Phil Roe

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I, too, associate my comments with Mr. Takano. I grew up in a military town, Clarksville, Tennessee, where, during the Vietnam war, I saw all too many families broken apart, had to move. I find it almost unimaginable that a landlord would insist that somebody not separate, not do this when they have lost a spouse. That beautiful family that she showed, their lives are changed forever, and the last thing that young widow needed to worry about was that. She needed to take care of those children, to explain why their father was not coming home or, in another case, their mother might not be coming home. Mr. Speaker, I can't think of any bill that deserves the support more than this one does, and I encourage all Members to support H.R. 5882, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5882, as amended, the Gold Star Spouses Leasing Relief Act. The death of a servicemember can have a profound impact on their loved ones. Our government should take every measure necessary to help family members through such a time of need. In recognition of that, the Gold Star Spouses Leasing Relief Act would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the SCRA, to allow a spouse of a servicemember who has died due to military service to break their residential lease without penalty within 1 year of the servicemember's death. Mr. Speaker, paying fees for breaking a lease should be the last thing on someone's mind when they are confronting life without their spouse. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the sponsor of this bill, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos of Illinois, for her commonsense solution to this problem. I also want to thank Ranking Member Walz and his staff for their suggestion to improve the bill by including in it a provision that would extend protection to surviving spouses of members of the National Guard and Reserve whose death occurred while on Active-Duty orders. We should recognize the service of all servicemembers on Active-Duty orders, and I am glad the amended version of this bill includes that provision. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup). He spoke a moment ago. He has previously served as chair of the Health Subcommittee of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5938, as amended, the Veterans Serving Veterans Act. This bill is sponsored by my friend and fellow committee member, the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon). Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful for her hard work and leadership on this bill on behalf of our Nation's veterans in Puerto Rico and across the country. The Veterans Serving Veterans Act contains two provisions that would help alleviate staffing shortages at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and create employment opportunities for servicemembers separating from the Armed Forces. First, it would expand VA's recruiting database to include information about soon-to-be separated servicemembers whose military training and experience match open positions within the VA healthcare system. It is common sense. Second, it would expand an existing pilot program that recruits former medics to serve as intermediate care technicians in VA medical facilities. We all know that, all other things being equal, veterans prefer being seen and treated by their peers. This bill would create a pathway for that to happen more often, while addressing the serious recruitment issues that continue to hamper VA medical facilities coast to coast. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to our next speaker, I want to tell Members about this young woman. She represents the island of Puerto Rico, and before one of the hurricanes hit, I called her on the phone just moments before the hurricane. I was amazed that I even got through. Following that, we led a group. I came to visit the hospital and the island of Puerto Rico, and the passion that she shows for the people she represents, and the passion she shows for veterans, is second to none. I wanted to pass that along. I saw something in this young woman down there that I had not seen before I visited her beautiful island. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon), a member of the Veterans Affairs' Committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5864) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish qualifications for the human resources positions within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), my good friend, a former member of the committee, and chair of the Subcommittee on Health, also a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford) a former, very active member on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and a good friend.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5649, as amended, the Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ``Bill'' Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvements Act of 2018. One of the most important things our government can do to help our Nation's servicemembers is to ensure that their transition from military to civilian life is as smooth and seamless as possible. We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I know that so many of the problems that veterans encounter later in life could have been mitigated if they had a more supportive and successful transition. I know that the goal of this bill, and of provisions that are aimed at improving the transition period in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act, are to help servicemembers have as smooth a transition as possible to civilian life. I will allow Congressman Jodey Arrington of Texas, who is the sponsor of this bill, to go into the specifics of it in a moment. But before I do, I want to thank him, Congressman Beto O'Rourke of Texas, and all of the members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for taking the time earlier this session to sit down with stakeholders and really examine the transition process from the very beginning and look at the need for improvements. While this bill is a culmination of bipartisan review and work, it is only a step in the process to ensure a successful transition for all servicemembers. I know we will remain dedicated to making improvements to this process to reach this goal. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Brady for helping to expedite the consideration of the bill today, and I thank Congressman Arrington for his work. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Washington, DC, July 16, 2018. Hon. Kevin Brady, Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: On July 12, 2018, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs ordered reported H.R. 5649, as amended, the Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ``Bill'' Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act of 2018. The bill was referred to the House Veterans' Affairs Committee with additional referrals to the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Based on our previous consultation, we intend to request H.R. 5649, as amended, be scheduled for floor consideration. To expedite floor consideration, I ask that you forego further consideration of H.R. 5649, as amended. This in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your request to have the House Ways and Means Committee represented on the conference committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any response in the bill report filed by the Committee on H.R. 5649, as amended, as well as in the Congressional Record during floor consideration to memorialize our understanding. Thank you for your consideration of my request. Sincerely, David P. Roe, M.D., Chairman.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), chairman of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and my good friend.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5649) to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to amend the Social Security Act, and to direct the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Labor, and Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to take certain actions to improve transition assistance to members of the Armed Forces who separate, retire, or are discharged from the Armed Forces, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Peters for bringing up this much-needed piece of legislation and correcting this inequity. It wasn't intended, but now this Congress has a chance, in a bipartisan way, to correct this. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 5538, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5538. Under current law, if a member of the Guard or Reserve is called to Active Duty under certain orders while receiving training through the Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program, the charges for that training are waived. However, those charges are not waived for members of the Guard or Reserve who are called up under orders regarding emergency response or augmentation of overseas combat forces. This creates a disparity. H.R. 5538 would address that disparity and level the playing field by waiving training charges for all servicemembers, regardless of which Active-Duty orders they are serving under. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5538) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the inclusion of certain additional periods of active duty service for purposes of suspending charges to veterans' entitlement to educational assistance under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during periods of suspended participation in vocational rehabilitation programs.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2409, as amended. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, SCRA, was enacted by Congress to protect Active Duty servicemembers and members of the National Guard and Reserve from financial charges and judicial obligations that could incur due to their military service. As most Americans know, cell phone companies charge early-termination fees if a user cancels an agreement for service with the carrier before their contract has expired. SCRA currently allows a servicemember who is ordered to move or deploy for longer than 90 days to cancel their cell phone contract without paying those fees. However, it does not explicitly protect servicemembers from having to pay early-termination fees for cable, satellite TV, or Internet access contracts. H.R. 2409, as amended, which is sponsored by Congressman Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, would fix this inequity. I am grateful for his efforts in this bill to acknowledge that servicemembers would be given the same type of protections for cable, satellite TV, and Internet contracts as those already in place for cell phone devices. The bill would also extend those protections to surviving spouses of servicemembers who are killed while on Active Duty. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Costello for bringing this bill forward, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello), author of the bill and former member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2409) to allow servicemembers to terminate their cable, satellite television, and Internet access service contracts while deployed, as amended.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I was thinking here, as we were listening to the testimony, when I went into the Army many, many years ago to go to Southeast Asia, there was no internet, there was no cable TV, and there were no cell phones, so it was pretty easy for me to leave then. There wasn't much to leave. But things have changed a lot since then. I encourage all Members to support H.R. 2409, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. In closing, I, too, came from rural America, and I, too, am a first- generation college graduate and had an opportunity to use the public education system to go to college and medical school. After that, then mentored and taught for over 25 years in medical school, so I had a chance to see young students, and I think this is a fantastic idea. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for bringing this forward. To bring a young person in who has never had a chance to be in that sort of environment and expose them to this, you don't know what sort of light bulb you are going to turn on in their head to encourage them and mentor them. And many of them will become passionate about medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, PTSD treatment. I could go on and on. I think this is a great idea. I strongly encourage all Members to support H.R. 2787, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.