Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of aisle to listen to the stories of their constituents and support the relief they are asking for. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1116, the TAILOR Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time. Mr. Speaker, on countless occasions, my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee have called out the challenges faced by our family-owned community banks and credit unions created…

the best care they get is from the VA. It might be hard to get it. They might have to wait a while, but they get excellent care at the VA.

it is imperative that we discuss some critical issues, including the Choice Program, and the state of the VA's electronic health records.

It is critical that our understanding from the budget agreement be upheld.

I don't think you will get your money's worth.

I think when you look at this right now, it is pretty hard to argue.

Our job is to provide quality care that was promised and must be delivered to our veterans.

This place needs you. It needs the type of person that you are.

You have served veterans well. You have always been there in a bipartisan way.

I want to be very clear that thanks to you and to this committee, fair and appropriate appropriations that let us try and tackle the things that we are obligated to do have been unprecedented.

Nobody in the veterans community is saying that. Nobody wants it.

I am. And I don't deny and I think there is validity in this because the issue is it is not the false choice of privatization versus VA itself; it is a hybrid model of this.

There is an ideological belief and it is my belief right now that is dominating, certainly coming out of the White House that the idea is that we can go totally to the private sector care, no need for the VA.

So, this idea that it is cheaper, it is quicker and it is better in the private sector, there is no data to support that.

Opening Statement of Walz, Hon. Tim

But at the expense of and to be very honest, why blend them together if it is not just to continue to move money out of there.

But the understanding is if this money is cycled away, it drains off and will kill the VA as that institution.