Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as you heard here today from numerous members of the committee and others, this is how business should be done: looking out for our veterans, compromises being made. I do want to extend my thanks to Senator Isakson; Senator Tester; Secretary Shulkin; the DAVs and the other VSOs; and the staff on both sides of the aisle who are the ones who are carrying out late-night negotiations. I think the gentleman from Tennessee, Chairman Roe, did bring up a good point: this is the beginning of tough decisions that need to be made, tough negotiations. I hope everyone here understands that the continued good will and bipartisanship is going to be needed, because we have an opportunity to transform the VA into that 21st century VA, one that is more responsive to the needs of veterans, one that takes into account the realities of modern-day medicine that involves many outpatient clinics and different ways of delivering service, especially to rural veterans who we represent. This is a great start. It is one that I think we go from a stop on Monday to what I hope can be a unanimous vote for a good, smart piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.”