Phil Roe

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the vice chair and one of the most active members of the committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski), the sponsor of the bill and a former member of the committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 467) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs complies with requirements relating to scheduling veterans for health care appointments, to improve the uniform application of directives of the Department, and for other purposes.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2288) to amend title 38, United States Code, to reform the rights and processes relating to appeals of decisions regarding claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I, too, want to echo what Mr. Walz has said. It has been a pleasure to work on this and what has been done in the previous Congress. I think this is one of the most important bills that we voted on in the Veterans' Affairs Committee since I have been in Congress. It is the thing we hear about back home, Mr. Speaker, which is disability claims. I think this actually will speed up that process and adjudicate those claims. I, too, thank all the staff and both subcommittee chairs and ranking members for their hard work. Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge all Members to support H.R. 2288, as amended, and I yield back 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 to ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2288, as amended. First, I want to thank the Disabilities Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Bost and Ranking Member Esty for their hard work in bringing H.R. 2288 to the floor. I also want to thank every member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, both Republican and Democrat, who all are original cosponsors of this bill. The committee has been working on overhauling the VA's appeals process, which was established back in 1933. The problem is that the current system is slow, cumbersome, frustrating, and full of bureaucratic red tape. As a result, there are currently 470,000 veterans, many of whom may have been injured in the line of duty, who are waiting for a decision on their appeal. Many of these folks have been waiting for more than 5 years, and veterans are filing more appeals every day. Last year, VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson testified that if Congress doesn't pass reform soon, by 2027, veterans may have to wait as long as 10 years to get a decision on their appeal. Think about that. In 2027, men and women who served our Nation may have to wait a decade to get a decision on their appeal. These veterans have bills to pay and families to support. Even worse, they may need medical treatments that they can't get from the VA because their appeal hasn't been decided. Mr. Speaker, one of the dearest friends I have had in my life died a little over 2 years ago, waiting on a decision on an appeal. H.R. 2288 would help streamline the VA's appeals process, while giving veterans more options and protecting their due process rights. This legislation includes a compromise agreement that was reached between VA and the veterans service organizations which passed the House last Congress as part of H.R. 5620. We have added a few improvements since last year. For example, we have expanded the bill to allow some veterans who are currently having pending appeals to opt in to the new system. I really believe that the changes in this bill will make a difference and help expedite the process so that veterans can get a decision on their appeal and then get on with their lives. I am going to pull out all the stops to get this bill on the President's desk as soon as possible. We are talking with our colleagues in the Senate, including Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Tester, and Senator Blumenthal, to resolve a few minor differences between the House version and the Senate version. The sooner we get this bill passed, the sooner our Nation's veterans will be able to get their decisions on appeal in a timely manner. Veterans deserve no less. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2288, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello), a former member of our committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), chairman of the DAMA Subcommittee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dunn), an active member on the committee and a veteran.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon), a new member of our committee and the only representative from Puerto Rico.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello) who is a former member of our committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Once again, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

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

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), my good friend and a member of our committee.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Knight), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1162) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide access to magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy to veterans.

