the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 244. the nays are 163. the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the house will be in order.

he house will be in order. he house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 628, i call up h.r. 3230 with a senate amendments thereto and i do have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill, designate the senate amendments and designate the motion. the clerk: h.r. 3230, an act making continuing appropriations during a government shutdown to provide pay and allow aanses to members

of the reserved -- allowances to members of the reserve components during such period. senate amendments. motion offered by mr. miller of florida. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 628, the motion shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on veterans' affairs. the gentleman from florida, mr. miller, and the gentleman from maine, mr. michaud, will each control 30 minutes. the house will be in order. the chair would ask members to take conversations off the . oor on the majority side he house will be in order.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. miller. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for as much time as he may consume. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the chair asks members to take their conversations off the floor on both the majority side and the minority side. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: mr. speaker, this motion is to help us go to conference and to quickly work out the differences between the house and senate bills that would provide meaningful reform to the department of veterans affairs. this motion also ensures that the house has a position from which to begin negotiations with the senate in a

conference. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida -- the gentleman from florida reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maine is recognized. mr. michaud: thank you, mr. speaker. i claim time in opposition although i am not owe potioned to the motion. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. michaud: thank you, mr. speaker. i support the motion to concur with the senate amendments with a further -- and a further amendment, and i support the motion to go to conference. the crisis within the v.a. is of national interest and must be a congressional priority. america's veterans deserve timely access to the care and benefits they've earned, they fought for us. now is the time we fight for them. but our fight should not be just about the failures in phoenix and across the -- and other facilities. the house has worked hard to develop important and much-needed legislation that addresses other failures within

the v.a. enhance programs to ensure the v.a. is working on behalf of the veterans. i'm disappointed that we have not included in this amendment all relevant bills that have passed the house to ensure that these important matters are included. i'm disappointed that we are not moving forward with a more comprehensive package of reforms. i am also disappointed that the house amendment is limited to two measures which recently passed, h.r. 4031 and h.r. 4810, limiting ourselves to just republican-sponsored legislation no matter how widely supported runs counter to the bipartisan spirit of the committee. republicans and democrats have worked together to improve programs for the v.a. finally, i'm disappointed that h.r. 4399 was not included in the house amendment to h.r. 3230. without it we are failing --

falling short of our responsibility to hold all v.a. executives -- i want to emphasize. all v.a. executives accountable for the grave failures lately. i will work with chairman miller and my senate colleagues to ensure that the final agreement we reach regarding the accountability provisions of h.r. 3230 are as comprehensive and effective as possible. i urge all conferees, once appointed, to adopt a spirit of bipartisanship that is traditional with the house veterans' affairs committee. when our service members do their job, they should be able to get the benefits they deserve. so i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine reserves his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers at this time. mr. michaud: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i'd urge my colleagues to support the motion, to concur

with the senate amendments with a further amendment and the motion to go to conference. let us work together quickly and effectively to begin to address the problems facing the v.a. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine yields back his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back his time. all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 628, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from florida. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the ayes have it. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the for . what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 628, i offer a motion. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mr. miller of florida moves that the house insist on its amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3230 and request a conference with the senate thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from florida is recognized for 60 minutes. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. this motion is to authorize a conference to combine our two bills into something that is focused on the access and accountability crisis that exists at v.a. i move the previous question and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is -- the question is on -- or, without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes have it, the motion is agreed to and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlelady from arizona seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i have a motion to instruct at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: ms. sinema of arizona moves that the managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreing votes of the two houses on the house amendment to the senate amendment to the bill, h.r. 3230, an act to improve the access of veterans to medical

services from the department of veterans affairs and for other purposes, be instructed to -- and for what purpose does, be instructed to recede from the house amendment and concur in the senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 7 of rule 22, the gentlelady from arizona, ms. sinn marks and the gentleman from florida, mr. -- ms. sinema, and the gentleman from florida, mr. miller, will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: thank you, mr. speaker. we offer this motion to instruct because veterans in arizona and across the country need action from congress and from the department of veterans affairs. our motion instructs house conferees to accept the bipartisan bill drafted by senators john mccain and senator bernie sanders and overwhelmingly approved by the senate so that we can immediately send a bill to the president's desk that will provide relief for our nation's veterans. the revelations that veterans at the phoenix v.a. and veterans at other v.a. facilities across the country were placed on secret lists and had to wait months before seeing a doctor are immoral,

