large portion of his career in making sure that veterans receive their proper due. it was telling to me that we had not done all that they anticipated that we could, and therefore i'm hopeful that we will take cog any zans of the fact that the -- cognizance of the fact that the veterans coming 40e78 from iraq and afghanistan will have tremendous need and hopefully this small advance will allow for us to attend them properly. the department of veterans' affairs has provided $158.2 billion in budget authority, an increase of almost 7% over last year. this legislation ensures full funding for essential v.a. compensation and benefits programs in areas like education, vocational training and housing assistance.

this measure also includes 58 delsh $58.7 billion in advance funding for the v.a., ensuring that veterans will continue to have full access to their medical care needs, regardless where congress stand in the annual appropriations process. the underlying legislation includes funding for important national programs and activities such as the medical and prosthetic research account, post-9/11 g.i. bill authorities and encouragement for the department to maximize the availability of mental health services to veteran victims of sexual trauma while serving in the military. h.r. 4487, the legislative branch appropriations bill, while a bipartisan effort, and for the most part noncontroversial, still falls short of restoring funding levels for member offices and

committee staff. as with their fixation on cutting spending on any investment in our nation's infrastructure, education, and scientific research, my friends on the republican side continue to believe that you can reduce the budget indefinitely and still get the same product. what they fail to acknowledge is that eventually there comes a breaking point where the lack of investment produces tangible reductions in the quality of the product rendered. unfortunately, that time is fast approaching for members' offices and committee staff. two reports mentioned by the minority members on the legislative branch subcommittee bring in to stark relief the consequences of ongoing funding shortfalls. the first, by the congressional management foundation and the

society for human resource management, show this is a over 50% of congressional staff cite salaries as a major factor in their decision to leave their positions. and the second by the congressional research service foundation that found between 1977 and 2010 house committee taff levels dropped by 28% while senate committee staff levels have increased by almost 15% at the same time. either the senate is doing a lot more work than we are or we are seriously hamstringing our ability to conduct thorough research and debate on the critical issues before us today. we cannot continue to decimate our staffs and committees while

asking for more and more from them. as we must be responsible stewards of the resources that the american people have entrusted us with, so too must we be responsible to those who have chosen public service. just as we cannot continue to allow companies to pay nonliving wages, we cannot continue to pay our staffs in the same manner that we have. we can and must do better, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is ecognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: i want to put a spotlight on an area of cooperation in the veterans area.

he's precisely right about the concern that both sides of the aisle have for the men and women who have fought the nation's battle. while the co-wars themselves have been contentious, i don't think the funding of veterans has ever been contentious, regardless of who was president and regardless of who have in charge in chamber. we increased the spending under president bush and that's continued under president obama. you can never do enough but congress has tried in this area and workled together quite well in a bipartisan sense my friend also referred a little bit to the legislative branch and there again we probably have some areas of agreement, maybe some areas of disagreement, but not profound ones. the reality is we are in a difficult time financially. my friend is correct when he points to some of the reductions in house expenditures. we have reduced by about 14% house expenditures over the last

three or four years. i would suggest, while those changes have been difficult, they've been appropriate, given the size of the deficit and the fiscal difficulties we have. it is important to note in this budget we make no further reductions and as a matter of fact we actually increase expenditures in some -- in some important institution this is a actually support congress in its work. we have not done it again as my friend has correctly stated for members' offices or for committees, we did do a little bit of that last year in raising so-called m.r.a.'s and committee budgets. this year, because of the allocation we had, frankly i've chosen as champlee of the committee to focus on things like the government accounting office, the government printing office, the capital -- capitol police, the congressional budget office, areas that are absolutely indispensable in the operation of this institution. library of congress, another one where congressional research services have, very important to what we do.

hopefully as we go forward we'll be able to do more in some of these areas but i think given what we had, we've done reasonably well. while these have been tough decisions, they've been made in a bipartisan manner with cooperation between the majority and minority with appropriations on the legislative branch subcommittee. my friend did point to the senate and i suppose we always have a little bit of envy of the other body in terms of its funding. i would suggest while their expenditures have gone up, they been particularly dynamic in their legislative performance, and frankly, you know, far be it from me to offer a definitive opinion, we normally let institution do what they want to do, but i'm always appy for the contrast in the budget of a republican house and a democratic senate because i think it's clear which sun w sun serious about fiscal responsibility and which one is not. i suspect we'll have that debate

going forward but i thank my friend for his remarks and his focus on what's genuinely important and i know when he talks about this institution and its staff and its functions, he does so with genuine respect and genuine concern and again, some of these -- some of those concerns i certainly share and perhaps going forward as we did last year, we tried to do in some of the supportive institutions this year, we can restore some of that capability that i know he and i would both like to see us have. with that, i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm pleased at this time to yield five minutes to the gentleman from virginia, the ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee on interior, environment, and related agencies, mr. moran of virginia is leaving us after this session and he will be sorely missed but he takes it upon himself to address an issue that is of vital concern to all members of

the house of representatives. mr. moran for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my very good friend, judge hastings of florida, thank you very much for your service to this country, judge. and my comments, although critical, will be in no way personally critical of my very good friend from oklahoma with whom i serve on the appropriations committee, he knows my very high regard for his integrity, his judgment, his character, and i value our friendship. i rise in opposition to this rule. in the the military construction veterans part, because that's an open rule. that's not at issue. but with regard to the legislative branch. there's several amendment this is a should not be made in order, should not in my view,

should not have been taken seriously but the reason i oppose it is because there's an amendment not made in order that should be discussed on the floor of this house. i offered an amendment, very modest one, to provide $25 a day to the members in the form of a housing allowance for the days we're in session. only the days we're in session. we've been in session an average of 112 days a year recently, that would have come out, not coincidentally, to exactly what our salaries would have been raised by had not the ben -- had not there been a freeze included in this legislative branch appropriations bill. frankly it's an incentive for the congress to be in session more days but it's far more important than that.

