Political Quotes

“I would like to thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud for their leadership on the committee and their commitment to maintaining strong oversight over the VA and their goal to reduce the backlog. During my time on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have enjoyed the strong bipartisanship and the committee's dedication to get results for our veterans. Whether it is between Ranking Member Kirkpatrick and me on the Oversight Committee or Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Michaud on the full committee, we all share the same desire to help our veterans and do everything we can to help the VA operate more efficiently and effectively. Fortunately for our veterans, this desire to help goes beyond the Veterans' Affairs Committee and is present in the entire House of Representatives. Earlier this year, I, along with 150 Members of the House, sent a letter to the President urging his immediate action to reduce this backlog. Today, the House will have another opportunity to show its unity for veterans in passing H.R. 2189. This bill will aid the VA by establishing a task force to evaluate the backlog of veterans' disability claims, ensuring the VA will find innovative ways to reduce the backlog. Currently, there are over 400,000 claims that have been waiting for over 125 days to process. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.”