Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. With great respect for my friend from Massachusetts, I rise in strong opposition to these amendments. I spend every day in my work as chair of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee protecting and improving the lives of our Nation's veterans. I vigorously oppose privatization, so much so that I voted against the VA MISSION Act, in which the AIR Commission appeared as part of that law, because of my concern about sending veterans who might end up remaining permanently in community care. This en bloc contains two amendments to the MILCON-VA division that would eliminate funding for the AIR Commission at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This independent commission was established by the VA MISSION Act to develop recommendations to modernize and realign VA health facilities so we can best meet the needs of our Nation's veterans. The reality is that the VA has different infrastructure needs today than it did decades ago. Not only are most VA facilities over 60 years old, but the veteran population has also shifted geographically over time. {time} 1245 The draft market assessments VA has developed and will continue to fine-tune are essential to ensure that VA's facility footprint meets veterans' needs where they are physically located today, not where most veterans were over 60 years ago. We can't ignore these changes and also effectively meet the current needs of our veterans.…”