Phil Roe

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I yield back, I do want to express my disappointment that H.R. 2196 is not on the floor for consideration this afternoon. This bill, introduced by my friend and outstanding new member of our committee, Congressman Barr from Kentucky, would clarify the eligibility of the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program. This scholarship, which was enacted as part of the Forever GI Bill, authorizes extra GI Bill funding to help student veterans complete their undergraduate degrees in the science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM, fields. Madam Speaker, we all know that there is a need to fill vacancies for high-paying jobs in the STEM fields. The Smithsonian Science Education Center found STEM-related jobs grew at three times the rate of non-STEM jobs between 2000 and 2010. By 2018, they projected that 2.4 million STEM jobs would go unfilled. The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program is critical to ensure that veterans are the ones who fill these vacancies. However, the way the original law was drafted, it would unintentionally prevent most students from using this scholarship in all but a few STEM programs. With the scholarship going live on August 1, 2019, I am grateful to Mr. Barr for quickly stepping up to the plate to offer this bill to ensure students are eligible for it. We all know that the Senate generally takes longer to review legislation than the House. Let me repeat that. We all know that the Senate generally takes a lot longer to review legislation than the House does. That is why, with the August 1 deadline approaching quickly, I was hopeful we could consider this legislation today. The bill has gone through full regular order, is supported by VA and veterans service organizations, and has no cost. I would ask the chairman if he would please work with the majority leader to schedule this bill for consideration immediately after the Memorial Day district work period. Before I yield back, next Monday is Memorial Day. For me, personally, I want to thank all of the members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the chairman and others, as you have seen today, for the work they have done in a bipartisan way to help our Nation's heroes. As I said, for me, personally, as a veteran, this is a very difficult day because it is a day that we mourn the loss of veterans who served on Active Duty and paid the ultimate price. I want to just mention a few names of people. First, Sergeant Thomas E. Thayer, a tremendous man whom I knew as a young boy growing up. He was my Scout master. He was in the 101st Airborne and was killed in Vietnam, receiving the Silver Star in 1965. Johnny Parham, who was also an Eagle Scout, as I am. Johnny and I ran on the 2-mile relay team together in high school. I have to say, we were pretty good. Johnny died in 1969 in Vietnam and was unable to have the wonderful life that I have had, to be able to raise a family, have children and grandchildren, because of service to our Nation. Bob Perry, a young man whom I went to elementary school with all the way through high school. I found out at my high school reunion many years later that Bob also died in Vietnam. We just heard today, Chief Petty Officer Bill Mulder, a highly decorated Navy SEAL who protected this Nation, giving up his life because of, really, the invisible wounds of war. I just want to thank all of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 987, the Democrats' ObamaCare bailout act. This legislation includes three bipartisan bills that could help lower the cost of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the majority has decided to package these positive bills with four bills that double down on trying to force ObamaCare on people who don't want it and can't afford it. We are back on the floor again using valuable time to consider legislation that will not pass the Senate. Make no mistake: If House Democrats wanted to accomplish something, they could have put their three drug pricing bills on the floor by themselves today and they would have passed. Everyone needs to understand that. Instead of working together to find ways to bring down the costs of healthcare, House Democrats are acting to eliminate affordable options that many folks across the country rely upon for covering their family's healthcare needs. One provision in this bill would be to limit the availability of short-term limited duration plans to no more than 3 months. This change by President Obama went into effect January of 2017 and overturned 20 years of regulations that had been in place since Bill Clinton was in office, including the entirety of President Obama's administration. These plans are for essential health benefits chosen by the individual consumer, not the Federal Government. We have different needs at different points in our life. Unfortunately, the ACA does not allow for plans to be sold as ``compliant'' unless they contain government approved what you need, not what you and your family decide what is in your best interest and can afford. If my colleagues want to get rid of junk plans, they can start by working with us to get rid of ObamaCare. In my district, while the individual mandate was in effect, there were 20,000 people who purchased their coverage through the exchange and about 15,000 who paid the penalty. Many of those people who paid the penalty were able to find a plan that was affordable through the Tennessee Farm Bureau or the Christian sharing ministries. I have said it before and I will say it again: ObamaCare is a good deal for you if you get a subsidy, of which about 90 percent do. But these subsidies hide the true cost of the care, and for people who don't receive a subsidy, it is unaffordable. When the Education and Labor Committee marked up the short-term bill last month, I heard the argument that these short-term plans were too difficult to understand, that consumers don't know what they are getting. This is offensive to me. This is saying, just because patients don't choose plans that Washington bureaucrats think are good for them, they don't have enough sense to figure it out on their own. They do. I trust the American people. Why on earth when we do something using common sense and creating association health plans that allow small groups to get together-- Washington State does that, hardly a conservative State. They have had AHPs for over 20 years, and they are working well. If my friends across the aisle want to engage in a good faith effort to find solutions to high healthcare costs, I am all in, Mr. Chairman. I want to help. But the point is that people are finding ways outside of ObamaCare to best access coverage for their families. The CBO initially said there would be 27 million people in the exchanges in 2019. That number is 8 million. Competition works. I hope my colleagues oppose this legislation, and I am ready to work in a bipartisan way to solve these problems.

