Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I very much thank Chairman Isakson for his work on this bill. As a veteran, as the spouse of a veteran, as the mother of a young lady who will enter into the service this summer, and as the grandmother to a young man who will begin his enlistment this fall, I thank him for the work he has done. I appreciate your service as well. Thank you so much. Mr. President, ``We can and we must do better for our veterans.'' I spoke those words during my first speech given here on the Senate floor just over 3 years ago. I also spoke about the need to fulfill the promises made to our veterans who have sacrificed everything for our country. At that time, the average wait for a mental health appointment at the VA was 36 days. There were, on average, 22 veteran suicides every single day in the United States. It underscored the troubles within the VA and the urgency to act immediately to help our veterans get the quality and the timely care that they have earned and that they deserve. That is why I introduced on that very day my first bill, the Prioritizing Veterans' Access to Mental Healthcare Act. My bill would have eliminated the distance and the wait time requirements for veterans seeking mental healthcare under the current Choice Program. Every veteran should have the choice to receive care in the community, but they should not be burdened by bureaucratic redtape or strict guidelines that serve as roadblocks to receiving this type of care.…”