Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4486) making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes:

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 4486, the FY15 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. I commend Chairmen Rogers and Culberson and Ranking Members Lowey and Bishop for crafting a bipartisan bill that not only provides for current and former service members and their families but also substantially addresses the veterans' claims backlog.
The MilCon-VA bill makes critical investments in our military infrastructure, housing, and services to our nation's veterans, active military members and their families. It provides $71.5 billion in discretionary funding for these programs and activities, including $64.7 billion for the Department of Veteran Affairs. It also provides $58.7 billion in advance funding for the VA in FY16.
This legislation also builds on efforts made in last year's MilCon-VA bill to end the claims backlog that continues to plague our VA regional offices, including the VA's Baltimore Regional Office. It fully funds the budget request of $173.3 million for the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) and provides an additional $20 million to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) for digitizing records and staffing needs. The legislation also requires each VA regional office to submit a monthly report on its claims processing performance and imposes even stricter requirements on the poorest performing offices around the country. I am hopeful that these measures will be an important step in ensuring that backlogged claims are expedited as quickly as possible.
I do have reservations about a number of provisions contained in the bill, however. I strongly oppose section 411, which prohibits the construction, renovation, or expansion of any facility in the U.S. to house individuals that are currently being detained at Guantánamo Bay. And as the White House outlined in its Statement of Administration Policy, it is disappointing that this bill does not provide full funding for VA Medical Care, potentially delaying the delivery of important health care services to our veterans.
Despite my concerns, the MilCon-VA bill reflects our commitment and the promises we have made to our veterans, our service members, and their families. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this important piece of legislation.

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