Conference Report on H.R. Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019
Floor Speech
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Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, Mrs. Lowey, for yielding and for the wonderful work she has done as our leader in the Appropriations Committee. I certainly want to thank, also, the chairman for his leadership and the bipartisan work that both individuals, Mrs. Lowey and Mr. Frelinghuysen, have done in working together to make sure we pass this legislation and bring these three bills to the floor.
I would like to highlight a couple of things that some Members have included.
First of all, on the MILCON-VA, we are talking about a $5 billion increase. My friend from Texas (Mr. Carter) and Ms. Debbie Wasserman Schultz have worked together in a bipartisan way. There is $86.5 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which includes funding for mental health services, modernizing the VA's health record system, and addressing the claims backlog that every Member knows has been so difficult. So that extra $5 billion is going to do a lot to help the veterans.
There is also $10.3 billion for military construction projects that will support our troops and our freedom at home. I know that in my part of San Antonio, San Antonio's Military USA, this is an important type of assistance.
Certainly, we have $1.3 billion for telehealth. This amount is $30 million above what we just provided earlier this year. This will further expand the telehealth capacity to rural areas.
There is also $206 million for suicide prevention outreach for veterans.
Again, whether it is this or the Energy and Water bill--and I see the two leaders over here, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Appropriations--these are monies that will be helpful to the San Antonio area for flood mitigation or even for Corpus Christi to improve the channel project that will make sure that they will be able to handle the capacity to export petroleum products, which is a $13 million increase.
Again, I want to say thank you to everybody working together in a bipartisan way.
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