Jerry Moran

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. General Leave

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I am a supporter of S. 2617, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008. On May 21 of this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5826, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Act of 2008, introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Rodriguez. The legislation before us today is the Senate companion to that bill. It would increase, effective December 1, 2008, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans. I would like to thank the gentleman from California, the chairman, Mr. Filner, and the ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Buyer, for bringing this bill to the floor in a timely manner, and acknowledge the efforts by our colleagues, the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr. Hall, and the ranking member, Mr. Lamborn, for their work and leadership on improving benefits for our veterans. The legislation before us is an important annual authorization which provides our Nation's veterans with a timely increase in their compensation later this year. It was requested by the Bush administration, and the House passage today will send this bill to the President to be signed into law. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is a special day. The story begins several years ago. In 2004, just a few days before its dedication, I put on my tennis shoes and walked outside the U.S. Capitol Building and beyond the Washington Monument to the newly constructed World War II Memorial on the National Mall. As we know, it was inspiring. At long last, nearly 60 years after the war ended, veterans who did so much to protect our country and liberate the world, were to receive recognition for their service, their sacrifice and the victory through a national monument. I had my cell phone with me, and I stepped away from the memorial and I called my 90-year-old father back in our hometown of Plainville. He is one of the thousands of Americans who left their families and lives behind in World War II to fight for our country. My father fought in Northern Africa and Sicily and Italy. Fortunately, when I called, I got the answering machine. It's often difficult for sons and daughters to tell their fathers the things we should tell them. The message I left my dad was, ``Dad, I love you. Dad, I'm proud of you, and Dad, thank you for your service to our country.'' I told my dad what I should have said a long time ago, and what we all should say to our veterans. It was too bad that many of the veterans of this greatest generation, now in their 80s and 90s, are unable, physically or financially, to visit our Nation's Capitol and see this beautiful tribute to their service and sacrifice and to hear those important words. Earlier this year, Senator Bob Dole, himself a World War II veteran who led the charge to build the memorial, told me about a grassroots, not-for-profit organization called Honor Flight. Honor Flight enables World War II veterans to travel to our Nation's Capital to see the memorial created in their honor. Staffed by volunteers and funded by donations, Honor Flight used commercial and chartered flights to send veterans on a one-day, expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Earl Morse of Ohio and Jeff Miller of North Carolina created the Honor Flight Network, which now operates in 30 States. Over the past months I have joined Senator Dole to greet Kansas veterans arriving at the World War II Memorial by means of Honor Flight. It is a very moving experience as veterans recount tales of their time in the service to volunteers who are often local high school students. Tourists stop their sightseeing to shake the veterans' hands, and you see the excitement of the veterans' eyes, and many are moved to tears. It's a special day for that generation of heroes. Of the 16 million veterans who served in World War II, only 2.5 million are alive today. And we are losing them at a rate of 900 each day. Honor Flight is working against time to say ``thank you'' to these veterans. Tomorrow, after months of preparation and fundraising by volunteers, an Honor Flight of World War II veterans from Plainville to Stockton, from Hays, Hill City, Ness City, and a lot of other small towns of northwest Kansas will be arriving in Washington, D.C. On that flight will be my father, my dad, and 101 of his fellow Kansas veterans will finally see firsthand the World War II Memorial and experience our Nation's gratitude for their service. Tonight I want to thank the Honor Flight Network and the thousands of volunteers and donors across the country who make these moving experiences possible. In particular, I thank Pat Hageman of Natoma for organizing tomorrow's Honor Flight, the students from Rooks County high schools who are serving as volunteers, the medical personnel, and especially the local businesses, individuals, and veterans service organizations in northwest Kansas who have financed this Honor Flight. I doubt my dad or any of the other men and women who will be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow will be able to sleep when they go to bed tonight in the small towns across Kansas. They will lay wide awake with nervous anticipation and excitement. But though they lay awake tonight, the rest of America has been able to sleep because of the sacrifice of the World War II veterans. Tomorrow, once again we all can say that these men and women of our country and our country's other World War II veterans, ``We love you; we are proud of you, and we thank you for your service to our country.''

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I ask the gentleman from California if he has other speakers.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close and then yield the balance of my time, if the gentleman from California has no other speakers

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Is the gentleman from California prepared to close?

