Mark Takano

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I support S. 2181, as amended, the Keeping Military Families Together Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7653, the Veterans Employment Readiness Yield Act of 2024, introduced by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Davis), my good friend. The Veteran Readiness and Employment, or VR&E, program offers vital services to help veterans and servicemembers with service-connected disabilities and those determined to have an employment handicap prepare for, find, and maintain suitable employment or live more independently. This bill would replace the terms ``employment handicap'' and ``serious employment handicap'' with the terms ``employment barrier'' and ``serious employment barrier.'' Historically, the term ``handicap'' has been associated with disadvantage or burden, which does not accurately reflect our veteran population. By making this change, we acknowledge the challenges that veterans with service-connected disabilities often face in the job market. Eliminating the stigma associated with these disabilities will encourage more veterans to participate in the VR&E program, ultimately assisting them in preparing for and securing meaningful employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs requested this change, which has bipartisan support and incurs no cost. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Davis) for his work on veterans' issues during his first term in office. I am proud of his work to open doors at VA for more veterans so they may access the benefits they have earned through their service. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, in closing, I support H.R. 7653, the Veterans Employment Readiness Yield Act of 2024, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8371, as amended, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. This omnibus package of veterans' legislation isn't perfect; such packages rarely are. However, it achieves progress on many of the goals we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the 118th Congress. The backbone of this bill is legislation that was originally introduced by my colleague, Julia Brownley, the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health. Representative Brownley has worked tirelessly for nearly 3 years to pass the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, H.R. 542. This bill will enable veterans to remain at home, safely age in place, and avoid or delay admission to nursing homes and other costly institutional settings of care by expanding veterans' access to home- and community-based services such as home health aides. This legislation will also help connect veterans' caregivers to respite care and other support services that help them care for veterans at home. Further, it will help improve VA's coordination with other Federal long-term care programs that promote aging at home. I am very thankful to my colleague Julia Brownley for her important work, but I know she worked very closely with Senator Elizabeth Dole, and Senator Dole has risen to an amazing stature in our country. I am so proud that she is also here in this Chamber with us today as the chairman mentioned. I hope someone will get her a blanket because it is so dang cold in this Chamber that I don't want her to freeze up there. This legislation is an investment in care for millions of veterans and current servicemembers who need this help now and in the future. Despite the great need for this bill, it has been an uphill battle to get it passed. This Chamber had an opportunity almost a year ago to pass the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act as a stand-alone bill. Unfortunately, House Republicans decided to bring a version to the floor they knew the Senate wouldn't pass. Why would they do that you may ask? Well, because they decided to hold the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act and other bipartisan policy priorities hostage, attempting to use them as leverage to achieve their goal of outsourcing more VA care to for-profit healthcare providers. The Democratic Caucus stood firmly against these efforts. It can be difficult and isolating to stand on policy principles, but I will always do so when the future of veterans' healthcare is on the line, and it is. The system is already straining, and if we don't take real and serious action, it will break. House Republicans attempted nearly for a year to use H.R. 8371 to advance harmful provisions that would have undermined healthcare directly provided by VA, driving veterans to for-profit, lower-quality care from contracted providers. We want VA to remain a strong provider of care instead of diminishing it to nothing more than an insurance company where profits are prioritized over outcomes for veterans. Madam Speaker, if we have learned anything during the 118th Congress, it is that anything meaningful that we have accomplished has been done on a bipartisan basis with Democratic votes. It should never have taken this long to get here, but last week, we successfully negotiated a compromise on the most objectionable provision of H.R. 8371, which will preserve VA healthcare for current and future generations of veterans. Unfortunately, in the year it took to get to this point, House Republicans also held hostage critical legislation to help homeless veterans. In December 2023, my colleagues in the majority knowingly and intentionally took a flawed version of the HOME Act, which includes two Democratic-led bills to the House floor to use these provisions as leverage in negotiations for this package. They used homeless veterans as political pawns in the same way that they did with elderly and disabled veterans and their caregivers. Meanwhile, VA and its community