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, today I rise in support of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 which would extend the presumption of exposure to herbicides to veterans who served in the offshore waters of Vietnam. I want to thank Chairman Takano for reintroducing this legislation and for working with me to get this bill to the House floor. It is no surprise that the fight for our blue water Navy Vietnam veterans to receive the benefits they deserve is near and dear to me. Last Congress, I was heartened by the overwhelming support for these veterans when the House passed H.R. 299 by a vote of 382-0. To say the least, I was very disappointed that last year's bill stalled in the Senate, and never made it to the President's desk. However, with 333 cosponsors, it is my hope this legislation passes the House with the same bipartisan support as last year's package, and the Senate takes it up quickly. I know that is an oxymoron in the Senate, but quickly. As many of you know, Agent Orange was used in Vietnam to defoliate areas in the jungle where enemy forces would ambush our troops. When Vietnam veterans began developing diseases as a result of their contact with Agent Orange, Congress legislated the Agent Orange presumption to streamline benefits for affected veterans. Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs' longstanding practice was to limit the presumption to veterans who set foot, boots on the ground, in Vietnam or served in inland waterways or brown water. The blue water Navy Vietnam veterans were excluded from the presumption because VA claims there was not enough information to determine whether they came into contact with herbicides. As a result, blue water Navy Vietnam veterans must provide evidence that they were actually harmed by herbicides. I understand how incredibly difficult this must be for veterans who try to find any records for potential exposure. I served in the United States 2nd Infantry Division in Korea near the DMZ, and I have no way to prove where I walked there 40-something years ago. There is just no way to prove that. But right now, these veterans are suffering from conditions that are known to be associated with exposure to Agent Orange, and I believe Congress must act to resolve this issue definitively. The recent court decision in Procopio was a huge victory for our blue water Navy Vietnam veterans. However, it is unclear how VA plans to implement the court's holdings. Congress should not wait for this issue to work itself out by VA or the courts. These veterans have waited long enough to receive acknowledgment from VA that their illnesses may have been caused by their military service. Mr. Speaker, 523 Vietnam veterans are dying each day. So, if the VA and this government waits long enough, we will all die. We need to get this done. We must pass H.R. 299, as amended, so that our blue water Vietnam Navy veterans can qualify for the same benefits as their boots-on-the- ground and brown-water Navy comrades. Moreover, H.R. 299 not only addresses the concerns of blue water Navy Vietnam veterans, but also includes provisions that would: one, extend the presumption to veterans who served in or near the Korean DMZ on September 1, 1967; provide benefits to certain children of Thailand veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange; and require VA to identify the U.S. military bases located in Thailand where Agent Orange was used and when it was used. Mr. Speaker, one of my best friends I will ever have in my life who served on one of those air bases died of a very rare lymphoma. The perimeter was sprayed with Agent Orange, and he died about 4 years ago. H.R. 299 also provides an update on current research on their potential or in-service toxic exposures of the Gulf War veterans. Finally, this bill would make several improvements to the VA home loan program, including: changing VA's home appraisal system so that veterans can close on their homes quicker and more seamlessly; eliminating the conforming home loan limit to allow veterans to use their earned VA loan benefits in more expensive areas; extending the waiver of home loan funding fees to recipients of the Purple Heart who are still serving on Active Duty; and temporarily increasing VA's home loan funding fees for nondisabled veterans, which would offset the cost of the bill. I would be remiss if I did not thank veteran service organizations for their unwavering support on this issue. I am particularly grateful to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Military Officers Association of America, AMVETS, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart for their hard work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I just read a study that was published yesterday that the United States is going into Vietnam and providing some benefits for some of the people there whose offspring were damaged. We are also doing mega-site cleanups. We are spending tens of millions of dollars to clean up Da Nang and Bien Hoa, the two major air bases where this Agent Orange was used. It is time we did the same thing for America's veterans here in the United States. That is the right thing to do there. It is the right thing to do here. I think I can speak for all of us today when I say that H.R. 299, as amended, does the right thing for our veterans. Once again, Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 299, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), who was the previous chairman of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee and is now ranking member. Mr. Mike Bost is a marine veteran who also led a bill that we passed 2 years ago, the appeals modernization bill, a bill that has helped so many disabled veterans get their claims adjudicated more quickly.