Sanford Bishop: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, the MILCON-VA portion of this bill provides a total of $73.3…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, the MILCON-VA portion of this bill provides a total of $73.3 billion for FY '14 which is $1.3 billion above FY '13. The MILCON portion provides sufficient funding for our military facilities worldwide, including family housing, which is adequate funding to meet their needs. The VA portion is funded at $63.2 billion. It meets the discretionary budget request in all areas of administrative expenses, research, information technology and facilities for VA. In addition, it contains $55.6 billion in advance appropriations for medical services, medical support and compliance and medical facilities, which is $1.1 billion above the amount provided in FY '13. The bill also takes concrete steps to pinpoint and address the serious issues of the VA's claims backlog and interoperability of DOD's and VA's electronic health record systems. For example, addressing the claims backlog, the agreement includes a 10-point action plan which we believe will give the VA additional tools to reinforce personnel resources, training and quality oversight, as well as strengthen accountability by upgrading equipment and broadening access to electronic medical records. This plan not only focuses on increasing productivity but also on claim processors' accuracy. This effort would ensure that veterans receive fair compensation at the outset without delays from having to appeal decisions.…”