Jeff Miller

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2481) to amend title 38, United States Code, to codify and improve the election requirements for the receipt of educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Dayton, Ohio (Mr. Turner), home of the United States Air Force Museum.

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 and add any extraneous material they may have on H.R. 2481, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 2481 represents the collective work of our Economic Opportunity Subcommittee. Provisions of this bill streamline eligibility for veterans' GI Bill benefits that would ensure that surviving loved ones of servicemembers who die as a result of service have all the educational assistance benefits that they are entitled to and makes improvements to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. I know other Members are here today to speak on provisions of this bill that they have authored, so at this time, I will focus on just a few areas. Sections 4 and 5 of the bill would establish, within existing resources, a Veterans Economic Opportunity Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Under Secretary to head the effort. The purpose of creating a parallel administration is to serve alongside VA's Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration; it is to raise in importance the issues affecting veterans' readjustment to civilian life. Too often these issues, such as education, job training, and vocational counseling, do not receive the focus that they deserve because they are subsumed within an administration that also has responsibility for disability claims processing. Highlighting and emphasizing the importance of jobs and careers for veterans was an important reason why the Committee on Veterans' Affairs created for itself a separate Economic Opportunity Subcommittee several years ago. These provisions would advance the same model within the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is my hope that the new Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity would be a powerful advocate serving veterans' readjustment interests, whether at school, during TAP transition classes for departing servicemembers, or as a liaison with the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service. The second provision I would like to touch on was authored by the late C.W. Bill Young. It would permit the children of certain severely disabled servicemembers, who die shortly after their military service and who have received a Purple Heart, to be eligible for the Fry Educational Scholarship. The Fry Scholarship provides certain post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for the children of servicemembers, but only those who die on Active Duty. Chairman Young rightly believed that the kids of those who may have been mortally wounded in service but who died shortly thereafter ought to be eligible for this benefit as well. I am honored to say that section 7 of the bill carries forward Bill's provision and that his memory lives on in our work today in this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Madam Speaker, C.W. Bill Young was a truly great American who served the people of the State of Florida with the utmost degree of professionalism, excellence, and dedication for more than 50 years in both the Florida State Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It was truly an honor and a privilege for me to serve with Bill, and it would be impossible to list all the things that I have learned from Bill in the few short minutes that I have today. Anyone who was fortunate enough to get to know Bill can tell you that there was perhaps no greater advocate for our Nation's veterans and no greater friend to our military than Bill Young. Last week, I was here on this floor to offer legislation to rename the Bay Pines VA Medical Center after Bill. The enormous outpouring of support, with 378 original cosponsors, was a testament to Bill's tireless work on behalf of veterans and the boundless respect that his colleagues had for him. But, what many may not know is that the current medical center in Bay Pines may not have existed at all if not for Bill's work back in 1976. As President Ford travelled through Florida, Bill joined him aboard Air Force One. Despite opposition from high ranking senior officials in the Administration, Bill convinced President Ford that the veterans of Central Florida needed a new facility to make sure that our Nation upheld our solemn promise ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.'' Thanks to Bill that facility was built. Madam Speaker, Bill's distinguished service to our Nation, as a veteran and a lawmaker, stands as a shining example for every public servant, and indeed every American, of what can be achieved through hard-work, patriotism, and an abiding faith in God. My wife Vicki and I extend our deepest condolences to Bill's wife, Beverly, children, Rob, Billy and Patrick and the entire Young family. We will all miss Bill dearly, but we know that his legacy will never be forgotten and that our Nation is that much stronger thanks to his service.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan), the subcommittee chairman for Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1405, as amended, is yet another bipartisan bill that has been advanced out of our committee. I, again, thank all the members for their collaborative work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join us in passing H.R. 1405, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2189 is a strong step forward in helping to resolve the severe backlog of disability claims that exist today at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I thank all the members of our committee for their bipartisan work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join us in passing H.R. 2189, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the majority whip, who has been a strong supporter of veterans issues in this legislative body.