Government Funding

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Madam President, we must take our duty to America's veterans seriously, which is why the circumstances we find ourselves in today are extremely unfortunate. The extensions for important VA programs for the upcoming fiscal year--just 8 days away--are currently being held up from being considered and passed in the Senate.

This extension bill was negotiated in earnest and the four corners of the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees agreed upon this legislation. This was a collaborative effort, not a partisan one, but, nonetheless, this bill has not yet been cleared by the Senate minority.

Let me be clear: Countless veterans rely on these programs. Let me be clear: They expire at the end of the month.

From raising veterans out of homelessness to making certain that COVID-19 doesn't disrupt a veteran's pursuit of higher education, to helping rural veterans get their medical appointments, the fiscal year 2021 VA extenders bill contains a wide variety of extensions for programs that support a multitude of veteran populations.

Additionally, we have requested consent for several House-passed bills that will improve mental health care for veterans and increase annual veteran benefit rates to keep up with inflation. These are commonsense ideas that have broad support and will make meaningful differences in the lives of our veterans. These are items that would normally pass the Senate without difficulty.

Our veterans should not wait and should not need to wait. They can't afford to wait for the Senate to act on these matters. The deadline is quickly approaching. Our Nation's veterans did not serve their country for partisan reasons, and we must not let any partisan differences prevent us from authorizing the programs to support those veterans.

I ask my Senate colleagues to fulfill our collective duty regarding veterans programs and that we do not allow other issues to distract from that duty.

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