partners continued doing the hard work to help veterans experiencing homelessness. On Veterans Day, the VA announced that veteran homelessness dropped to its lowest level on record, and that VA had helped place nearly 48,000 veterans into permanent housing in 2024. While I celebrate VA's success in addressing this issue, there are still nearly 300,000 veterans who interact with VA's homelessness programs each year. We must continue investing resources into these programs and into our communities to ensure that every veteran has a stable place to call home. We hope the next administration will continue this work and adhere to the models that have proven effective like Housing First. Therefore, the second pillar of this legislation supports our shared goal of ending veteran homelessness. H.R. 8371 includes provisions from Congresswoman Williams' H.R. 491, the Return Home to Housing Act and Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick's H.R. 645, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act. These provisions will provide direct investments in communities across the country as they move veterans from the streets into stable housing. During the pandemic, VA used authorities contained in Representative Williams' bill to enhance the services that traditional housing providers could offer to veterans through an increased per diem reimbursement rate. It used the flexible authorities in Representative Cherfilus-McCormick's bill to save lives by bringing veterans out of unsafe living conditions into stable, permanent housing and meeting their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. It also ensured homeless veterans had the transportation needed to get to and from medical appointments and job interviews. These long overdue reauthorizations will ensure VA and its community partners can continue to address the veteran homelessness crisis in this country with the urgency and focus it deserves. There is still more work to do to get every veteran into housing, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to provide VA, HUD, and communities across the country the support they need to end veteran homelessness. Madam Speaker, I will also acknowledge several Democratic Members who have contributed to the drafting of this package. Representatives Mike Levin, Don Davis, Elissa Slotkin, Frank Mrvan, Dean Phillips, Morgan McGarvey, Chris Pappas, and Lauren Underwood all have provisions in their own bills included in this package. Many of them are or have been members of our committee, and their commitment to serving veterans continues with our work here today. Among other things, these provisions will increase outreach to veterans about their eligibility for benefits, mandate training for VA employees on reporting wrongdoing to the inspector general, and remove statutory restrictions on the qualifications of senior leaders within the Veterans Health Administration. Madam Speaker, that does not mean this bill is perfect, and I will stress my objection, once again, to the backward practice of the majority to offset discretionary spending along with mandatory spending in every bill. This means taxpayers will be paying for these programs twice and many remaining legislative priorities from the VSOs who are with us here today are at risk of being left undone next Congress when we must unnecessarily waste our limited offsets in order to advance this legislation. Also missing from this package is a strong piece of bipartisan, bicameral, good-government legislation that would have installed much- needed guardrails on VA's electronic health record modernization project. It is no secret that the Oracle-driven modernization effort has struggled at VA. The program is woefully behind schedule and is only operational at 6 of 172 medical centers. I am not convinced the system is fully functional. The EHR Program RESET Act would have required minimum operational criteria to be met before Oracle could be deployed to any further facilities, which would have prevented many of the current problems. Further, this key legislation would have improved coordination with the Department of Defense and instituted major contracting and acquisition reforms over VA's IT modernization efforts that are long overdue. Unfortunately, RESET was stripped from the package, which is not surprising given the army of lobbyists that Oracle unleashed to kill it. That said, I thank the Veterans Service Organization community and other stakeholders whose tireless efforts and refusal to compromise their values proved critical in finally getting our Republican majority back to the negotiating table to reach a compromise on H.R. 8371 last week. As we saw with the passage of the PACT Act, we know good things can be accomplished when VSOs are unified and committed to doing the right thing. I am glad that House Democrats also held firm to our values in negotiations and fought to preserve VA healthcare for current and future generations of veterans. This package has taken more than a year to get to the finish line, but I am pleased that we as a caucus will be able to support passage on this compromise today. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Davis), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture and a veteran himself.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I have said as much as I can about this important piece of legislation. What I will finally say is I am very glad that we got here, and I thank the chairman. We spent all this time, and we have reached a compromise. That is what we have to do in Congress, put our veterans and the people first. I think the American people want to see more of this sort of thing happening. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that we could get this done before the Thanksgiving weekend. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 9495, the so-called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. This legislation would grant the President-elect unilateral power to essentially shut down any tax-exempt organization based on any simple accusations of wrongdoing--let me repeat: a simple accusation of wrongdoing. By granting the Treasury Secretary enormous power, the Secretary would have the authority to stifle any nonprofit organization that has provided ``material support'' to terrorists. Granting this broad authority to investigate and strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status paves the way for weaponized action against targeted organizations based on their core missions and political beliefs. Mind you, I do not support organizations giving material support for terrorists, but I am concerned about a simple accusation of wrongdoing leading to that happening. To be sure, nonprofits are already prohibited from providing material support to terrorist groups, and this legislation is unnecessary and duplicative. I support full enforcement of existing law. Under a new President-elect Donald Trump, this proposed law could be punitive. The notion of giving President-elect Trump the power to take away the tax-exempt status of nonprofits associated with his so-called political opponents is staggering. Yet, here we are. President-elect Trump before and during his campaign made numerous comments regarding his supposed enemies. These so-called enemies include individuals, corporations, or organizations that have been critical of the former President's policies and comments during the past and present. Let us consider the case of a reputable organization like the Japanese American Citizens League. This nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization, a 501(c)(3), has done immeasurable work on behalf of the community and even our Nation advocating for Japanese Americans and other marginalized communities, including arguing against the Muslim ban. As a proud Japanese American myself, I am in awe of the great contributions that this nonprofit has made. Yet, with this legislation before us today, one can predict a scenario in which this group may be targeted for supporting Muslims should a Trump Muslim ban 2.0 come to fruition. Every day in this country, nonprofits are doing incredible work. They touch a range of different policy areas and sectors, and with this bill, they are at significant risk. As written, this bill risks allowing LGBTQ organizations to be vulnerable to attack solely due to their collaboration with human rights groups in hostile areas. Loss of tax exemption would mean that these organizations would be subject to corporate tax rates, increasing financial burdens and the likelihood of financial hardship. New tax liabilities would divert funds away from core missions and activities, therefore impeding the work of supporting initiatives and community outreach. We all know well that the organizations here that could be implicated are going to be based on political repercussions. A chilling effect of revoking tax-exempt status could deter other organizations from speaking up, essentially curtailing free speech. Current law dictates it is already a Federal crime for nonprofits to provide this support for these groups, so why are we here today? Granting the executive branch such extraordinary power based off of unilateral accusations paves the way for significant abuse. This bill is a gift to President-elect Trump, wrapped in a bow right before the holidays, to seek vengeance on his so-called political opponents. Organizations such as J Street and the ACLU have come out in strong opposition to this bill for good reasons. The potential change in tax- exempt status would not only impact the financial stability of countless nonprofit organizations.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, the potential change in tax-exempt status would not only impact the financial stability of countless nonprofit organizations but would severely undermine the ability to carry out their core missions of advocating for civil rights and social justice. Loss of funding and a reduction of capacity to serve communities threaten the survival and effectiveness of these nonprofits. We should be uplifting these organizations and not hindering their success.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 6656, the Stuck On Hold Act, as amended. This bill mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs implement automated callback systems for their customer phone lines and aim to limit wait time for veterans on hold to no more than 10 minutes. Since we skipped regular order on this bill, we were not able to mark it up in committee and make the needed improvements to the bill. I was not informed why we are rushing this bill to the floor without a markup, but I appreciate that the chairman's staff worked with mine to amend the bill to include important changes to improve the bill to ensure that veterans who should be prioritized for assistance are not negatively impacted by excessive wait times. Considering the Senate is unlikely to take this bill up as written due to concerns with implementation, I also hope we can continue to work with our Senate colleagues to determine the correct amount of time we should target for veterans on hold. Obviously, no one likes being on hold, but ideally every veteran should have the option to receive a callback instead of needlessly remaining on hold and waiting for assistance. During our limited committee consideration, our committee heard from VA about concerns for implementation, and I believe limiting hold time is not simply picking a number but also requires us to understand what resources are necessary to