Political Quotes

“I rise today to support a measure that will help provide veterans in Illinois' LaSalle County with outpatient VA services. LaSalle County veterans have had to travel long distances to receive needed VA medical services. This often requires a family member or friend to travel with or drive them to their appointments. The Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act, will help provide an outpatient VA clinic in LaSalle County which will serve over 13,000 eligible veterans and their families. At a veterans field hearing this past April, Representatives Tim Hutchinson, Jerry Weller, Lane Evans, and myself heard the concerns of representatives of several organizations who testified to the need for a closer outpatient care center. The nearest outpatient care facility for eligible LaSalle County veterans is over an hour's drive away, with the nearest VA hospital over 2 hours away. The measure adopted today authorizes the VA to provide all needed outpatient care services, including preventive care and home health care, and to contract out for those services where a VA facility does not exist. This important legislation represents the commitment of Veterans' Committee chairman, Bob Stump, the entire House Veterans' Committee, and this Congress to keep our promises to our Nation's veterans. Our veterans answered the call when our Nation needed them, so Congress must answer the call when veterans need our help.”