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) for his comments, his ecumenical attitude, and his understanding for the needs for all American veterans, and I am hopeful that that is demonstrated today by all Members of the House as we approve this legislation. Let me also take this moment to thank all of the employees, the staff, the medical providers within the VA system in Kansas and across the country who work hard on a daily basis to make certain that our veterans are cared for and also for all those who have volunteered their time, their automobiles, their days, and their driving skills, as we have had many veterans who have helped other veterans get to a medical facility, often miles and distance away. These kinds of volunteer activities have been important and it is a way that some veterans have been able to access health care. But this legislation takes us in a very positive step, one that we have worked on for a long time to achieve, and I am very pleased by the efforts that we see, the culmination of those efforts that we see today. Finally, let me thank the staff of the Veterans' Committee, both the minority and majority. I appreciate the approach and attitude, the diligence with which we have addressed this legislation. It has had its false starts as recently as a month ago. I am very grateful for the efforts that all made to make certain that this legislation is before us today, and in particular I thank the gentleman from California, Mr. Filner, who gave me his word back in early August that this legislation would be on the House floor this week, and I very much appreciate Mr. Filner's efforts. With that, Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and appreciate the consequences that arise from its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in obvious support of H.R. 1527, as amended, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act. This is a piece of legislation that I have worked on for a number of years, and I am pleased that under the leadership of Mr. Filner and Mr. Buyer this bill is now on the House floor, and I am excited about the opportunities that it presents to better care for veterans who live in rural America. About 39 percent of our veterans enrolled in VA health care live in those rural areas. Many face challenges of accessing VA care because of the distances between where they live and where the facilities are located. We are making some progress in regard to rural veterans. In the last several years, we have approved an amendment that I have offered for a number of years increasing the veterans' mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile. The fiscal year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill that we passed earlier this year, back in July, would increase that from 28.5 cents to 40 cents per mile. So that's one step we have taken to help our rural veterans better access health care. Recently the VA established an Office of Rural Health and a Rural Health Advisory Committee to develop solutions to the challenges of providing health care to veterans living in rural America, and the VA continues to expand community-based outpatient clinics and will activate an additional 44 new clinics in the next 15 months, bringing the number of those clinics to more than 1,000. The VA has also increased the number of readjustment counseling service centers, the Vet Centers, nationwide with plans to open an additional 39 Vet Centers by the fall of 2009. In my home State of Kansas, we have opened an outpatient clinic this year in Hutchinson and opened a Vet Center in Manhattan, Kansas; so progress is being made. However, despite all those efforts, the reality is that many veterans live in remote areas of the country beyond the VA's ability to construct medical facilities to care for them. The congressional district that I represent in Kansas is an example of an instance where veterans experience great difficulty in traveling to VA facilities. My congressional district is more than the size of the State of Illinois. It has more hospitals than any other congressional district in the country but not one VA hospital. Some Kansas veterans are forced to travel up to 5 hours to a VA hospital for the care they need; and, unfortunately, more often than it should be, they simply forego that care altogether. H.R. 1527, as amended, would require the VA to conduct a 3-year demonstration project to allow highly rural veterans living in four VISNs, Veterans Integrated Service Networks, to receive the covered services through non-VA providers. This pilot will ask the VA to explore in several regions a practical approach when the VA care is not otherwise available close by. It would give those who live the farthest from VA facilities the choice to receive their care closer to home at the local hospital or the local physician's office. There are criteria by which a veteran must qualify to receive this kind of assistance. A veteran must live at least 60 miles from a VA clinic, 120 miles from a VA hospital, or 240 miles from a VA specialized care facility when they're seeking that kind of health care. To ensure the continuity of care, the legislation requires the VA to develop the functional capabilities to exchange veterans' medical information between the VA and non-VA providers in this pilot, and the VA will be required to report to Congress annually on the cost, upon the quality of care, and upon patient satisfaction. Forty-four percent of our military recruits are from rural areas, as are many Guards and Reserves that our Nation has increasingly called into service. This means that rural veterans are more likely to increase in number. Allowing the most underserved of these veterans to take advantage of the existing rural health care infrastructure is a commonsense approach. This is good for the veteran. It's good for the community. It's good for the health care provider. In many of the hospitals and clinics that I represent, in the communities that I represent, an additional patient is a very important thing. Hospitals in many instances are like schools. One more student matters to the viability of our school system just as one more patient matters to the viability of the private health care providers. We have approved this concept in our appropriation bill earlier this year. In July the VA military construction spending bill approved an additional $200 million to increase access to fee-based care for veterans in areas where the VA does not offer services. And with the high price of gasoline and its impact upon our rural veterans, it's even more important that this legislation pass. We must fully consider this practical reform for highly rural veterans living outside the VA's ability to care for them, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1527. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the gentleman from Colorado and acknowledge his tremendous efforts on behalf of veterans across the country, but especially those who live in rural America, and extend to him today my appreciation for his comments and his friendship. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg).

