Houston--11,389--is the highest in the country. ``The situation at VA's Houston office is among the worst in America,'' said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a national advocacy group. ``Our veterans and their families deserve better.'' Nationwide, the total number of VA claims has increased from 638,648 this time last year to 723,152, as of June 20. The number of claims received by the Houston VA Regional Office has increased by 26 percent since last year, more than twice the national average of 12 percent, said spokeswoman Valerie Martinez. The Houston office has outsourced some of its claims processing to other VA facilities, and it has been authorized to hire 105 employees to improve efficiency, Martinez said. At a congressional hearing in Washington last week, VA Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Michael Walcoff said it is incorrect to designate all claims around the country as a backlog because the total number ``includes all claims received, whether pending for just a few hours or as long as six months.''

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Houston, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, as I finish this debate, I want to add in my thanks to others. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis). He, along with Mr. Young, has spent his entire congressional career dedicated to fighting for a strong national defense and for seeing that the men and women who provide that defense are respected in a meaningful way, and that once they have taken off our Nation's uniform, they continue to be respected as veterans. He has been an active leader as chairman of the committee, as ranking member of the committee and in our subcommittee deliberations has continued to be an active voice on behalf of our troops, our veterans and their families; and I thank the gentleman for that. Finally, I think it's appropriate, Madam Chair, that the last word in this debate from my side are not the words of my own, but the words of America's veterans. I would like to include in the Record of this debate letters in support of this legislation from the DAV, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the AMVETS. Disabled American Veterans Washington DC, July 9, 2009. Hon. Chet Edwards, Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans' Affairs and Related Agencies, House Appropriations Commitee, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Edwards: On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and its Auxiliary, I would like to express our strongest support for H.R. 3082, the FY 2010 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides record funding levels for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits programs for fiscal year 2010. Perhaps even more significant than the FY 2010 funding, the legislation also contains $48.2 billion in advance appropriations for VA medical care for fiscal year 2011. As you know, advance appropriations for VA health care has been the highest legislative priority for DAV and many other veterans service organizations in recent years. We applaud you, Chairman Obey, House Leadership and other Members whose support led to its inclusion in this bill. Once enacted into law, advance appropriations for VA medical care will prevent budget stalemates from threatening the quality and timeliness of veterans health care services, a problem that has plagued VA for decades. With this crucial budget reform in place, VA will have the time and assurance necessary to effectively plan how to meet the health care needs of our nation's sick, injured and disabled veterans. The House vote to approve H.R. 3082 will be a major milestone towards ensuring sufficient, timely and predictable funding for veterans health care programs, and DAV urges all Members of the House to vote in favor of this legislation. Again, thank you for all that you have done to ensure that veterans, especially disabled veterans, have access to timely and quality medical care today, and for years to come. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the future to build better lives for America's disabled veterans and their families. Sincerely, Raymond E. Dempsey, National Commander.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to offer the amendment on behalf of Mr. Cohen of Tennessee. It's an important amendment. I don't think there's any objection to it.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the Chair. I want to salute Mr. Cohen of Tennessee for his leadership in bringing this issue to the House. We are facing tremendous challenges. The number of veterans who need mental health care services, including PTSD services face a tremendous challenge finding enough psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health care professionals to provide the services that these great Americans so very much need. Mr. Cohen has taken the lead in this amendment in providing an additional $1 million for educational debt forgiveness for mental health care professionals who agree to employment at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I have actually had a number of discussions with VA employees in my district, and I think there is a sense that this kind of incentive might really encourage mental health care professionals who otherwise would not go into the VA system to do so. So I think this is a very important amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I would like to take this time to thank the gentleman and Mr. Langevin for their leadership on this amendment. I also want to thank the gentleman for everything he has done in the past 2\1/2\ years. Our subcommittee cannot appropriate without his subcommittee authorizing it, and all the accomplishments we've listed absolutely would not have happened without the leadership of Mr. Filner. And a particular thanks to Mr. Filner who has been the national champion in the Congress for advance funding. It's truly a historic initiative this year.