but it's -- it also only would have applied to people who live more than 50 miles from capitol hill. i live 10 miles and in fact it would not apply to any of us directly anyway because we can't raise our own salaries. it would only apply to future congresses. and that's what this amendment is about. it's about the composition of this congress, this institution, in the future. that's why it's important. i know it's not going to be hop par -- popular among our constituents, when think word got out, i suggested it in mr. cole's subcommittee and on full committee, we got hundreds of calls. all of them negative. most of them profane. but that doesn't mean that it's an issue that should not be discussed on the house floor. pay increases to

ourselves -- we have denied pay increases to ourselves 11 times since i came into congress. there was a deal that said if you don't receive money from speeches and honoraria, in return the congress will increase its pay by the cost of living each year. so it will be less politicized. but what we did not only eliminate those outside sources of income, but we have politicized it by freezing our pay consistently. in fact, the last five years we have frozen pay. this will be the sixth year in a row. and it's creating a serious problem, a problem that's only going to be exacerbated in the future. i know the opinion of our constituents, but one of the things they may not be aware of is that the daniel "d.c." cormier has one of the highest rental cost -- is that the

district of columbia has one of the highest rental costs in the nation. it's about $120,000 a year right now for a modest rental apartment and it goes up each year. at the same time, seasons i came into congress, congressional pay has gone down by 1/5. we're getting -- paying ourselves 1/5 less than we were in 1992. so it's very difficult for many embers to afford to live here. this is the first time that this pay freeze has been included in a legislative branch appropriations bill. it sets a precedent and it's a precedent that's going to be very difficult to reverse. i don't think either party is tong to take it upon himself try to change this it's going to become obligatory in each

successive appropriations bill. i suspect five, 10, 15 years from now, it's still going to be the same and what's the result of that? well it means that the congress is probably going to be composed of two types of members. one will be those members who come in for one, two, three terms and then frankly cash out. go into the private sector, take advantage of that experience, albeit limited, in the congress and then provide well for their families. the second class of member is likely to be those who are fact ndent wealthy who in as some do could aford to give back the salary because they don't need it. i thank the member. so what does that mean? it means those people in their 30's who have young families, who have home mortgages, who

have unpaid student loans, small business owners, they're going to be less likely to represent our constituencies for -- who are most represented by those folks who have a difficulty making their -- meeting their costs day after day. i think this is very dangerous. it's a dangerous precedent. we should be able to discuss it. that's all we asked for. i didn't expect a positive vote but i expected a discussion of a very important issue as to how this congress is going to be represented in the future. with that, i thank the speaker and i thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. . mr. cole: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: i extend the same regard and personal affection to my friend that he was kind enough to display toward me. i have had the privilege of serving with him on the appropriations committee, obviously ever since i arrived

at that committee, and we currently serve on the defense appropriations subcommittee together, the legislative branch subcommittee together, and interior subcommittee together, and on that committee, interior, of course he's -- he was an absolutely superb chairman. i happen to think he's an even better ranking member. but he was a superb chairman and we have worked together on many items, i, like my friend from florida, will miss my who i rom virginia think has rendered distinguished service in this chamber and certainly to our committee. in terms of his suggested amendment, i make two points. first, advise this is a clause 2 violation. it would be legislating on an appropriations bill. and i thought there was a reasonable chance, secondly, we would have a chance to discuss this and he would have a chance to make his point. nd i'm glad you did make the

point you made because i think it's a very important point to be made. i'm particularly -- i particularly share your concerns about the long-term character of the body. and i think those are well made. i don't think we are in any danger right now of reaching that point, but i think my friend does point out a trend that could occur. i would also be quick to add there are about as many different styles of members as there are members themselves. some people come here with the idea of being here for a long time. other people come here for shorter periods of time not with the idea of cashing out but because they believe that's the appropriate way to serve. in my state, my good friend from senator coburn, i have always lived by term limits. he did when he was in this chamber. he has again in the senate. so not every member that comes here and serves six or eight years is trying to cash out. they just think that's the appropriate length of time and that's a judgment that quite often shared by their constituents. again i think either one's appropriate. i think members in districts make that decision for

themselves. i also think in consideration for the difficulty or decisions we have made the last several years, by both parties by the way, i didn't notice -- my friends when they were in the majority had concerns about increases in salaries as well. i think because they saw the fiscal problems of the country. and we have had to make some tough decisions around here in the last few years. we are going to have to make, i think, some more tough decisions. i think sometimes to add legitimacy to those decisions you have to lead by example. i think that's what we have tried to do. i think that's what my friends tried to do as well. during the period they were in the majority. so as long as we are preaching fiscal austerity, we better practice a little fiscal austerity. you want to conclude by saying i still think my friend's point is a very important one to be heard. i'm glad he made the remarks he did. i'm sorry for your staff because i'm sure the incoming mail and calls have been

extraordinary, but again, one of the things i like about my friend, even when i disagree with him, is on occasion we do, he's never afraid to articulate a position and present a point of view. if there's a little fire associated with that, so much the better. i think he enjoys the give and take of that. that's one of the things i'm going to miss the most about him when he departs this chamber. with that, mr. speaker, i will reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: before yielding to the next speaker, i yield myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, just in response to my friend from california -- from oklahoma, what mr. moran pointed to was the fact that moderate rent in this met row pol tan area is -- in this metropolitan area is $27,000 a year. i don't think it unreasonable for us to not only have a

discussion but to do something about the fact that there are members that are here that can't afford that on the salary that they make. now, it may be that the constituency is unsympathetic. it may be that these are tough times -- i yield myself additional 30 seconds. that these are tough times, but the simple fact of the matter is we have at least 20 members of the house of representatives living in their offices. and i don't think that that's right. and i think that the public needs to know that. and i think once the public understands that a lot of that is attributed not only to that member's idea about how to serve, but the fact that he or she cannot serve in a proper manner living in accommodations that i think they deserve by getting to this high station. mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the distinguished woman from california, my friend, a member of the transportation and infrastructure committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is

recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, my friend. ms. hahn: i rise today to thank chairman culberson and ranking member bishop for working with me to include two much needed provisions in this military construction and veterans' affairs appropriation report. this bill makes important steps in fulfilling the promise that we have made to our veterans by providing job search assistance and offering homeless assistance to veterans displaced by domestic violence. the unemployment rate for veterans is 9% compared to 6.7% nationwide, and it's even higher for women veterans. the unemployment rate for our women veterans is 9.6%. after fighting for this country, we should ensure that they have a job and a place to live. veterans have skills our businesses need and the v.a. should assist in matching potential employers with job seeking veterans. my provision will encourage the

