Communities Helping Invest Through Property and Improvements Needed for Veterans Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak in support of H.R. 5099, the bipartisan CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016, which is sponsored by my colleague from across the river, Congressman Brad Ashford in Nebraska.

Our veterans make great sacrifices in defense of our freedoms, and it is incumbent upon us to provide them with the best possible health care when they return home.

Now, many of our Department of Veterans Affairs facilities are aging. They are in need of upgrades and repair, some complete overhauls, yet cost overruns and significant delays trouble VA construction programs and hinder work on other VA facilities in need of improvements.

The CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016 seeks to address some of these problems by authorizing the VA to carry out a 5-year pilot program examining the feasibility of leveraging private donations to construct new VA facilities, that public-private partnership.

This is a new way of doing things and a unique opportunity for the taxpayer and for veterans. This bill could help facilities--and it will--like the Omaha VA Medical Center, which serve my constituents in Iowa as well as those in Nebraska.

Now, I appreciate my colleague's work, Congressman Ashford, for pushing this bill along. I was proud to sign
on as a cosponsor. Congressman Ashford has shown great leadership and tenacity in getting this bill over the finish line. That is what he came here to do, to get things done.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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