Mark Takano: “I reiterate that we should not be hiding the care that our veterans have earned. Let me quickly say that this bill has…”

“I reiterate that we should not be hiding the care that our veterans have earned. Let me quickly say that this bill has been in the public domain for 2 years. It was reintroduced last summer, and the minority had over 6 months to talk with us and the VA about it. Furthermore, the committee has held six hearings on suicide prevention and transition since 2019. The common sense of this bill shines through. And let me also add that regarding the capacity of VA--and I am glad that the ranking member has entered the statement of administrative support into the Record; that statement clearly says and declares the administration's support and its willingness to work with the administration. Data shows that VA enrollment has been going down in recent years, and while new enrollment hovers around 400,000 per year, it used to be double that, around one million per year, and using current assumptions, VA projects veteran enrollment in VHA to remain relatively steady from 2019 to 2029. I am very confident about VA's ability to absorb the additional veterans that will take advantage of VA's world-class healthcare. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), my good friend and a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization.”