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, For years, this country has needed a national energy policy that increases the supply of energy, promotes renewable and alternative fuels, and encourages conservation. Kansans deserve action and they need it now. Instead, we have a Democratic Congress blaming the Republican President and both parties trying to score political points in the November election. After failing to convince my colleagues to stay and work, rather than take an August recess, I voted against Congress adjourning. Now is the time for Congress to adopt a plan to increase supplies and reduce demand. We should stay in Washington until this work is done. The price of gas at the pump, and the cost businesses and farmers face for fuel and fertilizer, tell me that it should not be business as usual in Washington, DC.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Thomas More Preparatory--Marian and their centennial celebration. Located in my hometown of Hays, Kansas, Thomas More Prep recently concluded a 3 day festival commemorating 100 years of educational service. I stand before you in celebration of this remarkable milestone. TMP, as it is known in Northwest Kansas, has served as a pillar of faith-based learning for generations. Founded by Capuchin Priests in 1908 as Hays Catholic College, the school featured a combination high school and junior college curriculum and would become a vibrant military academy with an active Junior ROTC program. The school would evolve into St. Joseph's Military Academy. St. Joseph's Military academy was not alone in forming the foundation of what would become TMP-M. Girl's Catholic High School, the female counterpart to the Academy, was founded in 1918. As was the case with St. Joseph's, the school moved several times before it settled and was renamed Marian High School. The name Thomas More Prep was coined in 1970. In 1981, Marian High School and Thomas More Preparatory merged to form the school that is being recognized today. Madam Speaker, I emphasize the history of this fine institution in an effort to illustrate the dedication and sacrifice exhibited by those charged with its continuation. To administrate and fund a parochial school on the plains of Kansas for one hundred years is no small feat. Admiration is due to Fathers Henry Kluepfel and Eugene Beckner who founded what would become St. Joseph's Military Academy in 1908 as well as Sister M. Reminga Neder, and Fr. Dominic Schuster who founded what would become Marian High school in 1918. Through their perseverance and leadership, an institution was established that would reach a global student body. As an institution serving many international boarders through the years, TMP-M has created a worldwide network of faithful alumni committed to the advancement of the school. The alumni of this educational system have much to be proud of. Each individual associated with TMP-M's rich history has contributed to the overall identity that the school enjoys. It is through their generosity that the school continues to provide the services necessary to continue the long tradition of academic excellence. Admiration and thanks are also due to Ms. Jean Ross, current president of the school, Mr. Denis Coakley, principal and headmaster, and Mr. Gene Flax, assistant principal of student affairs. Through their faithful leadership, TMP-M has a bright future to coincide with their storied past. I ask God to continue to show his grace on this institution and I pray for its ongoing success. I ask you, Madam Speaker, to join me in congratulating Thomas More Prep.--Marian on 100 years of service to its students, alumni and the greater northwest Kansas community.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding me time. In my short time during my service in Congress, I have been a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and have chaired the Health Care Subcommittee, and I am here in the short amount of time I have been allotted to commend the Appropriations Committee for a couple of provisions included in this bill. One deals with travel. This bill increases the travel reimbursement for our veterans going to a VA hospital or facility from 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per mile, while we have been discussing the cost of gasoline that has real effects upon our veterans. As we work to boost VA health care funding, it's important to be reminded that the exceptional medical service that is offered by the VA can only be enjoyed if the veteran can afford to travel to that facility to see that physician. For most of the time I have been in Congress, I have offered an amendment to the appropriations process to increase that mileage rate. For 30 years, it was 11 cents a mile. Last year, we were successful in increasing it to 28.5 cents and, today, 41.5 cents. I commend my colleagues for their support for that change. Today's high gas prices mean that many veterans would not otherwise be able to see and be provided with the health care they need. The second provision is fee-based care. I am pleased that this subcommittee and the committee has added $200 million in fee-based services to improve access to veterans care. Earlier this week on the suspension calendar we had legislation that I introduced that would allow a pilot project to access our veterans to health care providers outside the VA system for fee-based care. If you live such a long distance between where you live and the hospital, or where you live and the CBOC, the outpatient clinic, you would be entitled to receive that service through a private pay contract from the VA to that care provider. That bill is H.R. 1527. I am still hopeful it will be on the House floor this week. But this bill provides the funding to allow that service to happen. So, again, as a Member of Congress who cares strongly about our veterans and who represents a district that is rural, this bill is important, and makes significant strides in taking care of our rural veterans.