irresponsible and unamerican. that veterans who served our country honorably may have died while waiting for care is unconscionable. ongoing audits by the v.a. and the v.a. office of inspector general reveal systemic problems with wait times, with the scheduling process and with the honesty and integrity of the system. those responsible for this disaster must be held accountable. many dedicated v.a. employees, many of them veterans themselves, work tirelessly to provide the best care to our veterans. but they are limited by this broken system which is failing millions of our veterans. the first priority of the v.a. and congress must be to provide our veterans the care they need. this challenge does not need a democratic or a republican response, it demands an american response. and i appreciate the bipartisan leadership and work of chairman miller and ranking member

michaud. in fact, i co-sponsored and voted for both of chairman miller's bills. i supported bipartisan legislation to give the secretary of the v.a. greater ability to hold underperforming senior executives accountable and to fire managers like those in phoenix who manipulated wait times and put veterans at risk. i also supported bipartisan legislation directing the v.a. to use non-v.a. community providers to cut those wait times and increase the capacity and capabilities of the v.a. health care system. in phoenix we've established a working group of community providers, veterans service organizations and the local v.a. to work together to improve access to services. we join with the american legion to establish a veterans crisis center, to provide service to our veterans. and thank you to the american legion for moving so quickly and working with our community. we've also started to fully utilize programs like the patient-centered community care contract, which cuts into wait times for specialty and mental

health care at the phoenix v.a. and a new contract for primary care should be in place by the end of this month. but more action is required. this conference should move quickly to accept the senate language which passed 93-3. in addition to the good provisions in the house bill, to improve access and accountability, the senate language directs the v.a. to hire more doctors and nurses. it invests in 26 new v.a. facilities it. provides for in-state tuition for veterans, regardless of their home concept, a concept that the house overwhelmingly supported earlier this year. it extends post-9/11 g.i. bill education benefits to surviving spouses of veterans who died in the line of duty. it improves access to health care for military sexual assault survivors and it scored as costing less than the house bill. both republicans and democrats want to provide the best possible care for our veterans and their families. and we want to move quickly to

provide this care. and that is why i urge my colleagues to accept this motion to instruct so we can move a bill to the president's desk quickly and we can provide the care and services our veterans have earned and deserve. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from arizona reserves her time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to oppose the motion to instruct. and as our committee works in a bipartisan fashion in an ongoing investigation of the department of veterans affairs, we have continued to work and will continue to work in that bipartisan manner through legislation and aggressive oversifmente veterans are not -- oversight. veterans are not a partisan issue and must remain as such. that's why i'm a little bit confused about the motion to instruct that's been offered by my colleagues across the aisle

today. with a vote that was just held to authorize us to go to conference, it would really not be prudent to prematurely direct our conferees to already recede to the senate position before we even sit down and discuss whatever the matter that we may have with the senate is. the house amendment contains the text of h.r. 4810 and h.r. 4031, which have both passed the house with overwhelming bipartisan majorities, and could be taken up right now, right now by the senate and sent to the president today. since it's clear that the senate doesn't intend to do that, our only option is to go to conference so that both chambers, the house and the senate, can work together to smooth out the differences. i want to caution my colleagues , that what we're dealing with right now is a very technical

provision. a provision that will have a long-lasting effect on v.a. and the manner in which veterans throughout the country receive the needed care that they've earned. the gravity of the issues before us and the differences in how we solve them does require that the house members be given an opportunity to sit down, face the -- face-to-face with our senate colleagues, so that we might make sure that we get this right for our veterans and their families. i agree with a lot of the intent of many of the provisions in the senate legislation, but i do have some concerns. first, as the senate bill is currently written, it provides an expedited appeal right for senior executive service employees at v.a. who are fired by the new removal authority that is authorized by this bill. the house has already passed similar provisions in h.r.

