Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 373, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Chairman, on rollcall 374, I was unable to vote because of delays in my air travel. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Ehlers

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 368, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 369, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 367, I was unable to vote because of pressing business with my constituents in my home district. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, my colleagues, and I rise today to speak about a concurrent resolution that I have just introduced that recognizes the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. My legislation would express the sense of Congress that a stamp. called the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Stamp, should be issued to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. On average, a law enforcement officer is killed in America every other day. Since 1794, when recordkeeping started, more than 17,900 officers have lost their lives in service to their communities. In 2007, 186 officers were killed in the line of duty, an increase of more than 28 percent from the year prior. Too many police officers are killed or injured in the line of duty every day and this legislation is a way to thank those who put their lives in danger every time they put on their uniforms. I am proud to sponsor such worthy legislation. I invite my colleagues to join with me in commending our law enforcement officers. It is extremely important that we honor these everyday heroes! Please join me in supporting H. Con. Res. 356.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5856) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2008, the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I want to thank the gentlelady from Nevada for putting a real face to this problem. I know it means a lot to the family, but it means a lot to all of us. So thank you. Another great member of our committee, Mr. Rodriguez from Texas, dealt with mental health issues in his previous life, and I will yield to him as much time as he might consume.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5554) to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs for substance use disorders, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5554, as amended.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the author of the bill and the Chair of our Health Subcommittee of the Veterans' Committee in the Congress, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud).

Mr. FILNER. Thank you, Mr. Rodriguez, for your expertise. General Leave

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3681) to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to advertise in the national media to promote awareness of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary, as amended.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5664) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to update at least once every six years the plans and specifications for specially adapted housing furnished to veterans by the Secretary, as amended.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, again we thank and we draw on the expertise of Mr. Rodriguez of Texas for this bill. It's a commonsense solution to assist our Nation's veterans. We would simply require the Secretary of the VA to furnish and update a handbook for designs of specially adapted housing to include vision impairments, impairments to the upper limbs, and burn injuries. Ensuring that our brave men and women have a comfortable home to heal from the injuries of war is the very least we can do for our veterans. This is especially true since the last time this VA pamphlet was published was 30 years ago, in 1978. I feel confident that with this legislation the VA can provide improved guidance to incorporate today's medical breakthroughs in health care and any advanced technologies. I hope all my colleagues will support H.R. 5664. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5729) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide comprehensive health care to children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, in this Congress we are blessed with having many new Members who take an active role in the legislative process and are writing legislation, and one of those is the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth), who brings us this bill, and I yield to him such time as he may consume.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3819) to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse veterans receiving emergency treatment in non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for such treatment until such veterans are transferred to Department facilities, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. FILNER. I thank the Speaker. This bill comes to us from a great new Member from the State of Ohio (Mr. Space), and I'm going to yield to him as much time as he may consume to explain the bill.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, this is a perfect example of the way we do the best legislation. Mr. Space from Ohio encountered a problem in his district, looked into solving it. It turns out it's a problem in every district. So we thank Mr. Space for his work on this, for his recognizing the problem. It is an unacceptable position for a veteran to be in, that they're in never-neverland where they have been stabilized in a hospital but yet not accepted at a VA hospital and they are liable for the cost. What you have done is take that worry and that cost off of the veteran and allowed us to deal with him or her in a very respectful and clear way. So we thank Mr. Space for this legislation. I don't have any further speakers, and I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3819, as amended.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might consume. As I said earlier, amongst this package of bills are legislation from both sides of the aisle. This one comes to us from the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Mr. Boozman, and I thank him for this important bill. What H.R. 3889 does is require the VA to conduct what is called a longitudinal study for at least 20 years of the veterans who began participating in the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program. The bill requires annual reports to Congress to assist with better management of the program. It's an important step in ensuring that the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program has services that are meeting the needs of our veterans as they seek to heal from their injuries and reenter civilian life. So I hope we all support H.R. 3889. Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FILNER. We reserve the balance of our time.