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 6599, The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs FY09 Appropriations bill. Requesting Member: Congressman Jerry Moran Bill Number: H.R. 6599 Account: Army Reserve Legal Name of Requesting Entity: U.S. Army Reserve, 89th Regional Readiness Command Address of Requesting Entity: 2120 G. Washington Blvd., Wichita, KS 67210 Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $8,100,000 to support the Department of Defense's request to construct a U.S. Army Reserve Center at Dodge City, KS. This project will provide land and facilities with adequate administrative, training, assembly, and supply/storage areas to support the assigned units' requirements and operations. A new organizational maintenance shop (OMS) will provide space for training and to conduct vehicle maintenance activities and operations. A military equipment park (MEP) is included to accommodate vehicles and equipment for the assigned units. A privately owned vehicle (POV) parking area is also included to accommodate the drilling population.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1279 to recognize and congratulate Special Olympics for 40 years of extraordinary service to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Beyond giving 2.5 million athletes a chance to compete, it gives their families a way to involve their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. A chance for them to cheer. A chance to coach. A chance to connect in a special way. A chance to see their family member be accepted and respected in their communities. After 40 years, there are now millions of stories of courage in the Special Olympics, but one athlete who has taken the oath and that embodies this year's theme is LP Esquibel from Dodge City, Kansas. He is more than a fan of courage. He is courageous and because of his courage he was awarded the Most Inspirational Athlete award at the Summer Games this year. Cerebral Palsy kept him from walking until he was 5 years old, but it hasn't kept him from becoming a 13-year veteran of the Special Olympics. It also hasn't kept a smile from his face. From all accounts, LP is more than a great athlete in his events of basketball, shot put, and the 100-yard walk, he is an encouragement to his fellow teammates and helps them on the court. It is stories like LP's that has sold me on the power and benefits of the Special Olympics. Since 2007, I have served as the Honorary Chairman for the Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run. The Torch Run covers hundreds of miles throughout Kansas and raises thousands of dollars in support of Special Olympics programs. This year-round fundraiser and awareness initiative was implemented by former Wichita Police Chief Richard LaMunyon in 1981. It became an international event 3 years later in 1984 when Chief LaMunyon presented it to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The Law Enforcement Torch Run is now the largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle for Special Olympics around the world. It was an honor to help raise money this past summer to help send Kansas athletes to compete in China at the World Olympics. I enjoyed meeting them and hearing of their success. Special Olympics does remarkable work, both in the State of Kansas and across the globe. I would like to commend the leaders and volunteers of Special Olympics for 40 years of outstanding service and wish them continued success in the future.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express a serious concern with H.R. 6604. With the demand of rising energy costs, we're bringing to the floor a bill that will, in my opinion, do little to bring down the price of energy. In fact, certain provisions of this bill may lead to an increase in prices and may reduce market transparency and increase market volatility. I want to be clear. I favor changes at the CFTC and believe we can change the act to improve market transparency, oversight, and enforcement activities. I have been working with CFTC and market participants to create a bill that will enhance those functions while giving regulators the necessary tools to prevent market manipulation and fraud. This bill, however, was put together, in my opinion, too quickly and goes too far. When changing the Commodity Exchange Act, Congress must proceed in a deliberate manner and take into account the advice of industry users, the CFTC, the President's Working Group, and other experts. This bill should be referred back to the Committee on Agriculture so that we can refine provisions to actually enhance transparency and not exclude legitimate market participants. One of the problems of this legislation is that it will likely reduce market transparency. This is because of certain provisions like the one dealing with the Foreign Board of Trade that seek direct access to U.S. and provisions that require reporting for certain over-the-counter and exempt commercial markets. That will push traders to foreign markets. Rather than giving the CFTC a better picture of the market, it will reduce the picture that the CFTC has and potentially increase fraud and manipulation. It restricts the CFTC's ability to see the market. Second, this bill attempts to define a ``bona fide hedging transaction.'' In its current form, section 8 will exclude legitimate commercial market participants from properly hedging risk. This will cause an immediate disruption in the markets as the legitimate market participants are forced out. It will reduce market liquidity and increase price volatility. I am also concerned with provisions in this bill that require routine reporting and potential use of position limits in over-the-counter transactions that are fungible. ``Fungible'' is not defined and suggests that a significant amount of OTC transactions could be implicated by this section. I am especially concerned about the authority given in section 14 to CFTC to impose position limits on OTC trades. Finally, Mr. Speaker, not only should this bill be returned to committee because of these provisions so that we can take more time and develop a better product, I also recognize that this bill needs to address the root problem of high energy prices, and this will not do so.