Mike Michaud

We owe it to America's veterans to provide certain and stable VA budgets.

I believe veterans would be much more satisfied to get a claim in a matter of weeks as opposed to a matter of months or years.

If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

What happens when veterans fade away and are no longer on the front page of the papers?

Maintaining our nation's economic leadership in the decades ahead will require highly skilled and educated employees.

Providing veterans with an opportunity for employment is a top priority of this committee.

Today we can take a meaningful step to ensure the sanctity of our national cemeteries. These grounds are hallowed for the men and women who fought selflessly on our behalf. With that, I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation…

I would like to once again thank Chairman Miller for his collaborative effort in bringing both of these bills before the House today and his continued support to make sure that we do everything we can to pass legislation that will help our…

Once again I would urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3521, as amended. I yield back the balance of my time.

I think our number one priority should be making sure the veteran is taken care of, not whether or not that claim is processed in a regional office.

Unfortunately, most of those reviews have repeatedly pointed out serious issues of mismanagement, lack of oversight, overages on expenditures, delays in construction, and multiple instances of insufficient guidance.

As I have said before, today's plans and projects are tomorrow's hospitals and clinics, and - whether it is by building the new, renovating the old, or leasing the existing - our allegiance must always be to the veterans who rely on VA to…

It seems, however, that even though VA has a plan, they struggle to execute it.

Providing veterans timely, quality health care in a safe environment is a focus of this Committee and one I stand firmly behind.

Repeatedly, the IG and the GAO has pointed out serious issues with mismanagement, overage, delays in construction within the VA system.

I also have no further requests for time. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 2011, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Once again, I would like to thank Chairman Miller for bringing this bill to the floor, as well as Chairman Flores and Ranking Member Takano of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for their work on this particular bill, and I would…

At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

At this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).

I have no further speakers. I would encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 2189, as amended. Once again, I want to thank Chairman Miller and his staff for working very diligently on this piece of legislation…

At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke).

I don't care which we choose as long as we get on with re-opening the government with a fully funded VA.

I support a clean funding bill, no strings attached. Let's fund the entire Federal Government, perhaps on a short-term basis, where we can work out some larger deal.

I want to, in the spirit of cooperation, join my colleagues in urging the Senate and our Federal Government to move forward on advance funding for military construction and Veterans' Affairs.

You have done your job, now it is time for Congress to do its job.