4031, with appeal rights that follow exactly what we, as members of congress, have in regards to our congressional staff. and while i'm open to discussing appeal rights, i am concerned that the senate bill really doesn't change the status quo and could in fact limit the secretary's authority to remove poor-performing employees. in short, without accountability, reform will not be possible. secondly, another major provision of the senate bill would be to provide the authority for v.a. to hire additional doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to provide and improve access. the house committee on veterans' affairs has heard multiple times during the course of our investigation that one issue with v.a.'s current policy on capacity and scheduling is that v.a.'s doctors do not see nearly enough patients in one day

compared to doctors in the private sector. we need to ensure that v.a. health care staff and technology are used efficiently first, then address new hiring. therefore, before congress authorizes new funding for a whole new slough of medical personnel, i believe that v.a. managers must re-examine their current policies and see if they can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel that are already in place. and, finally, the senate billie essentially gives the v.a. a -- bill essentially gives the v.a. a blank check to fund the requirements of this bill. again, in hearing after hearing the committee heard from v.a. about their wasteful spending on i.t. programs, poorly managed contracts, large bonuses, extravagant conferences and a bloated bureaucracy. in short, this is not an agency that congress should be cutting strings -- a

no-strings-attached blank check. it is imperative that congress follow a more methodical yet quick approach to funding new requirements which preserves congress' oversight responsibility to protect taxpayer resources provided on behalf of america's veterans. this is the house position and we ought to fight for it. now, look, i don't doubt that my colleagues' sincerity to quickly and efficiently pass legislation to help address the countless issues that are facing the department of veterans affairs today. however, the best way to do this and to ensure that all of the issues are on the table to work out our differences with the senate is with a conference committee. i urge my colleagues to oppose the motion to instruct and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to my colleague from arizona, mrs. kirkpatrick.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from arizona is recognized for three minutes. mrs. kirkpatrick: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of a motion to i in-- to ininstruct the conferees and ask that the conferees agree to the senate endments to h.r. 3230, the veterans' access to care through choice, accountability and transparency act of 2014. i also ask that the conferees work with urgency to resolve the differences between the house and senate bills. veterans cannot continue to wait, they have already waited too long. we have a duty to do our job and act now. introduced h.r. 4841, the companion legislation to this senate-passed legislation, because it addresses several of the issues that currently plague the v.a. health care system. this bill, sponsored by senators sanders and mccain, is good for veterans in my district, in arizona, and veterans across this country.

it contains provisions that are nearly identical to the house-passed legislation that i supported, including the expansion of non-v.a. care to veterans that cannot get timely appointments and granting the v.a.'s secretary the authority to immediately fire high-level officials for not doing their jobs. h.r. 41 -- 4841 does more, it will provide for expedited hiring of more doctors, nurses and medical staff at understaffed v.a. hospitals and clinics across the country. it will allow the v.a. to lease 26 new medical facilities. it calls for an independent commission that will work to improve appointment scheduling, and it will improve access to health care for military sexual assault survivors. these additional measures are vital to address the access to

care crisis in the v.a. health care system. in addition to addressing the v.a.'s access to care crisis, sanders-mccain ensures that veterans using their post-9/11 g.i. bill benefits receive in-state tuition at public colleges. and universities. and it expends post-9/11 g.i. bill benefits to surviving spouses. comprehensive legislation is needed to help our veterans. i think we can all agree that we must do everything we can to help those who have fought and sacrificed for us. let's work together to get this legislation to the president as soon as possible. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to a veteran colleague from illinois, mr. enyart. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes.

