Mark Takano

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2878, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the State of Hawaii (Mr. Kahele).

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2167) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for extensions of the time limitations for use of entitlement under Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance programs by reason of school closures due to emergency and other situations, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I extend my thanks to Ranking Member Bost and the Republicans on the committee and all staff from both sides of the aisle for putting together this package of 10 bills in advance of Memorial Day. It is especially poignant to end today's package of bills with a bill named in memory of Sergeant Ketchum. As we failed to reach Sergeant Ketchum in a timely and effective way in rural America, let's not forget that the VA's mental healthcare has improved greatly over the past several years. We need to make sure that quality of healthcare gets out into the rural areas. We are charged as a Veterans' Affairs Committee to deal with our veterans and their healthcare needs. Part of the answer to serving our veterans is to make sure that we have robust providers, regardless of whether they serve veterans or the general population. We need to look at how we are going to do that in rural America, including our territories and insular areas. I will use this moment on the floor to plug that cause with all of my colleagues who may be listening from their offices. We must, for the sake of all the folks that have suffered so long from this pandemic, look at how we are going to provide a robust provider network for mental healthcare. As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, I am so gratified and pleased with the work we have done on a bipartisan basis to produce this package of bills and that we have preserved the spirit of the committee. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 2441, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2704) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the equal employment opportunity functions of Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2704, sponsored by Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Pappas, takes important steps to address sexual harassment and discrimination at the VA. This bipartisan legislation, the Improving VA Accountability to Prevent Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Act, would prioritize VA's tracking and responses to allegations. For example, it requires VA's Equal Employment Opportunity Director to report directly to the Deputy Secretary. It also requires that any VA manager who receives a report of sexual or other harassment, or employment discrimination, report that complaint within 2 business days. Among other important actions, this bill will also mandate additional training to identify and address sexual, and other types of harassment, and employment discrimination. This legislation is based largely on the work of the Government Accountability Office, who testified in our committee during July of last year. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), my good friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and also the author of this important piece of legislation.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in passing this important piece of legislation, H.R. 2704, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2788) to amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate the cap on full-time employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs who provide equal employment opportunity counseling.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support Representative Lamb's bipartisan legislation, the VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act, which is cosponsored by Representative Mann. This bill would help the Department address diversity and equity issues within VA's workforce. It removes a portion of a 1997 law that limits the number of VA counselors who can advise employees on equal employment opportunity issues, provides alternative dispute resolution, and helps process formal complaints. VA's workforce has roughly doubled in size since the 1997 law was enacted, and VA requested for the limit to be removed to allow the Department to hire additional counselors to support the needs of a large and still growing workforce. Our Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee recently held a hearing to examine important steps to address workforce diversity and inclusion at VA. At this hearing, the subcommittee, once again, learned how important these counselors are. This bill builds off that oversight and will assist VA's efforts to support its workforce, which serves veterans every single day. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Lamb), my good friend and the author of this bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2788; and a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support Representative Bost's bipartisan legislation, the VA Transparency & Trust Act, for which Representative Pappas, Representative Mann, and I are original cosponsors. This bill provides additional oversight for the funds Congress made available to the VA through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act in 2020, as well as the American Rescue Plan, which we passed earlier this year. In addition to requiring the VA to report biweekly on how it spends these supplemental funds, the bill mandates the VA Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office to periodically report on VA's spending of these funds. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2911 adds to the existing oversight on VA's spending and will enable greater transparency for Congress and the public to ensure that these funds are spent efficiently and effectively to support critical VA programs and services as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Pappas), my good friend and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I also ask all my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 2911, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 240) to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Labor to prioritize the provision of services to homeless veterans with dependents in carrying out homeless veterans reintegration programs, and for other purposes.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 240.

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on H.R. 240, the Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Act introduced by Congresswoman Julia Brownley. There is increasing concern that shelters and homeless veteran housing is not created to serve families, and that homeless veterans with children may avoid seeking out services because they are afraid of being separated from their children. Representative Brownley's legislation seeks to start addressing the issue by ensuring that veterans with families are prioritized within the homeless veterans reintegration program, or HVRP. HVRP seeks to address reintegrating homeless veterans into the workforce through grants to partner organizations. Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the Department of Labor identified homeless female veterans and veterans with families as one of the three priority populations for HVRP services. H.R. 240 would prioritize homeless veterans with dependent children within the homeless veteran reintegration program to ensure they get the resources they need to return to housing without the fear of losing their children should they seek help. I applaud Representative Brownley for her work on this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Act. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 49 to designate the Pulse nightclub as a national memorial site and to honor those whose lives were taken by a gunman with hate in his heart. I thank the gentleman for his leadership and his response with H.R. 49 along with Congresswoman Murphy. I visited with Mr. Soto in Florida near Orlando and actually toured the Pulse nightclub site, and what a poignant visitation that was. Almost 5 years ago, the Nation awoke to the heartbreaking news of a mass shooting that unfolded at a nightclub in Orlando. Forty-nine lives were taken, and 53 others were injured. It was another devastating loss to the LGBTQ-plus community and our Nation. The gunman had targeted Pulse nightclub, a nightclub frequented by Orlando's Latino and LGBTQ-plus communities. This was a safe place for many of the people who were there that night. The shooter violated a safe space where LGBTQ people, and, in this case, LGBTQ-plus people of color were able to be themselves and to live and dance freely without fear or judgment. Our community--that is, the LGBTQ-plus community--is still healing from this attack, and families and friends are still mourning the loss of their loved ones. I will never forget waking up in my Washington, D.C. apartment as I was scrolling through the news, and I was just in disbelief that another shooting had occurred. Since then, we have had so many other senseless shootings. By designating the Pulse nightclub as a national memorial site, we can always remember the vibrant lives of those we lost. This memorial will serve as a reminder that we cannot stop fighting for equality. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 49.

Mr. TAKANO

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1448) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on dog training therapy, and to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to veterans with mental illnesses who do not have mobility impairments, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1448, as amended.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I am so pleased that we have reported Congressman Steve Stivers' bill, the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, favorably out of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and are bringing it to the floor today with the support of over 300 Members on both sides of the aisle. I am especially pleased to have negotiated, with the help of Ranking Member Bost, a new bipartisan version of the bill in time for Congressman Stivers to see it move before he leaves Congress. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been a leader in offering veterans with PTSD and other invisible wounds of war a wide spectrum of evidence-based treatment options and adjunctive approaches to promote their mental health and well-being. This bill ensures that veterans can participate in service dog training through pilot program partnerships between VA and accredited service dog training nonprofit organizations across the country. Madam Speaker, the bill also removes current impediments to VA's ability to prescribe mental health service dogs for veterans with PTSD, and a newly added section ensures that VA's current veterinary insurance benefit is also extended to those veterans receiving mental health service dogs through VA. I therefore ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin), my good friend and member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and original cosponsor of the bill.

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