v.a. and the department of labor to create a job placement service. also i'm very pleased that the chairman included language covering veterans displaced by domestic violence. due to an oversight in our current law, the legal definition of homeless veterans differs significantly from the standard civilian definition of homeless persons. this means veterans fleaing from domestic violence could be -- fleeing from domestic violence could be excluded from receiving the benefits available to other homeless veterans. the language included update the definition of homeless veterans to bring it into line with the rest of the law. this meaningful change to this policy will make a large difference in the lives of veterans, particularly women veterans, displaced from their home due to domestic violence. in addition, this change is supported by several veterans organizations such as the v.f.w., amvets, and the national coalition for homeless

veterans. mr. speaker, both of these provisions represent a real step forward for fulfilling the promise to our nation's veterans. and while sometimes we discuss our own living situation here, what's really important today is making sure that our veterans are housed with dignity and respect. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: i want to thank my friend from california for working so closely with chairman culberson and ranking member bishop on what's a genuinely important contribution to the legislation. i think frankly it's pretty exemplary of the manner in which chairman culberson and ranking member bishop worked together throughout this process. i saw it myself during our full committee markup where literally they were working together to make changes to try and respond to members' legitimate concerns in this area. and did it right to the last

minute of the bill. i know we are going to have contentious moments in the appropriations process. we always do as we go forward. but in this particular case in this legislation and certainly between the chairman and ranking member, i think we have an example that -- of how to work together in a bipartisan fashion that most americans, if they had a chance to learn about it, would be genuinely pleased with. again i thank my friend from california for participating outside the committee. i think she made a very valuable contribution. i'm pleased that she made that point. again recognize the wonderful work mr. culberson and mr. bishop. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased at this time to yield to the distinguished gentleman from new jersey, my good friend, mr. holt, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for he three minutes. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i thank

my good friend, judge hastings, for his friendship, his consideration, and his assistance during my time here in congress. and i am pleased to recognize the very fine member, my good friend, representative cole from oklahoma. i'll speak later at another time about the appropriations bill on the legislative branch. i want to speak in support of the military construction and v.a. and related agencies appropriations bill. for the fourth year in a he row the appropriations committee has placed in the bill an additional $20 million for suicide prevention and mental health outreach services. several people have made this possible starting with my new jersey colleague, representative run-on, who has worked with me -- ryun, who has worked with me very closely and bipartisan way on this issue over the last four years. i want to thank the subcommittee chair, representative culberson, and ranking member bishop for their steady support of our efforts.

and of course to the full committee leaders, chairman rogers and ranking member lowey for their support. since 2012 the committee has increased funding for suicide prevention and outreach by $120 million overall at the request of representative ryun and me and other members who have joined us in this effort. but our work on this issue is far from over. last week "the washington post" reported that while the suicide rates for our active duty force have come down in recent years, we have actually seen a tragic increase in suicide rates among our guard and reserve and veterans. the department of veterans affairs' own statistics show that suesides among veterans have risen -- from an average of 18 per day in 2007 to about 22 per day, each one a tragedy. i fear that the number may be even higher than is recorded. i have no doubt that this

committee and every member of this body is committed to reversing this tragic trend. and these additional funds will certainly help. i believe that congress must now give greater attention to the question of why we are seeing a difference emerging in the suicide rates between our active duty force on the one hand and our guard and reserve and veterans population on the other. while this will help, and while his bill will be the last v.a. appropriations bill on which i work in congress, i know that other members who share my concern will carry on this work, and for that i'm grafle. i hope that congress will authorize a regular permanent increase in funding for mental health and suicide prevention so that these annual appeals for appropriation also not be necessary in the future. finally, i would say to anyone

who is listening, my colleagues and the public alike, if they know -- if they know a current or former service member who may be in need of help, the vets for warriors program which the defense department's new jersey base peer to peer counseling program conducts can help. the phone number 1-855-vet-talk. calls are free. answered 24 hours a day. staffed by former service members. it is the best lifeline we can offer. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: i want to begin by thanking my friend from new jersey and again recognizing his very special and very distinguished service in this body. this is a typical example of the good sense and compassion he brings to the floor on a

regular basis. and i know i appreciate that. and while we are in different parties, he's one of the people like my friend, mr. moran who spoke earlier, that i most admire. i think is genuinely admired on both sides of the aisle. i appreciate -- associate myself with the remarks he he made and appreciate that very, very much. and wish him well whatever he chooses to do next because he certainly distinguished himself here as he has in his academic career before he he came here. whatever he does next i know he'll be equally distinguished in that field. but we will miss him very much in this body. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question, i will offer an amendment to the rule to bring p h.r. 1010, our bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. to discuss the importance of raising the wage, i yield two

minutes to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. takano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. takano: i thank the gentleman for time to discuss the rule. pop quiz, there's a bill that will give 25 million americans a pay raise, bring nearly one million americans out of poverty and lower the total food stamp aid by $4.6 billion. what do you do? what do you do? if you're the house republican committee you schedule a vote for h.r. 627, the national park service 100th anniversary commemorative coin act and not legislation that accomplishes the items i just mentioned by raising the minimum wage. what is it going to take for my republican colleagues to do something that will actually help the economy. they came into the majority after the mid term elections

saying that priorities one, two, and three were jobs, jobs, jobs. ut this body hasn't seen anything substantive that would show that to be the truth. since 2011, the house republicans forced the shutdown of the government, threatened the full faith and credit of the united states, and developed an obsession with repealing the affordable care act. they have done nothing to help the american people. no american working full time should live in poverty. raising the minimum wage will increase the take-home pay for more than 28 million americans. it will add $35 billion to the economy and higher wages through 2016. it will create 85,000 new jobs as a result of the increased economic activity. t make no mistake, those statistics are not likely to

change their minds. no facts likely will. because their refusal to give millions of americans a raise is not about facts or economics. it's about keeping their sugar donors happy. sugar donors like the koch brothers. while these sugar donors are throwing tens of millions of dollars away on campaign ads in select toss-up districts, regular, hardworking americans -- mr. hastings: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: regular americans are struggling to keep their heads above water. for our country to move forward and continue grow we must do more for those who need help. president franklin roosevelt once said the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little. to provide enough, we must raise the minimum wage. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question so we can bring the minimum wage bill

to the floor and get to work growing our economy and helping working families. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: while i appreciate what the gentleman had to say, this legislation doesn't have anything to do with the minimum wage. one legislating on an appropriations bill which we don't do here. while not wishing to engage in a debate about the minimum wage, i will say this. the people of this country and people of the individual states have the opportunity to move on this issue when they choose. indeed, 19 states, if i recall correctly, have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage. there's serious concern that the one size fits all minimum wage doesn't make a lot of sense. i tell my friend, i don't pretend to be an expert on what