mr. enyart: i thank the gentlelady. mr. speaker, i rise today as a veteran and 35-year military member in support of swift action to remedy our veterans' health care concerns. as former commanding general of the illinois national guard, i've seen firsthand the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make each day. sacrifices that affect not only themselves but their families as well. that's why it didn't come as a surprise to me to see family members standing beside their veterans at the illinois hospital two weeks ago. i stopped by two facilities. one scheduled and one a complete surprise to the staff and administrators. a lesson learned from my days in the military. i wanted to see the true nature of the problem for myself. i didn't want to speak to administrators or to managers. more importantly, i wanted to speak to patients and to front line workers. although most of the veterans i

spoke to received quality care, far too many spoke of burdensome paper work and of delays. although the southern illinois facilities i visited have better than average times, wait times for patients, even one patient on a waiting list is too many. and although most of the staff that report daily to our nation's v.a. facilities are competent, caring individuals, there are some who are not. that's why i support the two main goals of h.r. 3230, the veterans' access to care through choice, accountability and transparency act of 2014. this act will ensure that administrators at v.a. facilities can be removed from power in a timely, swift manner if they're not doing their jobs. it will also provide veterans the opportunity to seek care at private health care filts as needed. -- facilities as needed. join me in support of our

veterans and the dire need to reform our v.a. health care system. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to my colleague on the veterans' affairs committee, ms. titus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from nevada is recognized for two minutes. ms. titus: thank you and thank you for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of the democratic motion to instruct conferees. as a member of thehouse committee on veterans' affairs, i'm working hard to ensure the veterans in las vegas and around the country have access to high-quality health care in a timely fashion. believe the sanders-mccaine conference bill makes -- sanders-mccain conference makes good compromise. this should be passed as soon as possible. both pieces are legislation that i introduced to help veterans and their families. the first is h.r. 3441, the

spouses of heroes education act. this legislation amends the post-9/11 g.i. bill to expand the scholarship by making surviving spouses and member of the armed services eligible for the benefit program. this scholarship provides full in-state tuition, fees and monthly stipend and book allowance for children of service members who died in the line of duty and for the first time the change would extend to spouses the same benefits. the second is h.r. 2527, the national guard military sexual trauma parody act which would include an extended counseling and treatment to service members who suffered sexual trauma while serving on inactive duty training. this legislation recently passed the house with unanimous bipartisan support. other provisions addressing the claims backlog, access to non-v.a. health care and reform of scheduling and personnel problems are also critical to

include. so as the conferees begin their work, it's important that we continue to keep the best interests of our nation's heroes and their families in mind, that we put aside partisan differences and that we work expeditiously to try and solve the problems that we have discovered at the v.a. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlelady has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. castro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. castro: thank you, congresswoman, thank you, mr. speaker. my time is short so i want to cut to the chase. the united states of america should honor its veterans and stand up for them in the same way that they stood up for us during their time of service. mr. speaker, i had a chance, as with many other members of congress, to visit with the acting secretary of the v.a. about a week and a half ago in san antonio and also to meet with some of the veterans who were being served there at audi murphy and these are -- oddie

murphy and these are -- autie murphy and these are people who are very proud people, who don't ask a lot from their country but who are there for care. too often in congress we have been monday morning quarterbacks rather than leaders on this issue. veterans are not a partisan issue, and i agree with that. the problem in washington these days is too often only partisan issues are the ones that get talked about. and we got to take action as soon as we can to support our veterans, to make sure that the v.a. has the funding that it needs to do its job properly. there was a story that the acting secretary told about his visit to phoenix. if i recall it right he said that there was a neurosurgeon in the meeting he had with with staff that mentioned as he was about to go in the room with surgery there was two machines, x-ray machines that were not working in phoenix and those were the conditions that these folks were trying to work on and -- work under and to serve

our veterans. we need to make sure that this is not an excuse by doing right by our veterans. so i support this legislation. i want to commend not only chairman miller on that committee but also the senators, senators mccain and sanders, who've come together to put aside party politics and to also thank my democratic colleagues, beto o'rourke in texas, and many other fine leaders in congress who are working on this issue. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: why in the world was almost $160 billion budget would there be two nonfunctioning machines inside a v.a. medical center? it just goes to show the incapability for the current bureaucracy that exists out there to do what they need to do and i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. garcia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. garcia: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady from arizona. as a nation we have a debt of gratitude to veterans, a debt that will be very difficult to