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser). Dan Meuser is a new and very dedicated member of our committee.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the chairman. I know Walter's family appreciates that. He served this House, this Chamber, honorably for so many years and was an incredible supporter of our Nation's veterans. I know his family and I certainly appreciate the chairman's acknowledging his service and his dedication to our veterans. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin). I have been to his district, and there is no better and more fervent supporter of our Nation's veterans.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we all know why dioxin, or Agent Orange, was sprayed in Vietnam. At the time we thought, our government thought, that we were protecting our troops by spraying this defoliant to expose the hiding places where they were being ambushed. We understand that. I get that. Mr. Speaker, if you were at an air base in Thailand and you were being attacked on the perimeter, I understand why it was being done. It turns out it was a horrific mistake, and it is costing lives now. It is time to do the right thing, and the right thing with 523 of us dying each day is to pass this bill, H.R. 299, and get it to the Senate. I believe the chairman and I would like to challenge the Senate to start hearing this and perhaps even vote on it before Memorial Day. That would be the right thing to do. Also, I want to thank Congressman David Valadao, who is no longer here, along with my good friend Mr. Walz, who is now the Governor of Minnesota. Congressman Valadao was very helpful. There was not a day on the House floor that I was down here that David was not asking me: When are we going to get the Blue Water Navy bill passed? When are we going to pass this bill? Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop talking about it, and it is time to do something about it. The reason that it is important to not let the courts decide is another court may decide just like 1997, when they changed what the VA was doing. So it is time to put this in the footprint of the law so that there is no question about what we do. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman. I want to thank him for when he was a member of the committee when I was chairman of the last Congress, how hard we all worked in a bipartisan way to get this done. Just so the public knows, last week, we passed 18 bills--this is one of them--out of our committee in a bipartisan way on a voice vote. Congress can work. This is one of the ways it does work very well. Again, I want to thank my staff and the majority staff for their help with this. Mr. Speaker, I urge 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. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 962, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, if this unanimous consent request cannot be entertained, I urge the Speaker and the majority leader to immediately schedule the Born Alive bill, so we can stand up and protect the----

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. 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. 1381, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act. This bill is sponsored by Dr. Raul Ruiz of California and Dr. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio. Dr. Ruiz and Dr. Wenstrup are medical professionals, former members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and co-chairs of the House Burn Pits Caucus. I am grateful to them both for their efforts with respect to this legislation and for their continued dedication to serving our Nation's veterans on a bipartisan basis. In response to growing fears about the long-term health effects of burn pit exposure, Congress required the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, to create the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, the registry, in 2013. The registry was intended to provide a forum for servicemembers and veterans to document the toxic exposures they experienced in service to our country and report health issues they believe may be connected to those exposures to VA to assist in research regarding toxic exposure impacts and treatments. While the registry continues to be an important tool for those worried about burn pits and other toxic environmental exposures, advocates have expressed concern over the years that the registry is not being used to its greatest potential. During a hearing before the Subcommittee on Health last June, two important stakeholder groups, Burn Pit 360 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, or VFW, recommended that the registry be improved by allowing family members to update the registry in the event of a death of a servicemember or veteran listed on it. Accordingly, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act would, on the death of a servicemember or a veteran listed in the registry, allow an immediate family member or other designated individual to report that servicemember's or veteran's death to the registry and list his or her cause of death in the registry. According to Burn Pits 360, without tracking the mortality rate through methods such as allowing a surviving family member to report deaths and the cause of death, the registry's ability to establish mortality rates related to conditions and diseases associated with toxic exposure will be precluded. Mr. Speaker, I agree, which is why I am pleased to support this bill today. That said, I do regret that it did not move through regular order. Had it been subject to a committee hearing and markup, it surely would have benefited from a robust debate and discussion by committee members, by VA, and by veteran service organizations and other interested parties and perhaps made even stronger. I look forward to continued committee work on this important subject. 