Military Construction and Veterans Affairs And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Madam President, reserving the right to object, I would ask the Senator to modify his request and offer a resolution that actually helps to move women's health and rights forward.

Simply put, the resolution that the Senator has offered is more of the same. It is another effort to pander to the extreme Republican base by using women's health and constitutionally protected rights as a political football. Unfortunately, it makes it clear for the umpteenth time that when it comes to improving access to affordable health care for women, some Republicans are determined to stand in the way of progress.

I expect that some of my Republican colleagues will say this resolution shows how much they care about women's health. The truth is it shows the opposite. It shows once again that the Republican Party wants to interfere in a woman's medical decision. Strengthening women's health care doesn't start with telling women what they should and should not do with their own bodies, but that is exactly what that resolution does.

If my Republican colleagues really want to support women's reproductive care, they would work with Democrats on improving access to affordable birth control under the Affordable Care Act, including emergency contraceptives, ensuring women and families make their own decisions about their health care--not their bosses--and fighting back against efforts across the country to undermine women's constitutionally protected health care rights.

It is time for Republicans to drop the political attacks on women's health and instead join Democrats to focus on these priorities and more like them, so that women--not politicians, not insurance companies, not CFOs or CEOs--are in control of their health care, as it should be.

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Madam President, this Veterans Day we pause to honor the men and women in our military who stepped up to fight for our freedom and to protect our families. In my home State of Washington, we have a lot to be thankful for. More than 600,000 of our friends, our neighbors, and our family members have bravely served their country.

As the daughter of a World War II veteran, I know the sacrifice it takes to keep our country safe and protect our values. Thanks to my father and the countless other veterans I have had the honor of meeting, I believe that when brave individuals sign up to serve our country, we must fulfill our promise to support them when they come home. We should honor our veterans by showing them we have their backs long after the war is over.

While I would like to stand here and say that our country is doing everything we can for the people we owe the most to and that we are fulfilling the promise we made to them when we sent them off to fight for us, I believe our work is far from over. Though Congress passed a sweeping bill last year to provide new resources and add more accountability to the VA, I continue to hear from veterans across my home State of Washington about care that is falling short. Despite structural changes at the VA, veterans are still waiting on surgeries and MRIs and oncology appointments, mental health screenings, you name it. Our veterans have already fought for our country. They should not have to fight to get their health care or the benefits they were promised, so we have to fight on their behalf.

As the senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am committed to making this country work better for our veterans. Even though there are challenges, there is hope. Just 2 weeks ago, we successfully passed the Homeless Veterans Services Protection Act out of the Senate to make sure a VA policy change doesn't cut off services and force veterans onto the street. That bill cleared one hurdle; now I call on my colleagues in the House to get this done.

I am also fighting to end the VA's outdated ban on fertility services for veterans so they can start families. There is absolutely no reason to deny this service for members of our military, especially when they are injured while fighting for our country. And I believe we must extend the critically important military caregiver support services program to veterans of all eras--a program that enables injured veterans to recover and stay in their homes with their families instead of being in a hospital or a nursing home.

Madam President, these aren't the only things I am working on. Because our veterans kept their end of the bargain, we have to keep ours. That means they should have access to mental health care to help deal with the often invisible wounds of war. That means a solid path to a college degree. That means job training programs and transitional services so that veterans have a path to good careers after their military service is complete. These things aren't about going above and beyond; they are the bare minimum of what our country should be doing to fulfill its promise to care for our veterans.

So as our country recommits to that promise this Veterans Day, I want to let veterans know in my home State of Washington and across the country that I will not stop fighting for them. I again want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the veterans around the country who have served and for all who are still serving today.

I call on all of my colleagues and fellow citizens to honor our veterans every day of the year with the kind of action that shows them we are grateful for their service.

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