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 include extraneous material.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1808, the Improving Support for Missing and Exploited Children Act, which improves the Missing Children's Assistance Act. Mr. Speaker, this Thursday is National Missing Children's Day. I can't imagine the pain and suffering that occurs when a child goes missing. I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation, and I am proud of the Committee on Education and the Workforce for its work on this important issue. This legislation strengthens existing efforts to help recover missing children and prevents more children from being victims of abuse and exploitation. This bill also includes a provision to incorporate developing technologies related to the reporting of child exploitation. This provision was a result of an idea shared by a constituent of mine, Michael Reed. His wife was a victim of abuse as a child, and he has devoted his life to making sure other children have a voice and the ability to report the abuse that they are experiencing. I am committed to ensuring that Congress is working to protect these children. Mr. Speaker, I thank both sides of the aisle on the Education and the Workforce Committee, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule to consider H.R. 115, the Thin Blue Line Act, introduced by my friend and colleague from Florida, Mr. Vern Buchanan. Mr. Speaker, this week, National Police Week, we take time to honor our Nation's law enforcement officers for the work they do and the sacrifices they make to keep us safe on a daily basis. It is unconscionable that law enforcement officers are being targeted and are making the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty; and this bill aims to make the killing or attempted killing of a law enforcement officer an aggravating factor for the imposition of the death penalty. Mr. Speaker, I served for 6 years as a city commissioner and two of those as the mayor of my small town of Johnson City, Tennessee, and had the privilege of working with first responders, firemen, and police officers every day. It was a privilege to do it. I put on a scrub suit to go to work. They put on a Kevlar vest and put their lives in danger. I cannot say thank you enough to them and their families for the sacrifices that they make. I commend my colleague on introducing this legislation and for the House considering it today. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation in honor of our law enforcement officers.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, the American Health Care Act in no way changes the existing regulations that allow a veteran who is eligible but not enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs' healthcare system from using a tax credit to purchase health insurance. Language that would have codified that legislation into law was removed from an earlier version of the bill to comply with Senate rules. Removing language in no way changes that existing regulation or a veteran's eligibility to receive a tax credit. By the way, that is the exact same language that was in the ACA. I repeat that: the American Health Care Act in no way affects a veteran's ability to access tax credits. I am disturbed that our colleagues in the minority, Mr. Speaker, would assert that it does, in an effort to score political points against this legislation. Fear-mongering has no place in this debate or where America's veterans are concerned. As chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, as a medical doctor, and as a veteran myself, ensuring that veterans' health care is protected is my highest priority in this Congress, and I would not stand for language in this bill or any other bill that would compromise a veteran's ability to access care.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, 7 years ago, I stood right in this well to debate the ACA, which the premise was to increase access and decrease costs. We all agree with that. But that is not exactly what happened. In my district, in the State of Tennessee, over one-third of the counties have no place they can buy insurance; and multiple counties in my State, including the third largest, have no access. Premiums have soared over 60 percent. Eighteen of the 23 co-ops went bankrupt, including one in my State, which required people to search for other coverage. No matter what verbiage you hear, nothing in this bill changes how veterans are treated under the law--nothing. The criticisms are flat- out wrong. I am a veteran, doctor, and chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and it ain't gonna happen. In my State, and where I practiced medicine for over 30 years, listen to this: 60 to 70 percent of the uncollectible debt now are people with insurance. So why do I support this bill? One, it protects preexisting conditions; Two, it puts patients ahead of special interests and restores a physician-patient relationship; Three, it reforms Medicaid so that first-class people don't get second-class care; and Four, it repeals individual mandates so that 160,000 Tennesseans don't get fined for a product they cannot afford. Mr. Speaker, this bill isn't perfect, but it is a huge improvement over ObamaCare, and it is worthy of every Member's support.

Mr. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act, and encourage all of my colleagues to do the same. This commonsense piece of legislation, sponsored by my friend and colleague from Alabama, Martha Roby, would empower private sector workers with the flexibility to choose comp time as compensation for working overtime hours instead of added wages. Specifically, the provisions of this legislation would be completely voluntary for workers, allow them to exchange their accrued time for full overtime pay at any time or for any reason, and would maintain the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act, such as the standard 40- hour workweek. Mr. Speaker, I have heard our friends on the other side of the aisle express opposition to giving private sector employees this choice. I would point out that the public sector employees have enjoyed the ability to use comp time to maintain a work-life balance for 30 years. We are simply doing the same thing for private sector employees that public sector employees have the right to do today. H.R. 1180 would benefit workers who want more flexibility to decide where they spend the time, with their families or pursue entrepreneurial or education ambitions outside the workplace, and these individuals should be admired for their efforts. At its most basic level, this legislation is about choice and the belief that hardworking employees know their needs better than Washington bureaucrats. House Republicans believe it is time to adapt our labor laws to meet the needs of a rapidly changing 21st century workplace instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows- best model. It is time to empower employees to make choices on what will allow them to better balance work with their personal lives. This commonsense legislation will ultimately improve not only their benefits but their lives. I want to again encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1180.