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

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise on the eve of Veterans Day to urge my colleagues to support the fiscal year 2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill.

This marks the first time in 2 years that we have had the opportunity to debate, amend, and vote on this important legislation on the Senate floor. It is vital to those who serve and to those who have served our Nation.

I first learned to honor our veterans from my father. My father is a World War II veteran who was wounded twice in the Battle of the Bulge and earned his Purple Heart and his Bronze Star. It was he who would take me to the parades on Veterans Day and on Memorial Day and boost me high on his shoulders. From the best vantage point in the parade, I would watch our veterans march by. He taught me of their sacrifice and that we have a never-ending obligation to thank those who wore the uniform of our country.

Passing this bill fulfills important obligations that we owe to our Nation's 22 million veterans, 127,000 of whom live in the great State of Maine. It sends an important message to our veterans: We will honor the sacrifices that you made and are making on our behalf. It would be a mistake to send the opposite message by further postponing or delaying consideration and final passage of this important bill before we celebrate our veterans, honor, and remember them tomorrow.

As a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, I know this bill before us now is the result of bipartisan compromise. I commend the leadership of Chairman Kirk and Ranking Member Tester, who have worked hand in hand to craft the managers' amendment that they will be bringing before us today.

In May of this year, the Appropriations Committee reported this funding bill by a strong vote of 21 to 9. Since then the Bipartisan Budget Act has been enacted, which provides needed additional resources to fund vital national priorities and that will be reflected in the managers' amendment. The managers' substitute would provide a total of $79.7 billion in funding, which I would note represents more than $1 billion more than the President's budget request.

This bill increases funding for our veterans in areas where they need it most, including mental health care and benefit claims processing, two issues which the Senator from Maryland has been so active in resolving. This bill also includes funds aimed at reducing veterans homelessness. This is a special priority of mine as the chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee. I worked with Senator Murray on this issue, and we have made real progress--exciting progress--in reducing the number of homeless veterans across this country through the VASH Program, but there is still more work to be done. In addition, this bill includes $270 million in funding for the Office of Rural Health, through which the Access Received Closer to Home or the ARCH Program is funded.

In five pilot States in which it operates, ARCH ensures that rural veterans, who often have a very difficult time accessing the regular VA health care system--particularly the VA hospitals--can receive care closer to where they live and where their families live.

I will never forget the story shared with me by a Maine veteran who broke his hip during a terrible snow storm and needed urgent care. The ARCH program, located at Cary Memorial Hospital in Caribou, ME, ensured he could receive the care he needed in his community and close to his family, rather than enduring a 4-hour drive over bumpy winter roads during a ferocious snow storm to the Togas VA Medical Center in Augusta, ME. ARCH has made a tremendous difference for our veterans and continues to help those who live in rural communities and who are facing similar challenges and emergencies.

The managers' substitute also increases Veterans Affairs medical services by nearly $2 billion, including $10 million for programs supporting caregivers. We all know of the wonderful work that Elizabeth Dole has done in this area, and I have been very pleased to join with my colleague Senator Patty Murray in introducing the Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act. The bill before us is going to help provide benefits for those who shoulder the responsibilities associated with long-term care for critically injured veterans. This bill would expand comprehensive caregiver benefits for those who take on those responsibilities.

I would note, Madam President, that the Senator from Wisconsin, Senator Baldwin, and I have a broader bill dealing with caregivers that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is considering and I hope will be approving shortly.

In addition to the vital funds for veterans programs, this bill also funds military construction projects, which unfortunately had been adversely affected--cut, delayed, deferred--as a result of the budget caps and the impact of sequestration. Therefore, I am particularly pleased this bill includes $7.2 million in funding needed to repair, renovate, and upgrade the 101st Air Refueling Wing's fire and crash rescue station in Bangor, ME. This is funding for which I have strongly advocated, and I thank the managers for including it the bill. The 101st ``MAINEiacs'' provide critical 24/7 air and ground refueling services that support local military operations, and this funding will strengthen their capabilities.

I would note, Madam President, that I recently met with General Breedlove, our NATO commander, and he told me he refueled at Bangor, ME, on his way back from Europe recently.

Madam President, I could go on and on about the important programs and priorities in this bill. They are essential to providing what we owe to our servicemembers and our veterans: safe and reliable infrastructure so that our troops can complete the missions they are assigned, access to medical care, earned compensation and benefits, and assistance to help our veterans successfully transition to their civilian lives.

Tomorrow, on Veterans Day, our Nation will pause to honor all those who served. Today, we have the opportunity to say to the American people, to our veterans, and to those who are considering military service to our Nation that no matter what partisan issues may divide us, we stand united in fulfilling our commitment to those who serve and those who have served.

We can send that message by passing this measure and sending to the President a funding bill that takes care of our servicemembers, our veterans and their families, and that honors their service to our great country.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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