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I don't know all the processes of the timing and who had what amendment, but what I do want to make clear is Mr. Buyer obviously clearly has been a real leader on this effort. So I salute you for your leadership on it and commend you for it. There was no intention of any partisan politics being involved in this. I'm glad, as you are, at the end of the day because of your work and Mr. Filner's work and Mr. Langevin's work that these great Americans will be honored. I salute the gentleman for that.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in opposition. I want to clarify that I support this amendment.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. It is a good amendment. I thank the gentlewoman for offering it. I just want to say I think it is important to send a message that we want all veterans, regardless of their income levels, to have access to the full appeals process. That is what this amendment is about. I support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise to claim my time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the amendment. I commend the gentleman for this. I have seen firsthand what it means to our living veterans to know that they will have a place of honor to be remembered by their loved ones and the country which they served. The State Veterans Cemetery Program is a great State-Federal partnership. This is a tremendously important amendment. I'm glad to support it. I yield back the rest of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I thank the gentleman for his leadership.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, but let me make it clear I am very honored to support this amendment.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I commend Mr. Sessions for his interest in pursing innovative health care procedures for our veterans. We provided tremendous increases for health care funding for our veterans over the last 2\1/2\ years. In addition to that funding and the oversight of that funding, we need to encourage the VA to be innovative. We want them to be prudent and careful. Perhaps, as we go through to conference, we should encourage the VA not only to provide a report on where it is used and how often it is using hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but perhaps we ought to work with them, encouraging them to do some studies to look into the potential opportunities of this type of care making a real difference in the lives of our veterans. I am proud to join with the gentleman in support of his amendment. I yield to the ranking member, Mr. Wamp, for any comments he would care to make.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I look at that trophy on the Republican side of the aisle. I want to congratulate Mr. Wamp, the captain of the Republican team, and the entire Republican team. But it is with inspiration that I say the real winners today were the servicemen and -women who have served our country and sacrificed greatly on behalf of our Nation. It was a tremendous privilege for each and every one of us to get to meet these great, great Americans. I look forward to that trophy being back on this side of the aisle next year, Mr. Wamp. Congratulations to you.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands for her courtesy and for her kind comments and support for this legislation and for her leadership on the committee. Mr. Speaker, our communities and Nation have a responsibility to be good stewards of our water resources. That is why I introduced H.R. 1120, the Central Texas Water Recycling Act of 2009. This bill will authorize approximately $8 million in Federal funds to help build an innovative water recycling program in partnership with my hometown of Waco, Texas, and with several neighboring communities. It supports efforts to manage water resources efficiently in McLennan County by strategically locating regional satellite water treatment plants that will not only provide for the conservation of our community's water supply but will also reduce costs to the taxpayers. This project can provide up to 10 million gallons per day of reused water, thereby reducing the water demand on Lake Waco. Instead of wasting valuable drinking water for use in factories and on golf courses in July and August in Texas, which doesn't make much sense, we will be able to use lower-cost recycled wastewater for those purposes, and will be able to save enough drinking water for over 20,000 households. The bottom line is this: By being good stewards of our water supply, we will reduce water costs for businesses and for working families. It will save taxpayers millions of dollars, and it will encourage economic growth and jobs. I want to thank Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Hastings for their support of this measure, and I want to thank the subcommittee chairwoman, Mrs. Napolitano, and the ranking subcommittee member, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, for their key roles in this bill's passage. This legislation, Mr. Speaker, is a kind of effort that shows what Congress can do when we work together on a bipartisan basis. I also want to thank the mayors, city council and staff from the cities of Waco, Lorena, Robinson, Hewitt, Woodway, Bellmead, and Lacy- Lakeview for their cooperative efforts that brought us here today. Finally, I want to extend special credit to Waco's city manager, Larry Groth, for his extraordinary leadership on this bill. Without his leadership and that of his staff's, without their hard work and professionalism, we would not be here today. As a citizen of Waco, I am grateful for his and his staff's outstanding service to my hometown. I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 1120.