Political Quotes

“I thank Ranking Member Takano for his great support and for yielding me the time, and I thank Chairman Roe very much for moving this bill through his committee. H.R. 2787, the Vet MD Act, also called the Veterans-Specific Education for Tomorrow's Health Professionals Act, I am honored to speak on its behalf this evening. The Vet MD Act works to break down barriers and expand opportunities for healthcare professionals to get training to care for our veterans. The bill creates a 3-year pilot program for pre-health undergraduate students to gain clinical observation experience within at least five VA medical centers. Health schools recommend or require clinical observation hours, but there is no formal process to apply for these hours. Opportunities to shadow are limited and are based on where you go to school or whom you know; and students who attend schools outside major cities, as well as those whose families lack connections to the medical community, find it harder and harder to shadow and are disadvantaged in medical school admissions. This places an unfair burden on otherwise qualified students who come from less affluent communities or rural areas. Several years ago, two premedical undergraduate students highlighted to my team the struggles disadvantaged, minority, and other young people who lack personal connections face as they apply for medical school.…”