Ed Whitfield: “Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that today we have the opportunity to talk about very serious issues facing the American…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that today we have the opportunity to talk about very serious issues facing the American veterans. All of us obviously support the American veterans. There is no question about that. In this House on July 16, we passed an appropriation bill, $90.7 billion for the VA, and that was more than the Clinton administration had asked for. Of course, we want to do more than that, and there are bills pending in the House right now that would give veterans and retirees the opportunity to go to military bases, be treated, and have Medicare reimburse them both at the VA and also at the military bases. In addition to that, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs favorably considered H.R. 2206, the Veterans Health Program Improvement Act of 1997, and it was reported out favorably. It would improve the VA's ability to provide health care to Persian Gulf veterans by authorizing as many as 10 VA facilities to establish demonstration projects aimed at improving care to Gulf veterans with undiagnosed illnesses. In addition, and this is particularly important, this bill would also specify that Persian Gulf veterans are eligible for VA health care for any problem related to service in the Gulf, not just those problems that may be linked to exposure to toxic substances or environmental hazards.”