Veterans Healthcare And Equitable Access Act Of 2005
VETERANS HEALTHCARE AND EQUITABLE ACCESS ACT OF 2005 -- (Senate - June 13, 2005)
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I rise to speak on a matter of great importance, the state of care received by America's veterans. On April 28. I proudly introduced the Veterans' Healthcare and Equitable Access Act of 2005, which will honor America's veterans with the dignity and respect they have earned. This legislation was inspired by my work on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. I have had the privilege to come face to face with real heroes, like injured veterans returning from the battlefield and grieving survivors who proudly and bravely carry the memory of a fallen soldier with them as they struggle to move on. I have been moved by this experience and I offered this bill to honor their sacrifice and their struggles.
The Veterans' Healthcare and Equitable Access Act of 2005 takes a comprehensive approach to fix some of the major problems facing veterans today. Since I was a member of the House of Representatives, I have supported mandatory funding, and the legislation I have introduced underscores that commitment. The widening gap between demand for care and funding is a problem that must be faced head on and dealt with before it spirals out of control. The Veterans' Healthcare Eligibility Act and the Veterans' Millennium Healthcare Care and Benefits Act changed the nature of the VA, but did not change the manner in which the VA was funded. That is why I support mandatory funding for veterans' healthcare, so the VA can finally provide care to those who cared for us.
This bill will also end another problem that has plagued veterans in my home state for years: access to quality healthcare and equitable reimbursement for travel expenses. My legislation will allow rural veterans who are enrolled in the VA to obtain health care at local medical facilities closer to home or to travel to a VA facility and recelve travel reimbursements at the same rate as Federal employees.
The veterans population is aging and we are losing great men and women every day. Today, the GI's who fought in Vietnam are reaching the age of retirement and Medicare eligibility. It is therefore unfair to ask the VA to shoulder a cost that Medicare should help pay for. Aging veterans are seeking care at the VA because it is one of the best care providers in the country. As I see it, the VA and Medicare need to share this cost in order to provide excellent care to those who need it most.
In March, I met Major Tammy Duckworth, an Army pilot who lost both of her legs after a rocket propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter she was in while flying in the skies above Iraq. Although now a double amputee, she is determined to both walk and fly helicopters again. Major Duckworth has my full support, but needless to say her life has been changed forever. That is why the legislation I introduced would require that a service member who has lost a limb from a service-connected injury receive a disability rating of not less than 50 percent. This is our way of saying thank you and helping our veterans achieve their dreams.
Some of the hardest hit victims of this war are not soldiers or veterans, but survivors of the fallen. These brave men and women need our help. This year I voted to extend survivor benefits from $12,000 to $100,000 and to extend military housing privileges from 6 months to 1 year. To complete our support for survivors, my bill will extend childcare privileges for survivors from 6 months to 2 years in any Federal childcare program, giving surviving family members the help they need to grieve, heal, and move on from a painful loss.
Mr. President, legislation such as this is not without costs and it will require the Senate to make difficult choices. Sending troops into harm's way is a difficult choice, even when that choice is clearly justifiable, like it is in Iraq and Afghanistan. But taking care of veterans and their families is not a difficult choice, it is one we must embrace. As General Omar Bradley once said: ``We are dealing with veterans, not procedure--with their problems, not ours.''
Scripture tells us there is a time for everything, a time for peace and a time for war. America is facing a time of war, and we are fighting an evil and determined enemy. We have to ensure that the men and women who are bearing the burden of this war are cared for and are confident they can count on their government in their hour of need.
I ask unanimous consent that this statement be entered into the RECORD as if read.
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