Phil Roe

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7105, as amended, the Dependable Employment and Living Improvements for Veterans Economic Recovery, or DELIVER, Act. This bill would help veterans who are homeless, provide needed job training and education benefits to veterans who are unemployed, and support veterans who are transitioning out of the military and into civilian life. It would contain provisions that help homeless veteran service providers meet the increasing demands associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, provide additional flexibility to fund services for homeless veterans with children, authorize grant funding for legal services for homeless veterans, and assist incarcerated veterans who are leaving the criminal justice system. This bill also contains the text of numerous other bills that have been sponsored by Members on both sides of the aisle to better support those who have served. It contains the text of H.R. 8275, the Reducing Veteran Homeless Act of 2020, which is sponsored by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Congressman Mike Levin of California, the chairman of the Subcommittee of Economic Opportunity, to increase funding for transitional housing providers and improve case management in the Department of Housing and Urban Development--Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, or the HUD-VASH program, which we have used in my district numerous times. These efforts would help connect homeless veterans with stable housing and get them back on their own two feet. Madam Speaker, I am grateful to Leader McCarthy and Congressman Levin for bringing these important issues to our attention and working to address them. The DELIVER Act also contains another bill that was introduced by Republican Leader McCarthy, H.R. 5766, the VET TEC Expansion Act. The VET TEC program was created by Leader McCarthy in the Forever GI Bill in 2017 to support veterans pursuing careers in the technology sector by providing them with tuition and a living stipend as they complete their training. The VET TEC program is very popular among veterans, with over 1,100 of them completing the program and many already finding jobs with an average starting salary of $60,000 per year. That is money well invested when you have veterans getting those kinds of jobs. The VET TEC Expansion Act would help streamline processes and authorize additional funding for the VET TEC program so that even more veterans can benefit from it. Madam Speaker, I once again thank Republican Leader McCarthy, who is a champion for our Nation's servicemembers and veterans and never fails to support efforts for them to succeed, for his work on this bill. Madam Speaker, the DELIVER Act also contains two provisions that are named for Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ``Bill'' Mulder, who tragically died by suicide in 2017 after years of honorable service to our country. The first is H.R. 7111, which I was pleased to introduce this summer with Congressman Levin and Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas and Jon Tester of Montana, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. As we work to restore the record-breaking economy we had in place before COVID-19, we must do all we can to prepare unemployed veterans for success in the new post-pandemic economy. My bill would do that by authorizing a rapid retraining program for veterans who find themselves unemployed as a result of COVID-19. Last month, it was estimated that there are 560,000 unemployed veterans in this country. The retraining program my bill would create would put those veterans back on track to compete for gainful, long- term employment opportunities. The second provision named after Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William ``Bill'' Mulder is H.R. 2326, as amended, which was introduced by my friend Congressman Levin and my friends Congressman Bilirakis from Florida and Congressman Jodey Arrington from Texas, who are, respectively, the current and former Republican leaders of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. Their bill, which passed the House earlier this summer, would improve servicemembers' transition to civilian life by authorizing a review of the curriculum of the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP program, and authorizing TAP at off-base locations and providing grant funds to community organizations that help servicemembers as they transition. This bill is a culmination of the work the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity started last Congress to improve TAP. Madam Speaker, I am grateful to Congressmen Levin, Bilirakis, and Arrington for their continued work to support those transitioning out of the military and for including their bill in the DELIVER Act today. Madam Speaker, I also thank the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans for their help in crafting the homeless veteran provisions in this bill and the numerous military and veteran service organizations that helped advocate for the employment, education, and transition provisions in the bill. Their steadfast advocacy is critical to getting veterans into safe, stable homes and back to work, and I am grateful to them for their strong partnership that we have fostered in my nearly 12 years in Congress. Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support the DELIVER Act today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Texas an additional 1 minute.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), a former member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee who I had the privilege of visiting in his district and I know his commitment to our veterans.