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this is Military Appreciation Month, so it is appropriate that on the floor of this House earlier this week Members of Congress stood up and showed their support with their words for our troops. Today, we can do something even more important; we can support our military troops and their families with our deeds. That is exactly what the $3.2 billion in military construction in this bill does in four ways. First, it includes $488 million, the same as the President's request, for five wounded warrior complexes for the Army and two complexes for the Marine Corps. These facilities support many of our most severely wounded combat troops and their families through their important recovery and healing process. Second, this bill includes $276 million, also the same as the President's request, for 25 child development centers at Department of Defense installations. These funds will provide additional child care for 5,000 military children, a high priority for our military families, especially with so many parents serving our Nation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Third, the bill adds an additional $1 billion for Department of Defense hospital construction. Why? Because many of our military hospitals are riddled with aging inadequate structures that do not meet current standards for medical care. This is unacceptable in time of peace and unconscionable in time of war. No Member of this Congress, no Member of the Senate, no citizen of America should want to see a return to the Walter Reed Annex 18 of several years ago when Army soldiers had to live in such deplorable conditions. The funds in this bill would bring our total investment in military hospitals over the past year to $3.3 billion. This House will initiate the funding to modernize our DOD hospital for our troops. Fourth, this bill includes more funds for troop housing in Afghanistan. The President's request for projects in the CENTCOM area of responsibility total $876 million, including $84 million to partially fund the foundation and utility work needed to house additional U.S. troops going to Afghanistan. This bill supports 98 percent of the request and includes an additional $214 million to fully fund the troop housing requirement in Afghanistan. Finally I'd mention that this bill includes $263 million, the same as the President's request, once again, to accelerate and enhance the construction of new DOD hospitals in Bethesda and Fort Belvoir to replace the aging Walter Reed. By voting for this bill, we can support our troops and their families with our deeds, not just our words. I urge our colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Madam Speaker, for too many years, administrations of Congress honored our veterans with speeches on Veterans Day, yet dishonored them with inadequate budgets every other day. Then 2 years ago, when the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Pelosi, became Speaker of the House, she promised it would be a new day for America's veterans. Speaker Pelosi has kept her promise to those who have kept their promise to serve our Nation in uniform. The results are historic and unprecedented. In just 2 years, the Democratic Congress has increased veterans' health care and benefits funding by over $17 billion. That is a larger increase than the Republican-controlled House passed cumulatively over 12 years. This Democratic funding increase for veterans means better quality health care for 5.8 million veterans and shorter waiting times for doctor appointments and earned benefits for combat wounded veterans. It means more extensive mental health care services for veterans suffering from PTSD. Then, candidate Obama last year said he would, if elected President, keep our Nation's sacred trust with our veterans. President Obama fulfilled that promise when earlier this year he asked for a larger increase in the VA budget than any President in American history. This budget resolution on the floor of the House right now reflects the President's priority for honoring our veterans. It increases VA discretionary spending for veterans' health care and benefits by $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2010, and by $27 billion over the next 5 years. And at the President's request, it allows forward funding for the VA health care system, the highest of priorities for our veteran service organizations. Listen to what respected veterans' organizations have said about this budget resolution. The American Legion said--

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. No. I would rather quote the American Legion. The American Legion said ``it applauds the Conference Committee.'' It goes on to say, ``This funding will help cover the ongoing cost of war to care for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families.'' The Veterans of Foreign Wars said this, in a letter to Chairmen Spratt and Conrad, ``The VFW salutes your strong leadership in quickly coming to an agreement, especially one that makes so many meaningful and valuable improvements to the Department of Veterans Affairs. We strongly encourage all in Congress to follow your lead and adopt this conference report.'' Those are the words of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. They went on to say, ``An advanced appropriation for veterans' medical care is among the VFW's highest priorities, and we sincerely appreciate that you brought this excellent proposal forward.'' That is the proposal that we will vote yes or no on in this House. The Disabled American Veterans said this spending blueprint ``is good news for our Nation's veterans. Not only does it provide a record increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs, this resolution clears the way for much-needed legislation to ensure sufficient, timely, and predictable funding for veterans' health care.'' Those are the words of the DAV. By significantly increasing funding for the VA and by allowing for the first time advanced appropriations for VA medical care, this resolution meets the highest priorities of America's heroes, our veterans. A vote for this budget resolution is a vote to honor and respect America's veterans. They deserve that vote. They have earned that vote with their service and their sacrifice.

Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?