Chris Smith: “First of all, Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Takano. I give a special thanks to him and the ranking member, Dr.…”

“First of all, Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Takano. I give a special thanks to him and the ranking member, Dr. Roe, for including my bipartisan bill, H.R. 2435, the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act, into the COMPACT Act that is before the House today. Madam Speaker, introduced 17 months ago, I am especially grateful for the work of my good friend and colleague, Adam Smith from Washington, the lead Democrat cosponsor, and all 135 cosponsors of this legislation. I give special thanks to the veterans service organizations, outdoor groups, and a big, big shout-out to the Sierra Club for the groundbreaking work that they have done to advance outdoor recreation as an extraordinarily effective form of healing for veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychological consequences from their service. The legislation requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an interagency task force on the use of public lands to provide medical treatment and therapy to veterans through outdoor recreation.…”