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5245, as amended, the SHIELD for Veterans Act. This bill would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from collecting on debts from the Veterans Benefits Administration that arise out of VA's failure to process changes in a veteran's entitlement to benefits within certain timeliness standards. Veterans should not face financial hardships due to delays or errors made by VA, nor should Congress accept that forgiving debts is a long- term solution. Rather, we need to strive to eliminate the creation of the debt in the first place. H.R. 5245 would do that by addressing one of the major root causes of debt. Certainly, veterans can add dependents to their compensation or pension award using VA's eBenefits online tool, and that change is effective immediately. However, VA does not allow for the immediate removal of dependents using that same tool. Because the removal of a veteran dependent requires a manual review, a debt is often created because VA's lengthy review process results in overpayments to veterans that, by law, VA must attempt to recoup. I thank my good friend and fellow veteran, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Congressman Mike Bost from Illinois, for amending this bill while it was being considered in committee to require VA to establish a process to allow a veteran to remove a dependent through eBenefits as seamlessly as they add a dependent. This would remove the bureaucratic and archaic hurdles of the current paper-based process and reduce the creation of debts. The remainder of the bill would streamline and improve VBA's debt collection process, so veterans have a transparent understanding of their rights and how to dispute debts when they do occur. I thank the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, Congressman Chris Pappas from New Hampshire and General Jack Bergman from Michigan, for their work on this bill. I also thank Chairman Pappas for amending the bill that we reported out of the committee to address late-identified CBO scoring issues. I believe that our bipartisan efforts produced a policy that is good for veterans and taxpayers alike, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill today. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense bill. It is one of the most common things we hear in our office, about an outrageous debt that a veteran owes back that they didn't know they owed because of a bureaucratic snafu. We have all heard these cases. I thank my colleagues for bringing this up. We should have done this years ago. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, first of all, we have heard numerous speakers today speak eloquently about the problems we have with veteran suicide in this country and active duty servicemembers, I mean, a horrific number of 20, which we have not changed at all in the last 20 years. Two decades and we are still having this problem, no matter how much money, so it was time to think outside the box, which I believe this did. No one bill, Madam Speaker, is going to solve this problem. We have read numbers to call. Look, reach out to a friend. If you have a friend or a pastor or someone who you trust, reach out to them if you are in a dark place, and then we will get you the help you need. We will get you the resources you need because most of these decisions, many of these, are impulsive decisions that once they are avoided, that person can lead a fruitful, bountiful life. That is what we want. We want you to reach out, and we will get you the help you need to get you from the place you are to a place of a productive, helpful life. I thank all the Members, especially the chairman, who made this his primary goal, suicide prevention. I thank him for that. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the kind words and those of Congressman Lamb also. It is very much appreciated. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), from the Upper Peninsula where there are more deer than there are people. General Bergman has served our country as a marine, in private business as a pilot, and now as a Congressman, and I am indeed fortunate to call him my friend.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), my good friend, who has served together with me for 12 years on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and vice chairs the committee. There is no greater advocate for veterans in this country than Gus Bilirakis.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 785, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019. Today, and every day, approximately 20 of our Nation's veteran servicemembers and members of the National Guard and Reserve will die by suicide. This bill is named after one of those veterans, Commander John Scott Hannon. One of its most important provisions is named after another, Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox, who grew up in my district in east Tennessee. While we cannot bring back Commander Hannon, Staff Sergeant Fox, or countless veterans like them, we can act by passing this bill today to help save the lives of the brothers and sisters in arms they left behind. This Congress, both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees have made it our priority to prevent veteran suicide. This bill represents the culmination of our work. We would not be here without the unwavering efforts of many individuals: Senators and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who have worked hard on the various components of this bill; Secretary Wilkie and his team in VA and in the White House who have worked with us on a bipartisan, bicameral basis to make sure we get it right; and our veterans service organization partners that have provided their input, expertise, and encouragement every step of the way. I would be remiss if I did not say a particular thank you to my friends and esteemed Senate colleagues, Chairman Jerry Moran of Kansas and Ranking Member Jon Tester of Montana, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. I have had the honor and the privilege of working with Senators Moran and Tester for many years, and I know that America's veterans have no greater champions in the United States Senate than them. I am grateful for their hard work and steadfast leadership shepherding this bill to the President's desk