the cost of living in california or new york is, but i'm sure it's considerably higher than it is in the state of oklahoma and at the end of the day, i actually trust the oklahoma legislature and the oklahoma governor and the oklahoma electorate to make this decision for themselves. i don't think imposing a national solution, a national standard in this case is necessary or desirable. so again, i thank you leave this to the wisdom of the states and localities. that's what our founders envision, that's what we should do when we have questions of this nature. i'm sure we'll have this debate on another time, on another occasion, an appropriate debate to have. it's not appropriate on this particular bill or this rule or the underlying legislation so it seems to me not a strong reason to vote against either one because this vehicle could not carry the legislation that my friend would like to see enacted. with that, i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: i advise my friend from oklahoma, i'm the last speaker and i'm prepared to close if he's prepared to close. mr. cole: i'm prepared to close whenever my friend. is mr. hastings: thank you very kindly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: it's been one of r more syrupy debates around here, it's because of the bipartisan nature that allowed this to come to the rules committee and be put here on the floor. i'm happy to say we can be leased by the level of support provided in this legislation for essential veterans programs. america's veterans deserve the very best support our nation has to offer. and i'm pleased to note that democrats and republicans came together to craft legislation that provides the necessary resources for veterans and their

families. at the same time, though, we must realize that if we continue to strangle the support for the offices that are tasked with creating the legislation and programs to support those very veterans, we will eventually begin to fail them as well. we must break free from the false logic that all spending is bad spending. and realize that investments in our country are in-- our infrastructure, our education, our medical research, even our legislature is a sound one. mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question, i'm going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up h.r. 1010, our bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. while my friend from oklahoma makes very salient commentary might very well

be a view of some note in our body politics, i don't deem it unwise or unnecessary to talk about lifting people out of poverty at any time during the course of our legislative business, understanding the rules and the fact that this would not have been a rule germane to the specific issue. but it's germane to the families out there in america, it's germane to the people that are working and are still in poverty that may be lifted out of poverty if we were to have a $10.10 an hour minimum wage. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i urge my colleagues to vote no and despeet the -- defeat the previous question and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized to close. mr. cole: in closing i'd like to say that one of the basic functions of congress is to fund the government. this rule would begin the process for consideration for fiscal year 2015 of actually doing that function. and doing it in an orderly way, an appropriate way. particularly pleased that the appropriations process has moved as well and quickly as it has so far this year. to that i give credit to my friend chairman rogers and my great friend ranking memberlow wie. they have worked well in a bipartisan manner. i want to also commend the chairman of military construction and veteran appropriation -- and veterans agency committee, mr. bishop, as the ranking member, mr. culberson is the chairman, i think they've done a wonderful job. i've had the opportunity to work with my good friend debbie

wasserman schultz as the ranking member and i'm pleased to be the chairman, i think that's been a productive relationship. i have no doubt we'll have contention in other bills but these bills have moved together in a bipartisan fashion and i think given the allocations that we had -- have been worked through in a very professional workmanlike way. my friend from florida did mention the syrupy debate. i know that's not his style. i have had the privilege of serving with him on the rules committee, not just in this congress but in previous congresses, he's one one of the best debaters on the floor, i have no doubt, on every occasion i've seen him, always gives as good as he gets and makes his case quite well. but i've appreciated having the opportunity to have this exchange with him and obviously i would urge that my colleagues actually support the rule and the underlying legislation and while the rule vote is a

procedural vote, it's not uncommon for us to basically have a partisan division, i suspect that when the underlying egislation reach this is floor on the milcon bill and the -- and v.a. bill and on the aother bill, we'll have a great deal of bipartisanship. i look forward to that vote, i look forward to the debate and discussion over those but the first thing we have to do is pass the rule. i urge my colleagues to pass this and mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. mr. hastings: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas an nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having

risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the vote for any question on the dppings of the resolution. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 227, the nays are 189. the resolution is adopt. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it, the resolution is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to remove my namesas a co-sponsor from h.r. 3344. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. r. gingrey: thank you.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 557 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4486. the chair appoints the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4486 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans' affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and or other purposes. the chair: the committee will be n order.

pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for the first time. the gentleman from texas, mr. culberson, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. bishop, each will control 30 minutes, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: it's an honor and privilege for me to present the mill care construction and veterans afairs and related agencies appropriations act today. this is a bill we produced together with the unanimous support of the committee and subcommittee ten sure our veterans and our men and women in uniform have everything they need to do their job with complete peace of mind. i often think of the job of this subcommittee as the peace of mind subcommittee to be sure that our men and women in uniform have everything they need when it comes to their physical infrastructure and when they leave their services, going

into the v.a. system, they have everything they need. i believe, if i could, mr. speaker, the house is not -- mr. chairman, the house is not in order. the chair: if you have a conversation, take it outside. can we have order in the committee of the whole. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. chairman. making sure that our men and women in uniform have everything they need, making sure our veterans, when they leave the service, have all the medical care, the best possible medical care this country could provide, is one of those fundamental functions of the government that we have obligation as guardians of the treasury, as good stewards of taxpayers' hard-earned dollars to ensure this vital core function of our federal

government is fulfilled to our veterans and our men and women in uniform. we have in this appropriations bill, mr. chairman, we included $71.5 billion in discretionary funding, which is a $1.8 billion less than last year and $398 million less than the budget request. now, we have provided the full budget request number of $6.6 billion for military construction projects, but we have -- we provided $1.8 billion less in fiscal year 2014, we included $64.7 billion in discretionary funding for the v.a., which is about $1.5 billion more than last year. we've included $20 million to get at the claims backlog and $17 million more that was requested for electronic medical records. now we are in this legislation ensuring that we have continued

strict oversight of the v.a. in their reporting requirements on the claims backlog, the length of time it takes a veteran to receive the disability benefits that they have earned is just unacceptable, and so mr. bishop and i included language in this bill which makes it -- we have very strict reporting requirements that we will continue to exercise vigorous oversight in the months ahead to ensure the claims backlog is reduced. we're also introducing a mechanism here that i have -- we found to be very, very effective and that is to in the case of electronic health records, the v.a. and the department of defense are operating two completely different medical record systems that don't talk to each other. so when you're in uniform in the armed forces, when you leave and go into the private sector and the v.a. picks you up, the v.a. can't read your medical records. well, this is just unacceptable. since 2008, the congress has laws on the books that require