repay but nonetheless we must make every effort to do so. i spent the last few weeks meeting with veterans in my district and getting firsthand accounts of their experiences at the hospital as well as its supporting clinics in south florida. while secret wait lists and month-long waits are inexcusable, it has become clear that the problems are much deeper than that. so many of my veterans felt their concerns weren't being heard and they were absolutely right. on top of the long waits for appointments for doctors, we heard the need for better transportation, greater technology, reduced wait times and more convenient hours. just this week we held our first group meeting in my district with local veterans as well as the director of the hospital and his administrative

staff. it's an important step to a dialogue that is sorely needed. while we in washington can wait and bigger about this -- bicker about this issue and the ongoing relationship between us and the hospital system and the veterans administration, what is no -- what there is no question about is the time has come to solve this problem. we as a nation must renew our commitment to serve our veterans with the same dignity and respect with which they served us. it is the absolute least we can do. by instructing house conferees to accept the mccain-sanders compromise, we can quickly get the bill to the president and get on with the business of ensuring every veteran gets the care and need we deserve. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i think what's very curious is that if people would look at

the bill that they're referring to today that 80% of the text in that bill is already house-passed language. the senate could pass that -- could have passed that some time ago and they have refused to do so. now all of a sudden, because it's wrapped up with a tiny little bow, it is the perfect piece of legislation. and i don't believe that my colleagues are trying to imply that the bickering that takes place is not supporting the veterans. the house committee on veterans' affairs has held 90 hearings in the 113th congress. over 50 of those are oversight hearings. the senate has only held six oversight hearings. the house has been doing their job and has been doing it in a bipartisan fashion. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. miller, just know that

folks on both sides of the aisle are very, very grateful for his leadership. in particular, the research that was done to uncover the tragedy that occurred at the phoenix v.a. in my district. so know that folks on both sides of the aisle here in the house are very, very grateful for the bipartisan nature in which the veterans' committee has conducted its affairs during his tenure and we appreciate his leadership. mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to my colleague who serve on the veterans' affairs committee, mr. takano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. takano: i thank the gentlelady from arizona. mr. speaker, i, too, want to give praise to the gentleman from florida, chairman miller, for the way in which he has conducted the hearings and conducted the business of the veterans' affairs committee. in no way do we wish to imply that the house has not done its due diligence. but as my colleagues mentioned, the motion before us to instruct the house conferees to accept the bipartisan mccain-sanders bill, i want to

emphasize the bipartisan bill that passed the senate by 93 votes with -- this would allow veterans to seek care outside the v.a. health care system if they face long wait times or if they live far from a v.a. medical facility. it also allows the v.a. to hire more doctors and nurses and authorizes leases for 26 new major v.a. facilities which i do not believe the house language contains. it improves access to health care for military sexual assault providers. finally, it includes several nonhealth-related provisions such as in-state tuitions. this was a provision that was authored by my colleague, mr. miller. the revelation that numerous v.a. facilities manipulated data with regard to wait times is disturbing. it's more disturbing that those practices may have resulted in the deaths of dozens of our veterans. our veterans have sacrificed so much and we owe it to them to make sure they receive the best possible care from a system

that is accountable and transparent. i urge my colleagues to support the motion to instruct conferees, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: i think it's important to remind the members here on the floor that h.r. 357, the in-state tuition and bonus elimination bill passed the house by 390-0. h.r. 4031, the v.a. accountability bill, passed this house in a wide bipartisan fashion. 390-33. h.r. 4810, the access to care bill, passed this house unanimously 400 -- we're hearing about 93-3. how about 426-0? why don't we fight for what the house believes in once in a while around here instead of giving up to the senate? h.r. 3521, the v.a. clinics, 27 clinics are authorized in our bill. that was a 347-1 vote. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to my colleague who serves on the veterans' affairs committee, the ranking member on the

health subcommittee, ms. brownley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. brownley: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you to the gentlelady from arizona. i rise to support the motion to instruct conferees, and i grew up in a military home. i personally understand the sacrifices our service members and their families make in service to our nation. my father was the proudest marine. my brother was a p-3 pilot for 20 years in the navy, and my uncle served in both world war ii and vietnam. when i was elected to congress, i asked to serve on the house veterans' affairs committee to represent our future veterans at naval base ventura county and throughout our country, to represent our current veterans that live in ventura county and throughout the country and to represent our military families who also commit to serve our nation. one of the greatest pleasures of working on the veterans' affairs committee is addressing