over the last year and a half. And, of course, I am also grateful to my friend and fellow leader of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Congressman Mark Takano of California. Since he took over the gavel last year, Chairman Takano has focused our committee's work on veteran suicide prevention. I am proud to stand with him in pursuit of that goal. Veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than nonveterans, in general, and veteran women are 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide than nonveteran women. It is certainly not for lack of attention, effort, or desire that the veteran suicide rate remains as high as it has for as long as it has. When I came to Congress in 2009, the VA's mental health budget was approximately $4 billion per year. When I leave Congress at the end of this year, the VA's mental health budget will total approximately $10 billion. Over that nearly 12-year period, the veteran suicide rate has remained essentially the same, with approximately 20 lives lost per day. Finally lowering that number and eventually stopping veteran suicide altogether will not be easy, but S. 785 takes a number of different approaches that I believe will make a real difference to veterans in need. It includes provisions that would improve access to care for veterans at risk of suicide; strengthening VA's mental health workforce; expanding the availability of complementary and alternative techniques to improve veteran quality of life; advancing important research into diagnosis and treatment of conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, suicide ideation, and the connection between suicide and certain prescription medications; and support for servicemembers as they transition to civilian life, a time in which we know they are uniquely vulnerable to stresses and suicidal thoughts. S. 785 would also establish the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program to support community-based organizations that provide needed care and other services to at-risk veterans in their neighborhoods and backyards. The care and support that the VA offers to veterans is second to none. Under President Trump's direction these last 3\1/2\ years, excellent strides have been made to increase access to care, expand veteran choice, strengthen the veterans' trust that they have in the VA healthcare system, and more. Only 6 of the 20 servicemembers and veterans who die by suicide each day had used VA care in the last 2 years prior to their death. Not all of those who have served are eligible for VA care. Even those who are eligible may sometimes find the barrier to entry to a VA medical center too high, especially when they already are stressed and struggling. If we truly want to prevent veteran suicide, I believe that we must expand the VA's reach by partnering with well-respected community organizations that are meeting military families where they are, developing long-lasting and meaningful relationships to help them heal, and connecting them with the VA and other sources of support that best suit their individual and family needs. The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program would create the mechanism to do that most effectively. It is based on the bipartisan IMPROVE Act, which is sponsored in the House by my good friend and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Lieutenant General Jack Bergman of Michigan, and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania. Both General Bergman and Congresswoman Houlahan are veterans themselves, and I know their commitment to supporting their fellow veterans is deeply and strongly felt. I am grateful to both of them for their hard work and leadership on this bill and for their ongoing service to this country, first in uniform and now in Congress. As I mentioned in my opening, this grant program is named after one of east Tennessee's own, Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox. Parker grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, very near to where I live, and joined the Army after high school graduation. He was only 25 years old when he died this summer. I did not know Parker personally, but I have been touched by the loving legacy he left behind and the many wonderful comments I have heard from friends and family. My heart is with his family and friends today, and I hope that they take some comfort in knowing that Parker will forever be memorialized through this program that will help veterans like him across the country and, hopefully, save others from the deep grief they are now experiencing. It is Parker I will be thinking of when I vote in support of this bill today, and I hope that every one of my colleagues will join me. In closing, I would like any veteran listening today who may be struggling with their own thoughts of suicide to know that you do not have to struggle alone. These are trying times, but free and confidential support is available to you any time of the day or night by calling 1-800-273-8255 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or visiting veteranscrisisline.net. It is okay not to be okay. Please reach out for help, if you need it, please. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8247, as amended, the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment Act of 2020. The Veterans COMPACT Act is sponsored by my friend and fellow leader of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chairman Mark Takano from California. I thank the chairman for introducing this bill, and I stand with him today in full support of it. This bill is a result of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations with Senators Jerry Moran from Kansas and Jon Tester from Montana, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and I thank them for their efforts as well. To increase access to care to veterans at imminent risk for suicide, the Veterans COMPACT Act would require VA to cover the cost of emergent suicide care for veterans, including those with other than honorable discharges who are in crisis. To make VA campuses safer places of care and support for veterans in need, it will require the VA police officers to receive regular training in suicide prevention. To ensure that veterans at risk of suicide receive appropriate help at home and their families are recognized and supported for the vital roles they play in the recovery process, it would expand training and support for family members and caregivers of veterans with mental health disorders. To support veterans during the vulnerable period of time in which they transition out of the military and into their civilian lives, the bill would create a pilot program to allow transitioning servicemembers to share information about the challenges and stresses of transition and the benefits and services available through VA and other governmental and private-sector entities with their loved ones. To encourage veterans to engage in the VA healthcare system and take full advantage of the services VA provides, it would require VA to conduct outreach to veterans who have not been seen by VA within the prior 2 years. Remember, Madam Speaker, that over 60 percent of those veterans who commit suicide have not been in a VA healthcare facility in the last 2 years. To improve care to the growing number of women who are serving in uniform and seeking care as veterans, it will require VA to produce an annual report on women veterans' use of VA care and a gap analysis of the programs that serve women veterans who are homeless or at risk. The bill also contains the text of H.R. 2435, the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act, which is sponsored by my friend, Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who is a senior Member here. Congressman Smith is my friend, the former chairman of this committee, and a longtime champion of our Nation's veterans. His bill would create a task force to examine what opportunities may exist for veterans to use our country's bountiful national parks and other beautiful outdoor spaces to improve their health and wellness. As the saying goes, nature, time, and patience are the three great physicians. As an avid outdoorsman myself, I know the healing benefits that nature offers, and I am grateful to Congressman Smith for his work to increase outdoor recreation for our Nation's veterans. Madam Speaker, I hope all of my colleagues will join me in supporting the Veterans COMPACT Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), my good friend and fellow member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7795, the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020, which was introduced by my good friend, Andy Barr, from Kentucky. This bill would streamline the process for veterans to submit medical evidence from their private provider to support their Department of Veterans Affairs compensation claim. As you may know, VA has recently resumed certain in-person disability exams after suspending them at the start of the COVID-19 national emergency. During those uncertain times, some veterans may have requested that their private physician conduct their disability exam in order to avoid a claims processing delay. Unfortunately, in April of 2020, VA stopped publishing the disability benefits questionnaires, or DBQs, on its website. Those forms are used to ensure that VA receives all the medical information the department needs to adjudicate the veteran's disability claim. However, if a veteran's physician does not have access to the appropriate DBQ, the provider may not include all the medical information needed to support the veteran's claim. H.R. 7795 would address this issue by requiring the VA to reinstate the public-facing DBQs on its website. As an OB/GYN physician who managed my own private practice for three decades, I believe that a physician or other healthcare provider who has had the opportunity to develop a relationship with a veteran patient over several years is the most qualified to assess the veteran's disability. If that provider is willing to perform a disability exam, they should have the same access to the DBQ that a VA examiner would have. I have heard VA's concerns about this bill, and I understand the department would like to improve the process for veterans to develop and obtain supportive evidence from their private providers. However, I am not persuaded that the veterans are well-served by eliminating the public access to DBQs right now. Instead, I believe veterans should be able to obtain these forms until VA can implement a better process. Veterans should not be penalized for seeking out a medical opinion from their private medical provider, especially when there is a backlog of over 350,000 pending disability exams caused by the pandemic that VA must address. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Barr and Congresswoman Elaine Luria of Virginia for their leadership on this issue. And, Mr. Speaker, let me explain how it is. Let's say I am seeing a patient for a disability in my office, and I have put down exactly what I think is appropriate, but it is not all the information the VA needs. I don't know what they need. They need to just send me the form so I will know what to fill out so they will have adequate information. So in your office, your staff back home are not getting these complaints about, Well, they turned my claim down because they didn't have adequate information. This is a simple solution to a simple problem. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 7795, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense solution to a problem that shouldn't have occurred in the first place. And I think that it is--I appreciate both Congresswoman Luria and Congressman Barr for their leadership on this. I encourage my colleagues to support this. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this very important bill. I am surprised, over the years, that the VA hasn't had an active registry. I want to thank Dr. Dunn and the other sponsors of this bill. I think it will help save lives in the VA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Dunn, because of travel restrictions, couldn't make it to this debate. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy), with whom I serve on the Education and Labor Committee and the Doctors Caucus.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6092, the Veteran's Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act. This bill is sponsored by my good friend and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, Congressman Neal Dunn of Florida. Like me, Dr. Dunn is an Army veteran and a physician. During his many years in private practice, he helped to found the Advanced Urology Institute and the Bay Regional Cancer Center, where he specialized in treating advanced prostate cancer. Suffice it to say, improving care for prostate cancer is a personal one for him. It is also a personal one for me. A few years ago, when I was chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Early detection and effective treatment helped save my life, and I know that it will do the same for many of my fellow veterans. Veterans are diagnosed with prostate cancer, as the chairman said, at twice the rate of the general population, making prostate cancer the most commonly diagnosed cancer in male veterans. An estimated one in five male veterans is expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, compared to one in nine American men, generally. The Veteran's Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act would require the VA to establish a national clinical pathway for prostate cancer and to update that clinical pathway every year to reflect the latest and greatest and best practices for, and the medical understanding of, this deadly disease. It would also require the VA to establish a comprehensive prostate cancer program and a national prostate cancer registry. Together, these provisions would make the VA a national leader with respect to prostate cancer. Most importantly, it would give veterans with prostate cancer the very best chance of making a full recovery and going on to lead long, healthy lives after their diagnosis. Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that the House advance this important bill today in the final week of Prostate Cancer Month. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my good friend who serves on the Doctors Caucus with me, for bringing this important piece of legislation up. Mr. Speaker, this pandemic actually has done one good thing, and that is to advance telehealth. Just to give you some scope of this, the VA went from tens of thousands of mental health visits--and we know that people have been isolated. Certainly, many of our elderly have been confined; they can't visit people. They have gone from tens of thousands of mental health visits per month to hundreds of thousands of visits. So we are able to stay in touch with patients in need. I know in my own medical practice in Tennessee, it has been extremely helpful for patients to access their physicians through telehealth. I think we are going to continue this, and I think the next Congress is going to have to address how Medicare and Medicaid funds these telehealth visits outside the VA, it is that important for care. If you live in a rural area in rural Appalachia like I do, the only way we are going to get specialty care for our patients in need--and in many cases, in our cities--is via telehealth, because these specialists are so hard to find and there are so few of them. And especially in cases like neurology and pediatrics, these are very difficult people to see. So I really am appreciative of this. I appreciate Dr. Carter bringing it up, and I certainly thank the chairman for putting this on the agenda. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3228, the Department of Veterans Affairs Mission Telehealth Clarification Act. The VA healthcare system is our country's largest integrated healthcare system, with responsibility for delivering care to approximately 7 million veteran patients. The VA healthcare system is also the country's largest provider of healthcare education, with responsibility for supporting the training of approximately 45,000 medical and dental residents and thousands more healthcare professional trainees every year. I happened to be one of them many years ago. The VA Mission Telehealth Clarification Act would authorize VA residents and trainees to provide care to veteran patients virtually using telehealth, regardless of that resident or trainee's State licensure, so long as they are working under the clinical supervision of a VA healthcare professional. While face-to-face visits between patients and providers are irreplaceable in many respects, telehealth is an increasingly important tool in the delivery of modern healthcare. That was true even before the COVID-19 pandemic created a skyrocketing demand for telehealth services. In the MISSION Act passed last Congress, we authorized VA providers to provide telehealth across State lines in an effort to increase access to telehealth to veteran patients, particularly those in rural or remote areas or for those whose travel to a medical facility is otherwise difficult. However, the law inadvertently exempted VA residents, trainees, and certain others from that authority. This bill would fix that oversight. In doing so, it would further expand veteran access to telehealth, which has been critical to ensuring continuity of care throughout the last several months. It would also ensure that the medical education VA provides to the next generation of healthcare professionals includes valuable training and needed experience in the delivery of care via telephone, video, and other virtual modalities. This bill is sponsored by my good friend, Congressman Buddy Carter from Georgia. I am grateful to him for recognizing early on the benefits that a well-rounded medical education will have on access and quality of care for veterans and all Americans and working so hard to give aspiring providers and others working within the VA the ability to practice telehealth across State lines, within appropriate parameters. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6589, the VA Chief Financial Officer Authority and Collaboration Act. Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs manages to pass its financial statement audit despite a number of persistent material weaknesses in what appears to be a stalemate. VA never quite loses its unqualified audit opinion but never materially improves either. We should expect more, especially with VA's budget approaching $250 billion and its total liabilities reaching near $3.3 trillion. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Susie Lee from Nevada and General Jack Bergman from Michigan for sponsoring this bill to address the root cause of the problem, the VA's Chief Financial Officer's lack of operational authority over the dozens of lower level chief financial officers throughout VA. This bill would direct VA to develop a detailed action plan to resolve material weaknesses and require VA's Chief Financial Officer to attest to the Department's financial projections and internal controls in VA's annual budget submission. It would also strengthen VA's Chief Financial Officer's operational authority by involving them or their designee in the hiring and performance evaluations of subordinate chief financial officers. All of these reforms are consistent with the Chief Financial Officer Act of 1990. I support this legislation because it is a carefully crafted solution to an old problem with escalating consequences. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4908, the Native American Veteran Parity in Access to Care Today Act, or PACT Act. The care that the Department of Veterans Affairs provides to veterans for conditions that are related to military service are always provided at no cost to the veteran. Veterans being cared for by VA for conditions that are unrelated to their military service may be charged a copayment to offset the cost of care and encourage appropriate use of the VA healthcare system. According to the Government Accountability Office and the National Council of American Indians, approximately one-third of American Indian and Alaska Native veterans were charged copayments from VA in fiscal year 2017. Those copayments averaged just under $300 per veteran. However, almost a century ago, Congress passed the Snyder Act, which guaranteed healthcare to Native Americans free of charge. In recognition of that, the Native American PACT Act would prohibit VA from charging copayments to Native American veterans regardless of whether the care they receive from the VA is for a service-connected condition or not. There is no ethnic group that volunteers to defend the United States in uniform at a higher rate than Native Americans whose history of service to this country dates back to the Revolutionary War. This bill would increase access to care for those brave veterans and create parity between the care provided to them through the VA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Indian Health Service. It would also uphold the United States Government's longstanding trust and treaty responsibilities to the Native American community. The Native American PACT Act is sponsored by my colleague and fellow veteran, Congressman Ruben Gallego from Arizona. I am glad to stand with him in support of its passage today. Madam Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, in closing, I appreciate the opportunity to be here, and I appreciate Congresswoman Rice's and the chairman's leadership on this. It seems to me it is past time to do this. It is the right thing to do. I encourage my colleagues to support that, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3010, the Honoring All Veterans Act, which is sponsored by my friend, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice from New York. This bill would establish a mission statement in the statute for the Department of Veterans Affairs. That mission statement would read: ``To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those `who shall have borne the battle' and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.'' This is in homage to President Lincoln's immortal words in his second inaugural address, which state, in full: ``With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the Nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.'' Those words, which were delivered in 1865, remain some of the most important in our country's history, and they continue to reverberate even now. For one, they inspired the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs as we know it. That is why VA has been using them as a motto since 1959. However, in the last several years, veterans service organizations and others have rightly noted that the use of the male pronoun in President Lincoln's statement can inadvertently ostracize the increasing number of women in the military and veteran communities. Women are the fastest growing cohort of servicemembers and veterans. They play critical roles in the battlefield and in the VA healthcare system where their numbers have tripled in the last two decades alone. VA has made great strides in the last few years with respect to improving care for women and, as a result, women veterans now express greater trust in VA than ever before. Enacting the Honoring All Veterans Act would go one step further in making VA a more inclusive and welcoming place of care for them and future generations of veterans, whoever they may be, while preserving in statute the spirit of President Lincoln's charge to forever honor and care for those who have served. The bill would also be more inclusive of many caregivers, survivors, and family members of veterans who are vitally important sources of ongoing love and support of veterans in need across the country. Madam Speaker, I appreciate Congresswoman Rice's leadership on this bill. I am proud to sponsor it and support it today, and I reserve the balance of my time.