-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MORAN. Madam President, the legislation that is before us, the Veterans Programs Improvement Act, just came out of the Senate Veterans Affairs' Committee. It is S. 326, as amended.
We are here on a motion for cloture, and this bill will be, as amended, a combination of bills that are both Republican and Democratic bills, including one from the Senator who is presiding today. It includes a bill from Senator Rounds of South Dakota dealing with the loan process for Native American veterans. It includes a couple of pieces of legislation: the RESPECT Act, to help veterans with mental health or neurological conditions to get caregiver care; the Elizabeth Dole Act, to expand home- and community-based, long-term care programs so that veterans have more choices as they age; and the bill of the Presiding Officer that provides grants to county veterans service officers for outreach to veterans. In addition, it includes what has been perhaps the most discussed aspect of this piece of legislation: a bill that creates the authorization to allow for medical research for marijuana to be conducted--for cannabis to be conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs. But it requires retrospective research to take a look at the research that has already been conducted and to go and conduct research with veterans who are currently using cannabis. The outcome of that study is unknown, but this is an effort to make certain that veterans are not doing something that is harmful to them and to make an informed decision several years from now about the relationship between veterans and cannabis.
The point I would like to make in my few comments today is that I have encouraged my colleagues to offer amendments. There are a lot of items that my particularly Republican colleagues--I understand there are Democratic colleagues who have amendments. While we have had some success this year in amendments coming to the Senate floor, I want to make certain that is the opportunity Republican colleagues and Democratic colleagues have as this bill--if it proceeds, that we have that opportunity.
I had those conversations with both the majority and the minority, and I look forward to enforcing as best I can the capability to make certain my colleagues have that opportunity. If that is not the case, I reserve the right to then oppose this legislation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source