Tom Udall: “I thank the chairman, and I rise to speak briefly in support of the Senate budget resolution and four amendments that I…”

“I thank the chairman, and I rise to speak briefly in support of the Senate budget resolution and four amendments that I will be offering. I believe these amendments will improve the underlying budget resolution and they deserve broad support. First, Udall amendment No. 192 addresses the need to increase access to care for rural veterans. Many of these veterans, including those in New Mexico, travel long distances between their homes and Veterans' Administration medical centers. Many other States have rural veterans who face the same challenges. I am glad to be joined by Senator Moran from Kansas as a cosponsor of this bipartisan amendment. Expanding access to health care in rural areas helps our veterans get the care they need. The second Udall amendment, No. 311, would ensure that the 113th Congress can strengthen and reform the National Nuclear Security Administration. During the past decade NNSA has shown repeated failures in managing and planning projects. The result is costly overruns, deferrals, and, in some cases, security lapses. These failures are not only a threat to our national security, they pose threats to the safety of the scientists, engineers, and other workers employed at the National Labs. I cosponsored an amendment to the 2013 Defense Authorization Act with Senator Kyl to form an advisory panel and to take a look at this to make bipartisan recommendations to improve the governance and structure of the NNSA.…”