the v.a. and the department of defense to have a transparent, interoperable medical record that would be easily and quickly readable when a service member leaves the active service and goes into the v.a. system. but they're still not there, so we have in this bill a mechanism that says you're only going to get 25% of your money upfront on implementing electronic health record until you come back to the committee and show us that you're meeting your obligation under the law to provide an immediate, seamless and transparent transfer of your medical records for the department of defense to the v.a. -- from the department of defense to the v.a. chairman rogers in particular, i want to thank him for his support in this effort because he had a constituent that i mentioned -- i'll mention in a minute in his district that struck a chord with me. it's a tragic example how unacceptable this is. one agency can't read the

medical records of another. one man was injured, lost his eyesight, i believe, mr. chairman, in afghanistan. had one eye lost, the vision in one eye but damaged the other eye. still had some vision in the other eye. so when he left the service to go in the v.a. and the v.a. needed to work on his other eye immediately in order to save his vision, the v.a. could not read the medical record provided to them by the department of defense, and the doctors at the v.a. understandably being cautious and concerned and as a result he lost his eyesight because of the medical record being unreadable by the v.a. utterly outrageous and so we're going to require the agency to -- i'm working closely with the chairman of the armed services, appropriations subcommittee, chairman rogers has been terrifically helpful on this as well as ranking member lowey. and my good friend from georgia, mr. bishop,.

we're putting identical language so the d.o.d. is in the same boat. prove to us that you're obeying the law, you're fulfilling your obligations to the men and women in uniform and then we'll release the law. follow the law and you get your money. works every time in the private sector. certainly confident it will work here. i think of the fact i've been using an apple mcintosh computer since it first came out in 1985. never thought you'd use a windows operating system on a mcintosh computer but you can n microsoft word on an -- on a mcintosh operating system. surely if windows and apple can rk it out surely the department of defense and v.a. can. they need to get an interoperable and transparent medical system in place. we limited the military

construction fund for hospitals that the v.a. builds so the veterans don't have to way endlessly for the completion of a hospital. i'll never forget when i first got this marvelous assignment. it was assigned by chairman rogers to handle this important piece -- this important bill that denver hospital had $900 million, i believe, set aside, squirreled away in a hole. i don't think they signed a contract or turned a spayed of dirt, but they had $900 million in order to build that sorely needed hospital in denver. that's just unacceptable. this money that we are privileged to be stewards of was earned by our constituents by the sweat of their brow and their hard work and it's our responsibility to ensure that the money is wisely spent, that it is spent to ensure that the law is enforced and above all that we do not spend any more than is absolutely necessary to fulfill the fundamental obligations of the united states government. and at the top of that list is to ensure that our veterans receive the medical care they've earned, that they receive the disability benefits

that they've earned in a timely fashion, and that our men and women in uniform have all the to l facilities they need do their job. that's why this is the peace of mind committee and it's a privilege for me to serve with my good friend from georgia, mr. bishop, to whom i'll reserve the balance of my time so my good friend, mr. bishop, can address the house. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. bishop: i thank the gentleman and thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. chairman, as you all know, this bill has strong -- has a strong reputation for finding bipartisan common ground as members work together to fund the construction of military facilities and strive to improve the quality of life and care afforded to our veterans and our military families. once again, chairman culberson has continued this tradition. the bill before us would add funding levels that i think

most members on both sides of the aisle agree are appropriate while avoiding the contellingious legislative riders that complicate passage. i'm pleased to join chairman culberson as we take up the appropriations bill for military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies. the milcon-va bill is critically important to the strength and well-being of our military, our veterans and the families who sacrifice so much to defend our country. working with chairman culberson and the members of the subcommittee, we've crafted a bill that will address the funding needs for military construction and family housing for our troops and their families as well as other quality of life construction projects. in addition, it will provide funding for many important v.a. programs as well as agencies like the veterans court of appeals and the american battle monuments commission. the bill before us today touches every soldier, sailor,

marine and airman. in addition, the bill also will impact military spouses, their children and every veteran that participates in v.a. programs. i want to commend the chairman for his work. together we've sat through hearings, gaining valuable insight to the workings of all agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. also want to thank all of our subcommittee members and recognize them for their hard work in crafting this bill. i believe that the minority was treated fairly during this process and i want to thank chairman culberson for ensuring this bipartisan result. chairman culberson has already provided the funding highlights in the bill, and i won't repeat them all, but i want to say this. in my opinion, the f.y. 2015 bill adequately provides for the department's priority in military construction for each of the services. if the department needed something, it's in the bill. and if it didn't need it, it's

not in the bill. the department of veterans affairs is funded at $64.7 billion which is $1.8 billion above the 2014 enacted level. overall, the bill meets the discretionary budget request in all areas of administrative expenses, research and facilities. in addition, the bill includes $58.7 billion in advances, the same as the budget request. while i'm pleased with the healthy funding increase for the v.a., many constituents from my district are still extremely frustrated with the claims backlog. frankly, i'd have to agree. now, while the v.a. has made some progress on lessening the backlog, there are still over 300,000 claims considered as backlogged. so i was pleased that an additional $20 million was included in the bill to assist the v.a. with making even more progress on the backlog. in addition, mr. chairman, it's

my hope that coupling the veterans claims intake program with continued rigorous reporting requirements while fully funding the veterans benefit management system will help the v.a. reach its goal to end this backlog in 2015. on the issue of electronic medical records, you all know my frustration on this issue and i could spend all the time yielded to me just on this one topic. but i will just say this. we have finally gotten the two departments' attention, but i expect to see some real progress on this soon. the bill continues the practice of fencing money for the endeavor to make sure when it's completed we have a system that works and works well. mr. chairman, i believe that we have a strong bipartisan bill that supports our military, their families and our veterans. i'd hate to see the hard work of our committee up ended by

contentious partisan riders intended to score political points instead of those that serve our nation. i also believe the most important thing of this bill, the resources and accountability provided to assist the v.a. in tackling the claims backlog. so i say to my colleagues that our committee strongly shares the deep commitment of this body to fixing the claims backlog issue. we looked at numerous approaches and firmly believe our bill has found the optimal approach in dealing with this essing concern for our veterans. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, i yield as much time as he may consume to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. chairman, i rise today in support of the 2015 military construction and veterans

