Ed Case: “good evening and aloha. I am very happy to stand on the floor of the House today and join my colleagues the gentleman…”

“good evening and aloha. I am very happy to stand on the floor of the House today and join my colleagues the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) and many others in introducing the Rural Veterans Access to Health Care Act of 2003. We are all very well aware of the commitment that we have made, at least in principle, although the practice has been lacking of recent years, but the principle that we will take care of veterans when they come home. The truth, however, is that as we try to honor that principle and the practice, the equality of access to health care throughout our country is inconsistent, and this is most particularly true in the rural areas of our country. In these areas, our veterans simply do not have the same level of access to the veterans' health care as they do in the urban areas. This is true in Hawaii's 2nd District, which is a rural area of our country, just as others are, but we have a little wrinkle in the 2nd Congressional District that creates a unique complication. The wrinkle is that my district is not contiguous. It is made up of islands. It is not possible for the veterans of my district to hop on the nearest road and get to the nearest clinic. It is not possible for the most part for my veterans to hop on the nearest ferry to get to the nearest clinic. Their access is by air. There are some VA medical clinics on many of the islands that I represent.…”