Political Quotes

“I rise today to discuss the legislation before us, known as the VA MISSION Act of 2018--a significant change for the healthcare delivery system at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA MISSION Act passed the House of Representatives last week and is scheduled to be voted on in the Senate in the coming days. The bill is a result of months of negotiations and discussions between stakeholders, the administration, and the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees, of which I am a member. While I appreciate the hard work of those involved, unfortunately, the final legislation is not something that I am able to support. Before I get into my concerns about the bill and what I believe to be its fatal flaws, I want to acknowledge that there is a host of good provisions in here that I do support. The one on the forefront of many minds is the caregivers program expansion. The caregivers program, a program that gives support and assistance to certain veterans so they can receive home healthcare by a family member, has always been limited to post-9/11 veterans. However, there are many pre-9/11 veterans' family members who do the same work as a caregiver recipient but are not compensated for that work. This program is more cost effective over the long term than an alternative long-term care accommodation. It is due time for this expansion to occur for all families.…”