I thank the gentleman from Texas for bringing inspiration to everybody in this body and across the country. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the vice ranking member of the House Committee on…

I thank my friend from Massachusetts and my friend from Georgia. We are going to see some camaraderie down here. I agree with the gentleman on this. And I thank Mr. Lamb for pointing out clearly what needs to be done to this bill. Mr…

Could I inquire how much time I have remaining. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Minnesota has 15\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Tennessee has 10\1/4\ minutes remaining.

I think maybe this all comes together on what is possible, and Mr. Fortenberry was at the heart and the nexus of a very new way of delivering veterans care.

What we need to know, and what this Act does, is very simple. It simply clarifies that the VA has the capacity and the authority to do research into medicinal cannabis.

The VA has always been, since the early 1920s, this Nation's premier research institution.

I think when you look at this right now, it is pretty hard to argue.

I don't think you will get your money's worth.

it is imperative that we discuss some critical issues, including the Choice Program, and the state of the VA's electronic health records.

So, this idea that it is cheaper, it is quicker and it is better in the private sector, there is no data to support that.

I am. And I don't deny and I think there is validity in this because the issue is it is not the false choice of privatization versus VA itself; it is a hybrid model of this.

There is an ideological belief and it is my belief right now that is dominating, certainly coming out of the White House that the idea is that we can go totally to the private sector care, no need for the VA.