the issues at hand in a bipartisan way, and i want to thank the chairman, chairman miller for his leadership and ranking member michaud, because this committee has remained in a bipartisan mode to address these issues. every week we discuss innovative ways to improve access to good-paying jobs, how to strengthen education opportunities for our veterans, to reduce wait times for critical and fundamental health care and much, much more. i was deeply honored when my colleagues elected me to serve as the ranking member of the subcommittee on health to ensure our veterans' health needs are properly addressed, including improving access to traditional and mental health care. as my colleagues know, there is a lot of improve that needs to take place at the v.a. we have a sacred responsibility to those who serve our country in uniform.

just as the military leaves no one behind on the battlefield, we must leave no veteran behind when they come home. the motion to instruct is the best path to completing a conference agreement to fix the long-term problems at the v.a. let's ensure we are serving our veterans as well as they have served us. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: i thank the speaker. i would remind my fellow colleagues in the chamber today, there are 12 pieces of legislation that have passed our committee and this full house that await action in the united states senate and they continue to languish. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from arizona. >> mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to my colleague who serves on the veterans' affairs committee, ms. brown of florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. brown: thank you. i am reminded of the words of the first president of the

united states, george washington, whose words are worth repeating at this time. the willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justifiable, shall be directly proportionate as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars are treated and appreciated by their country. i want to thank the chairman for his leadership and those 90 hearings, i was at most of them. i really do know that the house have done their work -- it was here in washington, or in the field and around the country, i am the senior member on the committee. having served on the committee for over 22 years. i have to remind the committee that -- and this house that we -- the problems with the veterans did not start today. it's long-term problems. and i am pleased of the fact

that i was on the committee when we passed the largest v.a. budget in the history of the united states. in addition to that, forward budgeting which i thought would never happen, but the veterans are not caught up with the whims of the house not passing this appropriation or not passing this authorization. so we know today what it is, what kind of veterans benefits that we are going to get. and many other veterans, in fact over 99% of them, say they are very satisfied with the system. they love their v.a. system. but the key is that there are some problems and we need to rk in a bipartisan and bicameral with the senate to make sure that we address these challenges. i really do believe to whom god has given much, much is

expected. we have to make sure that the veterans get the care that we have promised them. so with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlewoman from arizona reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: i thank the speaker. i would remind my friends here that the bhisms -- whims of the congress to not pass appropriation bills blows very strong over on the senate side because the house passes its military construction, v.a. bill year in and year out. it was the senate that chose not to pass any appropriation bills last year. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from arizona. ms. sinema: mr. speaker, i believe i may have an additional speaker. mr. speaker, how much time do i have? the speaker pro tempore: 9 1/2 minutes. ms. sinema: mr. mailer, aim red

ready to close. mr. miller: i thank all of the members who have come to speak on this very important matter. this should be a bipartisan matter and it has been in our committee and certainly in this entire house. i'm still wondering why in the world we would just now vote to go to conference with the senate on 80% of the bills that have already passed the house, and then we would turn around and have a motion to instruct the conferees to just forget what the house said. take up the senate bill. doesn't make sense that we would do that in a normal course of legislative business. this is the way the process works. the house, the senate get together, we work out the issues that concern all of us. -- i d ask the minority would request the minority to

not use this motion to instruct in one single political ad. i hope that i don't see this vote used in any political ads because our committee does things in a bipartisan fashion. congressman michaud and i have worked together diligently to keep the vote from becoming partisan. i cannot see any other reason to have the vote today on the motion to instruct conferees to accept the senate-passed legislation after we have done the same thing in the house, passed the same bills in the house that they could take up on our side, yet we are going to see to the senate position. -- cede to the senate position. with that i urge defeat of the motion to instruct, yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona.

ms. sinema: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i want to thank chairman miller and ranking member michaud for their tremendous leadership and the work they have done over the years to provide veterans with the best possible care, holding multiple hearings and passing a multitude of bipartisan bills. by working together i know that we can address this crisis and create a v.a. system that our veterans deserve. i urge our colleagues to support this motion to instruct so we get a bill to the president's desk quickly. this is not the end of our work, but it is an important step forward to meet the needs of our veterans. and i trust that chairman miller, ranking member michaud, and the members of the conference committee will represent the interests of veterans very well in our conference committee. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the time for debate has expired. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion offered by the the gentlewoman from arizona. so many as are in favor say aye.