affairs appropriations bill. i'm very happy to be on the floor with this bill today, mr. chairman, both because it kicks off the 2015 appropriations cycle at a very early date. in fact, we know that this is the earliest in the year that our committee has presented a bill to the floor at least since 1974, the date of the budget -- present budget act and perhaps even more so beyond that. we just don't have the records for that. so nevertheless, it's a very early date, and because it does the important work of providing funding for our military, infrastructure and for the care of our veterans. this bill provides $7 is.5 $71.5 billion to meet those needs. it provides $6.5 billion for

military construction projects, family housing, medical units, education, training facilities. this will help make -- make sure that the men and women of our armed forces have the quality of life that they deserve during their service and that they have the support that they need for our nation's military missions. the bill also provides a total of $64.7 billion in discretionary funding for the department of veterans affairs. that goes a long way toward fulfilling our commitments to our veterans, making sure that in exchange for their service and their sacrifice we will ake care of their health and well-being. goes to -- $45 million v.a. medical facilities, including mental health care, suicide prevention, rural health initiatives, homeless

veteran treatment and job training. the bill also ensures that our benefit programs and health systems operate smoothly and efficiently. this bill continues our committee's hard work to reduce the disability claims backlog and demands that an interoperable department of defense-v.a. electronic health record system is up and running as soon as possible so that when a veteran goes to a v.a. hospital and the hospital medical people need access to army records or d.o.d. records when the soldier was injured, that -- those records are available and compatible so that v.a. then can use those records to further the treatment of a soldier. . by providing increased funding for claims processing,

continuing performance benchmarks to reduce the backlog, and placing conditions on funding for the modernization of the v.a. health record system, we are sending a he very strong message, mr. chairman, to that agency that we want these problems fixed. we want them fixed now. in total the bill provides $1.8 billion less than last year, hard and fast proof that we can streamline this government and root out unnecessary spending without adversely affecting our troops and veterans. r example, less funding is provided to military construction accounts due to current price stability and a favorable bid climate. which saves taxpayer dollars but has no effect on quality of life for our services for our troops.

mr. speaker, this bill is a model of bipartisanship that represents the good we can do by way of the appropriations process. that's in part, in most part thanks to the subcommittee led by my good chairman, john culberson, and his ranking member, mr. bishop. they worked on a collaborative basis to produce a bill that truly fulfills the needs of our military and our veterans. and i want to take a moment, too, to thank the staff who all put in a great deal of hard work to get this bill before the house this early and at all. as you know, mr. speaker, this is the first of 12 appropriations bills that he we must bring to the floor before the august recess. with an agreed upon budget and early start, the cooperation of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and ample floor

time, i believe we can complete our work, our congressional duty on time, on budget, and under regular order. so i look forward to working with our colleagues to make this goal a reality. i couldn't be prouder to kick off our 2015 appropriations bill season with this legislation. i urge my colleagues to support it fully. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from new york, the ranking member of the full appropriations committee, very, very eloquent and hardworking lady and who is committed to the support of our veterans and their families, mrs. lowey of new york. mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank our distinguished chairman, mr.

culberson, and the distinguished subcommittee ranking member, mr. bishop, who really have done an extraordinary job on this bill. and since it is the first bill coming to the floor, i share the pride expressed by big chairman, chairman rogers, this is regular order. this is an outstanding bill. and we can be very proud of the work. so thank you again chairman culberson, ranking member bishop for this very, very important bill. this is the first of the 12 spending bills that the house will consider for f.y. 2015. and as i mentioned, i'm so pleased that we are beginning the process with a bill as reported out of committee that includes reasonable spending levels and is devoid of

controversial riders. i hope this is a sign of what is to follow. despite fiscal constraints, the military construction and veterans' affairs bill would meet the needs of service men and women and continue to support our veterans. i'm particularly pleased with the emphasis on the increased need for prosthetics for our female service members. congress must continue to track and provide vigorous oversight as you heard from chairman rogers, chairman culberson, ranking member bishop on the vista evolution electronic health record to ensure its capability and interoperability with whatever health record system the department of defense eventually selects. as we discussed many times, this discussion has gone on much too long.

it's time for closure and it's time for coordination. i do hope that happens sooner rather than later. the overall increase above the f.y. 2014 enacted level to the i.t. account should help the v.a. move forward. this bill also takes several steps to reduce the disgraceful veterans' claims backlog. the committee has previously provided the v.a. with additional resources. $173.3 would provide million for the veterans benefit management system and an additional $20 million to the veterans benefit administration for digital scanning of all paper files, essential mail initiative, and staff overtime. it withholds 75% of the vista

evolution funds until v.a. provides information on the system, particularly regarding planned and interop prohibit -- interoperability with the d.o.d. it will continue to require the v.a. to he provide monthly reports on claims processing and remediation efforts for underperforming regional offices. now, the v.a. has made progress in the last year and this bill he provides the resources to end the claims backlog, and that is what we expect of the secretary in 2015. this is a good bill. i hope it's preserved as the house considers amendments. thank you, mr. speaker. i urge your support. the chair: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: if i could ask how much time do we have remaining in this part of the

debate? the chair: the gentleman from texas has 17 minutes. mr. culberson: at this time, it's my privilege to yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, chairman of the defense subcommittee, mr. frelinghuysen. mr. frelinghuysen: i thank the chairman for the time. mr. chairman, as you have so well articulated, the nation owes an almost unrepayable debt to our men and women in uniform. past and present. as a result of their selfless service, we are absolutely obliged to deliver a full range of benefits that were promised. that includes quality medical care for members of the military and our veterans at all times. my colleagues, i want to commend the gentleman from texas, ranking member from georgia, and their staff for their commitment to ensuring that there will be a seamless transition from the defense medical system into the v.a. health care system to an integrated electronic medical record. for nearly a decade, your subcommittee and our defense subcommittee have listened to a parade of administration

officials tell us, first of all, they recognize the need for interoperability when it comes to electronic health records, and secondly, that we are on it. well, mr. chairman, they were not on it. and as a result we have lost years as the v.a. and department of defense struggled to develop either a single unified record or different but inoperable systems. my colleagues, the defense authorization act for fiscal year 2008 mandated the department of defense and veterans' affairs were required to collaborate to create electronic health record that would achieve interoperability and streamline the transition process from service member to veteran. now, seven years later, there is no operable record and the original plan for the two departments to use the same system has now been scrapped. the department of defense plans to acquire a new record system

while the v.a. continues to upgrade its current one. alternatively the acquisition program for the department of defense has an estimated contract award on the third quarter of the fiscal year 2015 with an nirnl operating capability by the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. nearly a full decade after the initial mandate. my colleagues, this program has been plagued by inefficiency, poor planning, and apparently even less oversight by responsible members of the department. the failure to make this significant process on this issue is a national disgrace. i ask the gentleman for some additional time. additional minute. mr. culberson: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. frelinghuysen: the failure to make significant progress on this issue is a national disgrace. not only are the departments squandering freshes taxpayers' dollars, but above all our

troops and veterans are suffering as they seek help. mr. chairman, i look forward to working with you on this situation to end this debacle. it's inexcusable. we need operable records. we need the v.a. and the department of defense to work together successfully to serve our veterans. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. farr, who has offered invaluable help on the committee in crafting the bill and who has a particular interest in the defense language schools in monterey and on our maintaining our -- itment to previous brack [rounds in the state of california that they not be forgotten. the gentleman, mr. farr.