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I rise in support of H.R. 6445, as amended, the Veterans' Health Care Policy Enhancement Act of 2008, a bill that amends title 38 to the United States Code to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled, and a number of other purposes. H.R. 6445 includes the text of four other bills introduced by Members, both Republican and Democrat, and all provisions have bipartisan support. Section 2 of the bill would ensure that veterans who have been determined to be catastrophically disabled from nonservice-connected would not be required to pay any copayment for their inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care needs. These veterans, because of their very complex medical needs, depend heavily upon the VA for their health care. There are currently about 25,000 seriously disabled veterans who would benefit from this provision, and I thank our new colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana, Representative Cazayoux, for introducing this bill. Section 3 of the bill would eliminate an outdated statutory requirement that a veteran being treated for a nonservice-connected condition be hospitalized in order for the VA to provide counseling services to the family members. In today's delivery of health care, this makes no sense. We must ensure that all families, regardless of the nature of the veteran's condition, are eligible for needed and valuable support services that will aid in the treatment of that veteran patient. I want to thank my friend and colleague from the committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare) for bringing this provision forward. Section 4 of the bill would require the VA to maintain current pain management policy and ensure that the policy is both effective and implemented in a consistent manner throughout the VA health care delivery system. The VA has long recognized the importance of providing early and appropriate care for management of pain. In 1998, the VA developed a strategy of ``Pain Assessment, the Fifth Vital Sign,'' which established procedures for pain assessment, treatment, and outcomes at all VA clinical settings. The VA further enhanced its efforts in 2003, and issued a new directive establishing the National Pain Management Strategy. This legislation would support those VA efforts. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Walz, for introducing this measure to ensure the VA maintains a national standard to reduce the suffering of our veterans experiencing acute and chronic pain associated with a wide range of illnesses. Section 5 of the bill would improve effectiveness of the VA's process for securing reimbursements from third-party insurance companies. This measure was introduced by our ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer). Mr. Buyer has long been at the forefront of this issue. Every dollar that goes uncollected is one less additional dollar that can be used to enhance the care of our veterans. The Government Accounting Office has consistently reported the VA's processes and procedures for billing and collecting third-party payments are ineffective and limit the revenue received from those third-party payers. However, in the latest GAO report, June of 2008, the GAO found that the Mid-Atlantic Consolidated Patient Accounting Center, CPAC, achieved better billing performances and reduced billing time, leading to improved collections. The GAO also noted the VA may be leaving over $1.4 billion in uncollected care. In 2005, the VA created the Mid-Atlantic CPAC in Asheville, North Carolina, to maximize its collections by using a private sector model tailored to VA billing and collection needs. Last Congress, we directed the VA to establish a Revenue Demonstration Project to improve its collections and develop a systemwide model to improve its performance. In fiscal year 2007, CPAC achieved 110 percent of its expected collections, a $20.3 million increase from its performance in the previous fiscal year. Approximately $12 million for the fiscal year 2007 in additional collections was generated as a result of the Revenue Improvement Demonstration Project. Expanding this project will continue to improve the VA's collections. Mr. Buyer's measure would require VA to establish no more than seven CPACs within 5 years, modeled after the successful Asheville, North Carolina project. Improving collections is a win-win for our Nation's veterans, and I want to commend the ranking member for his continued work in this regard. Finally, Section 6 of the bill would repeal outdated statutory language that requires the VA to provide separate written informed consent for HIV testing, as well as pre-and post-test counseling. Since the requirements were codified almost 20 years ago, there is a better understanding of HIV and its transmission. The administration in its FY 2009 budget proposal requested this change in law so that veteran patients receive the same standard of HIV care that is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ensuring veterans receive the best care possible requires effective use of VA authorities and resources for the provision of that medical care. I urge my colleagues to support the Veterans' Health Care Policy Enhancement Act. I now reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. General Leave

Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I appreciate the gentleman from California's comments. I appreciate him yielding me time. I am delighted to hear what he has to say. This is an important piece of legislation that affects many veterans across the country and has the strong support of many Members of Congress. I know we are working to see if we can get it on the suspension calendar tomorrow. I appreciate the gentleman's comments and assurances.