Jeff Miller

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with the remarks of the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown), my colleague, the ranking member. I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation as well. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2460) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of adult day health care services for veterans.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H.R. 2460. The bill is sponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, and the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. I am grateful to him for sponsoring this piece of legislation. This bill actually directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement or a contract with State veterans homes to pay for adult day health care for a veteran eligible for, but not receiving, nursing home care. It would also stipulate that payment under each agreement or contract between the VA and a State home cover the cost of adult day care for eligible veterans at a rate equal to 65 percent of the payment that the VA would otherwise pay to the State home if the veteran were receiving nursing home care. Adult day health care programs provide veterans in need of skilled services, case management, or assistance with activities of daily living with valuable social activities, peer support, medical monitoring, companionship, and recreation during the day and provide caregivers with needed respite. However, according to the National Association of State Veterans Homes, veterans face barriers accessing adult health care programs each day due to costs. This bill would help address those cost concerns and increase the degree of access for veterans who are eligible for VA-paid nursing home care due to their 70 percent or higher service-connected rating. As the veteran population ages, Mr. Speaker, it is increasingly important that the VA provide a wide variety of geriatric and long-term care services and supports, and adult day health care programs can serve as an important component of that. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the First District of New York (Mr. Zeldin), the sponsor of this piece of legislation.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I, too, ask all my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3715) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit interments, funerals, memorial services, and ceremonies of deceased veterans at national cemeteries and State cemeteries receiving grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs during certain weekends if requested for religious reasons, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3715, as amended, the Final Farewell Act of 2016. We know that it can sometimes be a challenge to take time away from work to attend a funeral or a memorial service for a loved one. This bill, which is sponsored by the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Congresswoman Corrine Brown of Florida, would lessen that challenge for those arranging to attend the funeral service of a veteran buried in a national cemetery. This bill would require VA, upon the request of the family of the deceased, to permit weekend funerals and memorial services. In doing so, this bill would allow more family members and friends to pay final respects to their loved ones as they are laid to rest. Our veterans--the men and women who sacrificed so much for us--have earned the right to be treated with honor and respect after they pass on. Although I support this bill, I understand that some of the State Directors of Veterans Affairs have raised concerns with the restriction it contains on grants to State and tribal cemeteries who receive Federal grants. I look forward to working with the ranking member to address these concerns during the upcoming negotiations with the Senate. I want to thank Ms. Brown once again for sponsoring this legislation and bringing this very important issue to our attention. I urge all of my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Once again, Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3989) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the process for determining the eligibility of caregivers of veterans to certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3989, as amended, Support Our Military Caregivers Act. Congress created the Family Caregivers Program in 2010 to support those family members and friends who put their own lives and careers on hold to care for those veterans who have been gravely wounded in service to our Nation following September 11, 2001. At the time, VA expected 3,000 family caregivers would apply for the program. However, in fiscal year 2015 alone, more than 24,000 caregivers participated in and received at least one stipend payment through the program. Unsurprisingly, in 2014, the GAO found that staffing for the Family Caregivers Program was insufficient to meet higher-than-expected demand, and staffing shortages impeded the timeliness of the program and negatively impacted services to veterans and caregivers. This is unacceptable. H.R. 3989, as amended, would provide a safety valve for understaffed VA caregiver support coordinators by allowing veterans and caregivers to elect to have an independent entity provide a clinical review of eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program in certain instances. VA would be required to take the external clinical review into account and to provide clinical justification if VA's ultimate decision is contrary to the findings contained in the external clinical review. To increase transparency and ensure the program is functioning as Congress intended, it would also require VA to issue directives outlining the policies, procedures, and operational requirements for the Family Caregivers Program and would require GAO to report to Congress on VA's processes for determining eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program, adjudicating appeals for the Family Caregivers Program, and periodically reevaluating eligibility for program participants and communicating any changes that result from such reevaluation to the veteran or caregiver in question. Finally, the bill would also limit the amount of taxpayer dollars that VA can spend on awards and bonuses to VA employees. H.R. 3989, as amended, is sponsored by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York, and I thank her for her hard work and advocacy in introducing this bill on behalf of our veterans and caregivers. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the 21st District of New York (Ms. Stefanik), the sponsor of this important piece of legislation.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have one remaining speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Young).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. So I would urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3956) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan to hire directors of the medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3956, as amended, the VA Health Center Management Stability and Improvement Act. H.R. 3956, as amended, is sponsored by my good friend, colleague, and fellow committee member, Congressman Bost of Illinois. H.R. 3956, as amended, also contains provisions from H.R. 4977, the VA Scheduling Accountability Act, which is sponsored by Congresswoman Jackie Walorski from Indiana, who is also an active Veterans' Affairs Committee member. There has been a tremendous amount of turnover among the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center leaders in the last few years. According to the Deputy Secretary of VA Sloan Gibson, over half of Veterans Health Administration senior leader positions turned over from October 2013 to October 2015. Without consistent, high-quality leadership in VA medical centers, our veterans aren't being served as well as they could be or they should be. H.R. 3956, as amended, would direct VA to develop and implement a plan to hire a director for each VA medical center without a permanent director and prioritize hiring at VA medical centers that have not had a permanent director for the longest periods of time. Once stable leadership is in place, we need to ensure that they are held accountable. One of the contributing factors behind the access to care crisis that plagued the VA healthcare system in 2014 was the failure of VA medical centers to comply with VA scheduling policies. To avoid that in the future, H.R. 3956, as amended, would require VA to ensure that directives and policies apply uniformly across the entire department and require VA medical center directors to annually certify compliance with the scheduling directive or any successor directive that replaces it. If a facility fails to comply, leaders at that facility would be prohibited from receiving a bonus. I am grateful to both Congressman Bost and Congresswoman Walorski for their efforts on this legislation on behalf of our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3956, as amended. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the 12th District of Illinois (Mr. Bost), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5229) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a study to evaluate the effectiveness of programs, especially in regards to women veterans and minority veterans, in transitioning to civilian life, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5229, as amended, the Improving Transition Programs for All Veterans Act. The transition from military life to civilian life is not always a smooth one. The Transition Assistance Program that is run by the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor does a pretty good job alleviating some of the stress that can occur before a servicemember leaves the military, and it is a good opportunity to inform outgoing servicemembers of what benefits they may be entitled to from Veterans Affairs and how to prepare for civilian life. Although TAP continues to improve, it still is a struggle to fully prepare servicemembers for this short 5-day period, let alone address the specific needs each individual has in each program. The bill before us today would be a first step in examining how TAP can further be improved to address the specific needs of minority veterans, women veterans, disabled veterans, Native American veterans, and veterans from U.S. territories. It is important that, as a Nation, we prepare our men and women of all backgrounds for life after uniform, and the study required by this bill will give the VA, DOD, and Department of Labor the ability to review TAP and to better understand how it can be improved to ensure that we properly transition all servicemembers and address their specific needs as they prepare for life after the military. I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), and the gentlewoman from American Samoa (Ms. Radewagen) for their work on this legislation. It does have my full support. I would urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 5229, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any speakers on this. So I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.