Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment to the fiscal year 2025 MILCON-VA appropriations bill.

My amendment would rightfully prevent any VA funds from being used to enforce a provision that excludes mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs from the wait time and drive time access standards as authorized by the MISSION Act.

The VA's Mental Health Residential Rehab Treatment Program is a crucial program that provides lifesaving treatment to veterans with mental health and substance use disorders.

Right now, veterans are restricted by where they can get their treatment due to the Biden administration's misguided view of the MISSION Act access standards.

As a result, veterans are being forced to wait months to receive this care.

We are losing 17 veterans a day to suicide.

For VA to not do everything possible to ensure veterans are getting into these treatment programs as quickly as possible is dangerous and wrong.

Madam Chair, this administration knows that there are not enough available beds in VA facilities to meet veterans' demand for them and that is when the community providers step in, in partnership with the VA. Getting veterans the help and support they need is the VA's top clinical priority, as well as ensuring the mental health needs of veterans are met without any delays.

It goes without saying that a veteran in crisis who needs treatment should be eligible for community care without proof that they live far from a VA, or their local facility is overbooked.

This is what the MISSION Act was designed to help with, but under the administration they want proof.

I am proud to have introduced my amendment to prohibit VA from excluding these vitally important treatment programs from wait time and drive time access standards for VA community care programs.

There should be no closed door when it comes to lifesaving care for veterans in crisis.

Madam Chair, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. BOST. Madam Chair, I want to make sure that the people understand that this amendment is not an act to try to privatize our VA. It is an act to try to make sure that our veterans actually receive the services that they need.

As a veteran, and as the many veterans that actually serve in this body, it is vitally important that that issue is taken care of; not to protect the bureaucracy at VA, but that we protect and serve the veterans that we were sent here to serve.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Chair, as I said, the gentleman from Illinois can put all the bows and ribbons and wrapping paper that he would like on what his amendment does, but it doesn't change the fact that it would move VA not only further toward privatization, but flies in the face of the original goal and the law that the MISSION Act is intended to implement, which is to ensure that veterans who are not able to get quick and timely access to care when they don't live close enough to a VA facility that can provide that care or when the length of time is unreasonable for them to get that care, that is not the case in the situation in which this amendment would apply.

Plus, this amendment would cost an extraordinary amount of money, millions and, likely, billions of dollars which has been previously scored by CBO, and this bill cuts the VA by $6 billion.

Again, the mathing on the other side of the aisle is really not working so well.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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