On the recordApril 12, 2016
As the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, which reported this legislation, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4676 ``Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2016'', a bill that provides an important additional tool for federal prosecutors to combat veterans' benefits fraud. I support this legislation, because of the honorable sacrifices our veterans have made for us, it is particularly important that we protect them from fraud and ensure the integrity of the system of benefits we provide for them. H.R. 4676 amends the federal criminal code to declare that any person who knowingly engages in any scheme or artifice to defraud a veteran of veterans' benefits, or in connection with obtaining veteran's benefits for that veteran, shall be fined, imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Currently, there are approximately 21 million veterans of the United States military living all across our country. It is estimated that about 30 percent of all Vietnam veterans have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and up to 20 percent of veterans serving in more recent conflicts in the Middle East are estimated to suffer from PTSD in a given year.…
