Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2007

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, MILITARY QUALITY OF LIFE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 19, 2006)

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I want to thank Chairman Walsh and I want to thank Mr. Edwards of Texas for their great work on behalf of veterans. I know that their attempts here have been to provide as much support as possible for men and women in uniform.

My amendment, Mr. Chairman, acknowledges that the Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest single provider of medical care to people with hepatitis C and liver disease in the United States, and I have introduced this amendment because I believe that the VA can and should be in the lead on research areas associated with hepatitis C and liver disease, and, importantly, the VA should be at the cutting edge of research and work and collaboration with the NIH to ensure that strides that both agencies have made in this area can be shared, and so that our veterans have access to the best technologies and treatments available.

Mr. Chairman, right now, because of the great work being done by Dr. Joseph Vacanti of Harvard Medical School and Bioengineering Networks and MIT and Draper Labs and others, we are at a critical point in developing amazing and revolutionary technologies and procedures, including constructing an artificial liver assist device by which new microfabrication techniques will allow us to grow liver replacement tissues from our own cells, minimizing the risk of organ rejection and completely eliminating the need to wait for compatible organ donors.

Right now in America, we have 90,000 people waiting for organ transplants. We have 18,000 folks waiting for liver transplants. For veterans with liver disease, Dr. Vacanti's work means the possibility of living a full life with hepatitis C without worrying about getting on a list for liver transplant. We now have an opportunity to revolutionize the way in which we treat liver disease, and this research needs to be funded.

Mr. Chairman, I realize the great work that has been done by Chairman Walsh of New York and Mr. Edwards of Texas, and I realize there are limits to what we can do on any one bill. So I am going to pledge my support for this bill, I am going to agree to withdraw my amendment, but I just ask the chairman and the ranking member to continue to work with me on this.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

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