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kinderhook, New York (Mr. Gibson).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from the 12th District of Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2189) to establish a commission or task force to evaluate the backlog of disability claims of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as amended.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, one of the most challenging issues facing the Department of Veterans Affairs and the veterans it serves is the huge disability backlog. According to last week's backlog report, there were 717,000 claims for disability compensation waiting for a decision, and almost 412,000, or 57 percent, of those claims were above the Secretary's stated processing goal of 125 days. In short, 57 percent of VA's claims work is currently backlogged. Although I am glad we have seen some progress of late, a 57 percent backlog is not acceptable. If we are going to reach the Secretary's goal of ending the backlog by 2015, we will all need a focused effort, and the provisions of this bill will help achieve that goal. H.R. 2189, as amended, reflects the committee's bipartisan efforts to bring additional transparency to this very troubling and decades-old problem. I know that other Members are here to provide a brief description of the bill that they have sponsored, or those who have worked closely on the legislation, but I want to highlight some of the key provisions. Title I would establish a commission or a task force to evaluate the backlog of disability claims and the appeals process related to those claims. Time is of the essence, so the commission would be required to submit a series of interim reports to Congress and a final report to the President and to the Congress 180 days after the commission's first meeting. The purpose of the task force is very simple: we need the best and the brightest minds to put forward workable solutions that can be implemented immediately. Even though VA has made recent progress, it is still well short of its own goals. We must not take our foot off the gas when it comes to ending the backlog once and for all, and ideas coming from this focused task force will assist in that effort. Title I of the bill would also direct VA to provide a supplemental report to its strategic plan to eliminate the compensation claims backlog within 60 days of enactment and every 120 days thereafter until May 25, 2015. The purpose of this provision is to hold VA accountable for the full execution of its own strategic plan. Too often, VA has made lofty promises, and its efforts have fallen short. This provision, authored by our majority whip, will verify progress every single step of the way. Title II of the bill would extend and expand VA's authority to use contract examinations during its disability examination process. VA's use of contract providers serves two purposes. First, because quality and timely exams are an essential component of the claims process, having additional providers to assist in the effort is critical. Second, use of non-VA examiners frees up the time that VA medical professionals can spend treating veterans at clinics and hospitals. Finally, title III would require the Secretary of Defense to catalog all Vietnam-era ships as serving in either ``blue'' or ``brown'' water for purposes of awarding service-connection on a presumptive basis to veterans potentially exposed to agent orange. Currently, only veterans serving in the inland waterways, or ``brown'' waters, of Vietnam are eligible for compensation on a presumptive basis. The problem is that some vessels which served offshore in the ``blue'' waters of Vietnam sent smaller vessels ashore. Without an accurate cataloging of these visits, compensation may unfairly be denied to deserving veterans. This provision will assist VA in making accurate decisions in this sensitive area. Enactment of H.R. 2189 will not completely solve the claims backlog, but I do think it is a good step in the right direction. I thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Runyan, and his ranking member, Ms. Titus, for their hard work in moving the bill through the subcommittee as well. Everybody on the committee worked together to bring this piece of legislation to the floor tonight. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add any extraneous material they may have on H.R. 2189.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan), who chairs the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. MILLER of Florida

Mr. MILLER of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, having the right skills is one of the keys to finding a good job, and America's taxpayers are now providing the most valuable GI Bill benefit to veterans and dependents since World War II. To assist VA and the Congress in making sure that veterans' educational assistance benefits are meeting the needs of our veterans, title 38 has established a committee to advise the Secretary on the needs of veteran students. The committee's statutory term will expire on December 31 of this year. H.R. 2011 would extend that term for 2 years. I thank Mr. Delaney for bringing his bill forward to our committee. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the 16th District of Ohio (Mr. Renacci).

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. So if my good friend Mr. Michaud is ready to close, so am I.

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2011) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a two-year extension of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education.