Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025
Floor Speech
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Chair, I rise in support of my amendment No. 17 to H.R. 8580, which would prohibit the VA from continuing to decommission mileage reimbursement kiosks in its facilities nationwide.
As the age-old saying goes, if it is not broke, don't fix it. Unfortunately, this basic premise was disregarded when the VA decided to quickly do away with mileage reimbursement kiosks at its facilities nationwide, which had previously provided veterans with an easy-to-use system to file their beneficiary travel reimbursement claims, among other key functions.
These changes were made as part of the November 2020 rollout of the VA's new online beneficiary travel self-service system, which sought to reform the way in which these claims are submitted and processed.
Since its introduction, the VA's new system has been plagued with countless issues and has ultimately disadvantaged a large segment of America's veterans, such as those who live in rural areas, including Wyoming, where access to the internet can be limited, and our elderly veterans are not as familiar with this type of technology.
An OIG report from May 2023 highlighted that from February 2021 through July 2022, the new system fell short of all four of the VA system performance goals. Initial feedback from veterans outside the VA and veteran service organizations was never taken into account during system development. The VA did not provide proper training to veterans on how to enter claims in the new system until almost 5 months after the system's launch.
Madam Chair, these mistakes are simply not acceptable. Combined with the removal of the mileage reimbursement kiosks, these foundational flaws have resulted in missed reimbursements and increased difficulties for America's veterans.
While I certainly understand the need to streamline and improve upon existing systems and processes, modernization should never come at a negative cost to any of our veterans who have devoted their lives to serving our Nation and safeguarding the freedoms that we hold dear.
It is our responsibility, and should remain our priority, to do everything in our power to ensure our veterans can easily access the benefits and care that they have rightfully earned.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Chair, I will repeat, this is for the benefit of our veterans. This is a program that was not properly rolled out, and our veterans are the ones who have suffered as a consequence. They are the ones who have given their lives and their dedication to protecting our freedoms.
It is critically important that we make sure that we make it as easy as possible, as streamlined as possible for them to be able to seek the reimbursement that they are entitled to. These kiosks have been effective in doing that. Until there is an alternative that can replace the kiosks, we should not be decommissioning them.
Madam Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), my neighbor slightly to the north and a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Chair, I thank my colleague, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, for her fine work.
Madam Chair, I am the proud mother of a United States war veteran, so I understand the risks that our brave men and women in uniform take for our freedom.
It saddens me to say: My, my, my, here we go again. Republicans are interfering with a woman's freedom to decide whether or when to start or grow a family. This time they are going after the women who have served our country in uniform.
This bill includes provisions that not only cruelly restrict access to abortion but eliminate abortion counseling at the VA altogether, impacting nearly 1 million veterans of childbearing age.
Madam Chair, I hope we can all agree that we owe our veterans nothing less than our full support to help them maintain their health and well- being. These proposed changes in this bill are not just a rollback of medical rights; they are a profound failure to stand by our veterans and a betrayal to honor our commitment to them.
I cannot support this bill because of some of these provisions, including this one, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Madam Chair, I don't think that there is anything that epitomizes more the Democrats' obsession with abortion than bringing that issue in relation to an amendment as to whether the VA should be allowed to decommission kiosks for mileage reimbursement for our veterans.
The fact that that is the only issue that they are able to address when trying to find a way to make sure that our veterans are able to be properly reimbursed for the expenses that they incur just, I think, is a reflection on the Democratic Party as a whole right now. They are not even capable of discussing anything other than abortion, even when the amendment has nothing to do with that particular topic.
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, as I said, I rise in opposition to this amendment, particularly because CBO says that the cost of actually implementing this would be astronomical, and the majority is already cutting $6 billion out of this bill, so I don't understand how they would expect VA to pay for what this proposal would require. We are micromanaging the VA when we should be allowing them to manage this process in a way that they think is most efficient and cost-effective. I oppose the amendment and yield back the balance of my time.
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