Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida, for yielding, and I associate myself with all of what she has said in the debate so far. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 9468, legislation that addresses a critical funding shortfall at the Veterans Benefits Administration, which could delay delivery of crucial veterans' education and disability benefits. Now, when we passed the Honoring our PACT Act into law, we intended that the VA move quickly to implement the law. This speed was necessary so that veterans who needed care and benefits could receive them as quickly as possible. We also gave VA the money necessary to do the work and the authority to move more quickly, if it could. On day one, President Biden accelerated implementation of the law. One year later, VA also hit the gas so that more veterans could enroll in VA healthcare more quickly. VA set aggressive goals, and what we are seeing right now is the result of VA exceeding those goals. VA has granted almost 1.2 million PACT Act disability claims. Hundreds of thousands of new veterans have been enrolled in healthcare at VA. GI Bill and job training benefits are being used at unprecedented levels to further veterans' education and careers. These are all good things, and I don't think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are arguing that they are bad.…”