-- by the gentlewoman from arizona. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. ms. brown: mr. chairman, i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. brown: i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman requests the yeas and nays. ms. brown: yes, sir. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes y electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 198. the nays are 220. the motion is not adopted. without objection, the the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. without objection, the chair appoints the following conferees n h.r. 3230. the clerk: senate amendment and modifications committed to conference. messrs. miller of florida, lamborn, roe of tennessee, benishek, coffman, mr. michaud, ms. brown of florida, mr. takano, ms. brownley of california, kirkpatrick, and mr. walz. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. frelinghuysen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include

extraneous material on h.r. 4870 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. that motion is adopted. pursuant to house resolution 628 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 4870. the chair appoints the gentleman from new york, mr. collins, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4870,

which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. frelinghuysen, and the gentleman from indiana, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman, as we begin consideration of this important legislation -- the chair: the house is not in order. he house will come to order. mr. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman, as we begin consideration of this important legislation, all of us in this chamber want to pay tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, all volunteers. they deserve our heartfelt thanks for their incredible service and sacrifices and that

of their families. in everything we do over the next few days should be dedicated to them. my colleagues, fiscal year 2015 department of defense appropriations bill reported out unanimously by the full committee on june 10. this recommendation is the product of countless staff hours, 10 official briefings, and 13 hearings. reducing risk for our war fighters. these hearings was exclusively dedicated to taking testimony from members of the house on their views, opinions and priorities for this year's defense appropriations bill. i want to thank those members who took time to inform and educate the committee as well as other members who made specific requests. at the onset, i'd like to thank chairman hahl rogers and

ranking member -- hal rogers and ranking member lowey for their support of our committee's work. as they know, this bill is a bipartisan and cooperative effort for which i thank my visclosky. mr. thanks to the members and our incredible staff. the base funding is $491 billion which is $2 million above the president's request and $4.1 billion above last year's enacted level. as many members are aware, the committee has not yet received the president's recommendation for the overseas contingency operation. the o.c.o. budget, as it's known. so we're forced to include a $79.4 billion placeholder in our legislation. our committee operates in a completely transparent and accountable manner, so clearly this is not the way we wanted

to proceed to the floor, with no details, no context, no facts for those accounts. we press the administration at every opportunity to get us the o.c.o. plan. the administration has told us for months it is finalizing its plans, the enduring u.s. presence in afghanistan, which will have a serious impact on the size of that funding request. well, three weeks ago, the president announced his plans for a u.s. troop level in afghanistan beyond this year. the army and marine have already closed down bases and removed tons of equipment. still, we have no request and are forced to debate a placeholder of nearly $80 billion. while the afghan presidential elections are still unsettled, the leading candidate supports the bilateral security agreement, supposedly the anchor for this funding request. so what's the holdup? we need to get on with it.

and i have to say that many people find it just a bit bizarre that the administration has proclaimed its opposition to the bill yesterday when they have failed to do their job and lay out their game plan for overseas operations. but whatever the recommendations, we will closely examine the request because we still have troops and civilians on the ground, and no matter the number, they need to be protected. of course, we'll also consider the war and conflict in iraq, the continuing disintegration of syria, the aggressiveness of russia and eastern europe and china and the pacific, the growing influence of iran, increased terrorist attacks around the globe, especially in africa. so while the administration feels the pending o.c.o. request will have a great deal to deal with our presence in afghanistan, in reality the request will have a great deal

with our enduring role to protect our americans, our homeland for the growing risk of threats. the committee faced many challenges in crafting this year's defense bill, but we've held firm to two guiding principles. ensuring that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to defend our nation and support their families and secondly, ensuring that the department of defense and our intelligence community have the resources they need to carry out their mission in the most efficient and effective manner. our goal throughout this bill is to support our war fighters now and in the future whenever the next crisis arises. at the same time, our committee clearly recognizes the nation's debt crisis, and we found areas in programs where reductions were possible without adverse impact. finally, it's important to note that we make every dollar count

