Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 4150, as amended, introduced by my very good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz). This legislation will improve the recruitment and retention of medical professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs. H.R. 4150, as amended, allows the VA to arrange flexible physician work schedules to allow for the staffing and full implementation of a hospitalist physician system and to accommodate the unusual work schedule requirements for emergency medicine physicians. We all recognize the need for flexibility when working the rigorous and irregular hours that are routinely required of emergency medicine doctors. Giving the VA the ability to have flexible working hours that best suit the demand for delivering health care to the veterans who rely on those doctors just makes sense. The current 80-hour, biweekly pay period limitation for these doctors creates challenges at the VA medical centers to adequately and sensibly staff the emergency rooms. Generally, most healthcare providers work a traditional 40-hour workweek. However, for hospitalists and emergency room physicians, they may need to work more than that in a week to provide safe, quality health care to veterans who seek services at the VA.…”