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. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), a very active member and Marine Corps veteran on the committee.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), a Congressman, colonel, doctor, former member of the committee, and incredible veterans advocate.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank Dr. Ruiz, who was a very active member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I really hated to see him leave our committee. He was a tremendous asset to the committee and, as you can see, continues to be that asset. I think one of the things, Mr. Speaker, that this registry does is it also shows us on the committee how important it is to get our electronic health records done, so that an Active Duty military recruit can go in at 18 years of age and have a virtual lifetime record so that we will have a treasure trove of data there 30 or 40 years later, as we are doing right now in trying to figure out what to do with Agent Orange. If we do this correctly, we will be able to not make these mistakes in the future. We will be able to go ahead and rapidly make these claims, adjudicate these claims, so that veterans are treated properly and get the medical care they need. I strongly support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill. 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 such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1271, the Veterans- Specific Education for Tomorrow's Health Professionals--or Vet HP--Act. The bill would create a pilot program to provide undergraduate students with a clinical observation experience at Department of Veterans Affairs' medical centers. This bill is sponsored by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio. I appreciate her efforts to support aspiring medical students by giving them a window into the healthcare profession. This bill would further VA's mission to educate the Nation's future clinicians by giving those who have expressed interest in the medical field an early introduction to the VA healthcare system. It is my sincere hope that, if enacted, this pilot program would inspire the students it serves to pursue careers serving veteran patients. While this bill did not move through regular order in the committee this Congress, it did move through regular order last Congress where it was supported by various veteran service organizations. Mr. Speaker, I was proud to work with my Democratic colleagues to get this bill passed through the House last year, and I am pleased to do so again here today. 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. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I strongly support this bill. I have spent much of my time over the years mentoring students both in high school, college, and in medical school. I have taught on the clinical faculty at East Tennessee State University College of Medicine. I tell the students: Look, you really need to think about going into medicine if you like to work nights, weekends, and holidays. That is not usually how I start the conversation. But I look back as a young man when I started, and I ask myself, having now been serving in the U.S. Congress, what would I do if I had those choices all over again? Unequivocally, I would go back to the examining room and back to the operating room and take care of patients. It is a phenomenal way to help people. I think we have to share that. I am a first-generation college graduate in my family, as many of us are who serve in this body, and I want to thank both the chairman for his tremendous support for medical education in the Choice bill that we passed--it is hard to believe--5 years ago, Mr. Speaker, when the scandal in Phoenix occurred. We put in that bill 1,500 residency slots at VAs in primary care so that we would encourage those young doctors to stay where they are training. Many of us will do that; we will stay where we have done our training. So I want to thank Congresswoman Kaptur for her interest in this. I thank the students she brought up. Those are the future doctors who are going to be caring for all of us. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, I urge my colleagues to, and 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 such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 49, a bill to designate the outstation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center in North Ogden, Utah, as the Major Brent Taylor Vet Center Outstation. This bill is sponsored by Senator Mike Lee of Utah and is a companion bill to H.R. 54, which is sponsored by Congressman Rob Bishop, also of Utah. I thank both of them for working to honor Major Taylor in this way. Having lost friends and classmates in Vietnam, I know the loss that this family is suffering is incalculable. Family, friends, community, State, and Nation mourn his loss. Major Taylor's life was characterized by service both in and out of uniform, and I am pleased to strongly support this bill in his memory. Major Taylor represents all that is right and good in America. My colleague, Congressman Chris Stewart of Utah, is here today to speak in support of this bill as well, as he has a personal connection to the Taylor family. