Roland Gutierrez: “I would like to recognize both the chairman and the ranking minority member for their continued support for medical and…”

“I would like to recognize both the chairman and the ranking minority member for their continued support for medical and prosthetic research in the Veterans Health Administration. It is in great measure due to their support and commitment that this bill has come to the floor with approximately $20 million more than had been initially programmed for prosthetic research. Dating back to the spring, when I first contacted them and their colleagues in the Committee on Appropriations, urging them to take the necessary step that we began last year when the chairman similarly approved my amendment to raise the funding of this very program, they have once again responded affirmatively to my request that we increase the funding for this extremely important research program. Secondly, I would like to emphasize that this increase will assist the VA research program in achieving the stability necessary for successful research, one that can eventually achieve its full potential for finding cures and treatments for many chronic and terrible diseases.”