limit hold times. The rush to get this bill to the floor did not allow for a more detailed conversation about resources and impacts, so I hope a truncated committee process will not prevent us from engaging with the Senate to ensure we enact the best possible bill. Mr. Speaker, I will support the bill for now with the expectation that there is more work to do, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 6656, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 522, the Deliver for Veterans Act, as amended. This bill would make it easier for disabled veterans to obtain the adaptive automobiles they are entitled to through their service- connected disability. If signed into law, this bill would save veterans tens of thousands of dollars on shipping costs of vehicles. Last Congress, we passed the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act, a bill authored by Ranking Member Mike Levin and Representative Lizzie Fletcher, which expanded the adaptive auto benefit for veterans, allowing them to get a new vehicle if 10 years have passed since using the benefit. This bill from Representative Moylan builds upon that work by simplifying the process for veterans who require their adaptive vehicle to be shipped. This includes veterans who live in areas such as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 522, the Deliver for Veterans Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 7323, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2024. This bill mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs deny courses that do not charge in-State tuition rates to veterans using certain educational assistance under Title X. Now, VA already has the authority to disapprove courses at higher education institutions that do not offer in-State tuition rates for other GI Bill beneficiaries. Mandating in-State tuition rates is a good policy. It ensures only schools who prioritize quality education at a fair price participate in the programs, it preserves GI Bill benefits for student veterans, and it makes the entire GI Bill program more solvent and sustainable so that the GI Bill stays available for veterans for generations to come. It is also crucial to ensure that selected reservists receive the same benefits as their Active-Duty counterparts by ensuring that in- State tuition is granted, regardless of their residency. This bill will expand educational opportunities by providing them with more affordable education options. Their dedication to serving our country deserves nothing less. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I mention that I support this bill because it is a step forward, but we do have a more comprehensive solution for reservists. It is called the GI Parity Bill. It would provide parity to our reservists and our guardsmen to make sure that the time they put in for training counts for their qualification for GI Bill benefits. I am disappointed that that bill has not been brought to the floor because I think that is the real solution to making sure that our guardsmen and our reservists are treated fairly. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, I wish to ask all my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 7323, the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act of 2024, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Thank you. I appreciate that. I thank the chairman, and I will reclaim my time. Mr. Speaker, while this bill will head to the President's desk, I hope our committee can continue to work on this issue in the meantime. Despite my concerns and reservations, I will support this bill now, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on S. 656, the Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023. This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to create an expedited approval process for commercial driver education programs when the program is an extension of an existing educational institution. New programs must meet the same curriculum as previously approved by VA to ensure veterans are not negatively impacted. While I am considering supporting this bill today, I do wish to point out that our committee has been working on this bill for months, and we had reached a House and Senate bipartisan agreement on approved language for S. 656 that would empower State approving agencies to conduct proper oversight and limit automatic approval of these programs if they are opening in States without existing CDL programs. However, despite these negotiations, for some unknown reason, this text is the same which passed in the Senate, ignoring the hard work our staff put in to reach a final agreement. This is unfortunate, and I hope this won't be our last work on this language. It is critically important that we include important oversight provisions in bills such as these to ensure that veterans get the best possible training and that schools who access veterans' hard- earned GI Bill benefits are held accountable for the quality of their programs. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, Chairman Bost, for the purpose of a colloquy to ensure that we can still work to get this bill to a better state. Mr. Chairman, I understand both our staffs have spent quite a bit of time working on bipartisan language to S. 656. Can I get your commitment that we will continue these discussions and pass an updated bill as soon as possible? I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).

Mr. TAKANO. I appreciate that. We can get to work on an updated bill as soon as possible.

Mr. TAKANO. I appreciate that pledge. My second question to you, Mr. Chairman. Can I count on your support for that amended bill, whenever it may be, this Congress or next?

Mr. TAKANO. I ask if I can count on your support for that amended bill?