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart) to detail the incredible life that Major Taylor led and the legacy that he leaves behind.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is one of the more difficult things that we do. Obviously, to see a beautiful family like this, whose dad and whose husband has made the ultimate sacrifice, it is difficult for me to stand here and understand the pain that they have. I sometimes read Revelation 21:4; that may help just a little bit. I thank that family for their service and wish them nothing but Godspeed going forward. They will have some tough days, I know, ahead of them, but this is a grateful Nation. We very much appreciate his service to our great country. Our country is not better for this loss. 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 Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise today to fight for the rights of the brave men and women who have risked their lives fighting for our rights. The bill we are debating, H.R. 1112, would have a significant impact on veterans' Second Amendment rights. A little-known and poorly understood provision of H.R. 1112 would amend the law to make it unlawful for an individual who has been ``adjudicated with mental illness, severe developmental disability, or severe emotional instability'' to purchase, to possess a firearm. It would make it illegal to sell a firearm to such an individual. Let's put this in perspective. There are over 1.6 million disabled veterans with service-connected adjudication by VA of mental illness, including 1 million veterans with PTSD. H.R. 1112 has the potential to add all those names of veterans to the FBI NICS list and prevent those veterans from being able to purchase or possess a firearm. Now, I know that may not have been the intent of the author of this bill, but that is a lot of veterans who will be impacted if this becomes law. I offered an amendment at the Rules Committee to clarify that veterans with VA PTSD, diagnosed mental illness, and other affected adjudications would be exempted from the bill's standards, but it was ruled out of order. VA already sends the names of veterans who have a VA fiduciary for inclusion on the NICS list--not because there is a concern that the veteran might be a harm to themselves or others, but because the VA has determined that the veteran needs assistance handling his or her financial benefits. I am concerned that the expanded definition proposed in H.R. 1112 would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of over 1 million veterans solely because they receive benefits from VA that they have rightly earned through their service to our great country. The last thing any of us in this room want to do is to discourage veterans from seeking VA benefits and treatment because they are afraid it might cost them a constitutional right. Think about that. Although there may not have been a finding by a judicial authority that a veteran poses a danger to themselves or society, these veterans will be told that they were good enough to use a firearm to fight for our freedoms, but they are not good enough to have the freedom to bear arms as a civilian. That is wrong, Madam Chair. Even criminals must be convicted in a court of law before their names are added to the NICS list. Of all Americans who deserve their constitutional rights, the most deserving are those who fought for our country. Madam Chair, that is why I strongly oppose H.R. 1112, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representatives Allred, Sherrill, and Torres' amendment that would require the VA to ensure that eligible veterans are made aware of childcare assistance available to them through this program via outreach and publicly available information made easily accessible on VA's website. This program would be no good to any veteran if they don't know that it exists and could potentially serve them. This is a commonsense proposition and I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it. On a related note, I understand that Representative Allred recently left D.C. to return to Dallas for the birth of his son, which is further proof of how disruptive children can be to a working parent's schedule and why this bill is so needed. I wish Congressman Allred and his family my hearty congratulations and send them my best wishes during this joyous occasion. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Congresswoman Moore's amendment to require annual reports on the participation and funding requirements associated with childcare assistance, as well as biannual reports on other remaining challenges regarding childcare services and recommendations for improvement. If we are going to create a new program like this one, we have an obligation to ensure that it is serving the people it is supposed to be serving, and providing good value for our taxpayers. I am happy to support this amendment to ensure that this program is closely monitored by VA, and that Congress is able to use these reports to conduct appropriate oversight of it. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chair, I strongly support Congresswoman Moore's amendment, and urge my colleagues to support it also. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.