mr. farr: mr. speaker, thank you very much. chairman -- ranking member .ishop and chairman culberson i rise as the longest serving member on this subcommittee. i want to commend you both, the chairman and ranking member, for your hard work in ensuring that this bill's another significant step in fulfilling our promise to our country that has made these commitments to our veterans. we'll leave none of them behind. this committee has a strong history of working in a bipartisan way to produce a bill that supports our active duty service members, our veterans, and their families. and i think this bill is no exception to that. for example, the v.a. has taken steps to rectify the deplorable backlog of benefit claims, as everyone's mentioned so farment and we owe it to our veterans to exercise our constitutional oversight responsibility to nsure that the v.a.'s actually

fixing that backlog. i am pleased the bill before us today includes language i requested with many of my colleagues that continues additional oversight requirements for the veterans benefits administration and requires regular updates from the v.a. to congress on the status of the backlog. through regular updates, the v.a. will -- we will be able to ensure accountability that will ultimately end the backlog. additional-l, i'm pleased to see the bill recognized that the v.a. must be able to employ enough mental health providers. for example, as it currently stands 95% of the marriage and family therapists in california , licensed in california, are barred from v.a. employment under current v.a. standards which require a degree from only one specified national accreditation program. i authored language in the report of the bill, accompanying the bill, to ensure that the v.a. explore

expanding the accreditation requirements by looking at those that are recognized by the department of education so that more marriage and family therapists can get work helping our veterans. as a final note, i'd like to point out that this bill is $1.8 billion below last year's enacted level. $.4 billion less than what the president requested. i'm glad to see this bill has been protect interested senseless -- another 10 seconds. mr. bishop: i yield the gentleman 10 seconds. mr. farr: thank you. has been protected from senseless budget cuts. i strongly encourage this congress to honor the balanced approach that this bill shows in a bipartisan budget control act that we adopted last year. thank you. the chair: the gentleman from georgia reserves.

the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. speaker, at this time it's my privilege to yield one minute to the gentleman from alabama, member of our subcommittee, who does a superb job representing her constituents, mrs. roby. mrs. roby: there is no greater duty that we have as a nation than to care for our veterans. i am so proud to stand in support of this bill funding the critical v.a. needs like medical care, medical health services, suicide prevention, traumatic train injury treatment, homeless services and job training. one way i believe we can greatly improve the service is further develop the patient centered community care program. the waiting list may be really long. in these cases it only makes sense for the v.a. to contract out services through local providers and get the veteran patients the care that they need. and operating better -- and offering better care is a win-win situation. our committee report for this

bill asked the department of veterans affairs to document the successes and the efficiencies of patient-centered community care so we can make the case for allowing more veterans to take advantage of this innovative program. i strongly support this bill. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. cuellar, a strong member of the appropriations committee and a tireless fighter for our military, veterans and their families. mr. cuellar: thank you very much and thank you for yielding to me. first of all, mr. speaker, i want to thank the chairman, my friend from texas, mr. john culberson and i want to thank our ranking member, mr. bishop. these two members are true models of what bipartisan is in congress. they have done a great job to show the american public when

it comes to the veterans and the military, this is not a democrat or republican issue but it's an issue we all work together so i want to thank them. i want to thank them for the work they've done, but in particular i want to thank both gentlemen and the committee about an issue dealing with the backlog that's existed at the v.a. for many years. veterans of all generations deserve a benefit system that's easy to navigate and is responsive to their needs. s of april 26, 2014, the claims totaled 396,000 of those 319,000 have been pending more than 125 days. and this is something that has to be cleared and this is something that the congress is working on. while congress has made work, more has to be done, and we need to make sure that in this appropriation bill that we not only provide the bureaucrats, with all due respect, to money but they have to be provided the oversight, the performance

measures to make sure that if they're given the money, that they get to work and eliminate this backlog that has been just affecting so many veterans in my district and across the state and across the nation. so i want to thank the members of the appropriations for supporting the v.a. benefit management system so old claims that are filed on paper -- on paper can now be converted to digital files to make it more accessible and more searchable. certainly i want to thank them employee ney for v.a. overtime so we can end the backlog by 2015. we have to get this job done. finally, the last point i want to make that's extremely important is to make sure that we get the v.a. and the department of defense to create one electronic health record system. why is it that the department of defense has their own records and why is it that the

v.a., once they retire, that they have a different record? we have to get them together so they can work together to make sure that we're -- we have the right paperwork filed, that we speed up claims and the process between the v.a. and the department of defense work together. o in conclusion, these two gentlemen and the members have been a true model of bipartisan. i think we need to salute them. if we look at the work that mr. bishop and mr. culberson has done here, this is a way we get our job done in congress in a bipartisan way. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the chair: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, can i ask how much time we have remaining? the chair: you have 12 1/2 minutes. mr. culberson: 12 1/2 minutes. mr. chairman, i want to be sure to acknowledge my friend, mr. quayier from laredo -- mr. cuellar from laredo. you remember the appropriations committee in the texas house,

henry. value of the power of the purse and we are indeed using the power of the purse to achieve the goals that mr. cuellar has just mentioned, that's ensuring that the claims backlog is dealt with and that the department of defense and the v.a. have an interoperable medical record. there really is no powerful check and balance that the legislative branch has over the executive than the power of the purse that originates in the house. no money shall be appropriate -- no money may be drawn by the treasury except by appropriations and we are working together arm in arm just as we did in the texas house, mr. cuellar, in support of our veterans and military. we have found great common ground when it comes to law enforcement on the border, something you folks in laredo have a keen interest in safe streets, schools and i want to thank the gentleman from laredo because i appreciate working with you on these issues. mr. cuellar: thank you very much. mr. culberson: we have an extraordinary group of people that have made this possible. the appropriations committee is

blessed to have had professionals here. want to thank donna, our sara. ee clerk, sue, matt, tracy. this has really been a team effort. extraordinary complex piece of legislation to ensure the money that our taxpayers have earned, worked so hard to earned is wisely spent but that the agencies that are the beneficiaries of these hard-earned tax dollars understand that with the receipt of this money comes the obligation to ensure that it is spent wisely and we're going to continue with aggressive oversight. i also want to make sure when it comes to oversight, mr. chairman, mention we are going to have an amendment later today by the congressman from phoenix that deal with this really deeply concerning situation we've seen arise in the phoenix v.a. where you've got people that lost their lives, they weren't able to get

access to the medical care they earned in the phoenix hospital. that is another way to enforce the law. we are going to use the inspector general's office with additional funding to investigate this, find out what's actually going on and in that case, if there's been deliberate or intentional refusal to admit veterans to the v.a. hospital in phoenix there's going to be criminal charges. i certainly -- our heart goes out to those families in phoenix, and we're all committed to make sure that any veteran, any member of the military who has served this country has immediate access to the best medical care in the world. and that's our -- that's why this is such a bipartisan bill, one we approach -- offer the house today arm in arm, both the gentleman from georgia and the people of texas that i represent, we're pleased to present this to the house and encourage members to support it, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the

gentlewoman from florida, ms. two rman schultz -- sorry, minutes. the ranking member of our legislative branch, committee on appropriations, a strong voice for the needs of our nation's veterans with the unique interest in the needs of our female service members and veterans, ms. wasserman schultz of florida. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you very much. thank you, mr. speaker. appreciate the time from the gentleman. first, let me commend and pile on to the commendations that are so deserving by our colleagues and my good friends, chairman culberson and ranking member bishop on crafting a strong and bipartisan bill. see, congress can really work together when we put our heads and our hearts together. let me especially recognize their leadership in including language in the bill which will help many of our nation's veterans transition into careers in civilian health

care. the united states military has the best trained medics and corpsmen in the world. in fact, the data substantiates that special forces medics greatly increases the chance of survival for those that suffer injuries on the battlefield. despite this, they have one of the highest unemployment rates because their expensive medical training in the military doesn't perfectly match qualifications in the civilian world. for example, army specialist nick kolgan, who president obama applauded an american hero for saving the life of a french soldier shot in afghanistan, was somehow considered unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in wyoming. this military construction -veterans affairs appropriations bill can help this. it includes language establishing a pilot program for veteran medics that will expand opportunities for physician assistant training at historically black colleges and universities. this program will leverage the expertise of military medics to strengthen the health care profession and reduce veteran unemployment.

a perfect example of the way veteran medics can to successfully enter into a civilian health care profession is one that served 20 years as combat medic in the middle east and south pacific. from taking blood samples, to pulling out shards of glass, inserting chest tubes, he developed the special skill sets that translated into a successful career when he returned home. the sergeant was able to use his expertise to gain employment as a health tech in my district. but there are too many veterans in my district who are still struggling to translate their expertise and their skills into employment in the civilian work force. we need initiatives that will create more stories, like the sergeant's, and -- mr. bishop: i yield an additional 30 seconds. ms. wasserman schultz: our veterans face the ultimate sacrifice for our country and now we need to do our part by providing them with opportunities to use their skill sets. i'm proud that this bill

includes language that will help to do just that. i urge support of the bill and yield back the balance of my time. i thank the gentlemen for their indulgence. the chair: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: reservice. the chair: reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: yes, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, ms. barbara lee. ms. lee: thank you very much. let me first thank our ranking member for your tireless leadership on behalf of our veterans and as our ranking member on the milcon subcommittee. also, i want to thank our chairman for working with us once again to include language in this bill that would require the v.a. to provide detailed reporting on the unacceptable claims backlog and its efforts to eliminate it. congresswoman jackie speier and myself, for example, have been working with our veterans in

the bay area, and i tell you, some of the stories and some of the cases that we have uncovered, discovered and worked on are heartbreaking. i know members throughout the country have many veterans whose benefits should have been provided, should have been executed many, many years ago. reduce the veterans' benefits claims backlog, this bill fully funds the president's budget request of $173 million for the veterans' benefits management system and provides an additional $20 million to the veterans' benefits administration for records and staffing needs. as a daughter of a veteran and the representative of thousands of veterans in my district, i am deeply troubled to hear that young men and women who serve our country must wait an average, still an average of 255 days while the v.a.

processes their claims. this wait is inexcusable and unacceptable, and we've heard some of the tragic stories that have arisen out of this. finally, mr. chairman, let me just say i'm very pleased that the house is moving quickly and in regular order to consider the military construction and v.a. appropriations bill. it's my hope that this will continue as we move forward in the appropriations process with all of our subcommittees. as a member of the labor, health and human serviceses appropriations subcommittee, it is my hope that our subcommittee, which is the largest share of funding outside of the pentagon, will receive a proportionate and adequate increase in our total allocation. our subcommittee supports programs that impact nearly every household, every community and every congressional district, and so we owe it to our constituents to have fall, open and robust debate as the process moves forward.

so thank you to our chair and to our ranking member. thank you on behalf of all of the veterans in my district. i'll support this bill. it's a step forward in our appropriations process. thank you, mr. bishop. the chair: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: reserves. the chair: reserves. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, i recognize myself for such time as i may consume. the chair: you're recognized. mr. bishop: mr. speaker, this is a good bill. it's a bipartisan bill. it's a bill i think meets the needs of our services for the military construction as well as for our veterans and our military families. as far as our military construction, if our services needed it, it's in the bill. if they didn't need it, it's not in the bill. i'm so happy that we have taken very strong steps to address

the claims backlog at the veterans administration. we've taken strong steps to ensure that we will soon have a coordinated, interoperable electronic health records between the veterans affairs department and the department of defense. and i'm happy that in this bill, together we will assure accountability for our nation's veterans. . mr. speaker, when our men and women took the oath to serve our country as part of our nation's military, they took an oath to serve and defend. and when they completed that service, our nation has, in fact, figuratively written a check assuring that they will have the benefits that they need when they come back following their service. it is o