without harming readiness or increasing risk incurred by our war fighters. the bill before us attempts to meet these responsibilities with current fiscal restraints. while leaving no question for our allies and adversaries about our will and our ability to defend ourselves and our interests around the world. america must continue to lead, and this bipartisan bill enables that. let me highlight just a few items briefly, included in this fiscal year defense appropriation request. an additional $1.2 billion to fill readiness shortfalls. $530 until to fully authorize the 1.8% -- $530 million to fully authorize the 1.8% pay raise. and to refuel the u.s.s. george washington, a vital platform. $5.8 billion for a total of 38 jount strike fighters. buy 12 additional attack

growlers. $120 million to upgrade the m-1 abrams tanks. $350 million for the very important israeli cooperative program. an additional $39 million for suicide prevention activities. $19 million of it targeted specifically at our special forces. these are but a few examples of our commitment to the u.s. -- to u.s. military dominance across the air, land and sea. our commitment to our allies and partners, our commitment to our service members, all volunteers, and their families. , as airman, i understand all of us do, are weary about 13 years of war. the speculation that al qaeda and others have -- the american people must understand the reality that terrorism is actually spreading worldwide. yes, our enemies have sustained

serious damage, inflicted by the most skillful and powerful military and intelligence organization on the globe, but in many cases these enemies have adopted and grown to become even more dangerous. we are witnessing an alarming collapse in iraq. the central government now controls less than half of its sovereign territory as it reels before a full-blown insurgencey. the concept of an autonomous jihadist state or caliphate determined to attack the west is an unacceptable development that demands a response. we pivot elsewhere at our own peril. national defense is the priority job of the federal government. our constitution grants this congress a full range of authorities for establishing the defense of our nation. our task in this house is to ensure that our military is ready to respond when the commander in chief calls. this legislation moves us towards a state of current and

future military readiness that will protect america, and i urge its passage. thank you, mr. chairman, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. mr. visclosky: i appreciate the recognition, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. visclosky: i would like to begin by expressing my appreciation as well to the -- to chairman frelinghuysen on the collegial and transparent manner in which he crafted h.r. 4870, the fiscal year 2015 defense appropriations act. i also want to express my sincere appreciation for the efforts of chairman hal rogers and ranking member nita lowey and all of the members of the defense subcommittee. also, as i think all of my colleagues know, this bill could not have been written without the dedication, long hours, discerning and thoughtful input for our committee staff and our

associate and personal staffs. i want to thank each one of them. i would like to begin by saying a few words about the overseas contingency operations title that the chairman referred to. the committee has been placed in a very difficult position of having to provide $79.4 billion as a placeholder. recent decisions on the post-2014 troop levels in afghanistan clear up a major policy issue that held back a detailed budget request. unfortunately, the clarity gained was quickly muddled by the proposed $5 billion counterterrorism partnership act, and the $1 billion a european reassurance initiative. at a time when many in congress are rightfully looking to limit what is an eligible expense in o.c.o. and shift activities to the base budget, these new proposals further complicate the issue. clarity must be brought to the opaque nature of o.c.o., and i look forward to the debate on this during the consideration

of amendments. i support the bill we are marking up today and believe it provides for our national security and the protection of u.s. interests at home and abroad. simply, the bill provides stability for our military personnel, maintains readiness and preserves the industrial base. i am pleased by the subcommittee's continued efforts on sexual assault prevention and response. specifically, the bill fully funds the budget request for the special victims, continuing last year's initiative. the bill increases funding relative to the president's budget request for traumatic brain injury and psychological health research, suicide prevention and outreach programs and several other invaluable medical programs. further, the bill and report carries strong language aimed at increasing cooperation between the departments of defense and veterans administration and their ongoing efforts to develop interoperable electronic health records. specific to readiness, the bill includes an increase of $1

billion to fill gaps in key programs to prepare our troops, including $135 million for the army reserve and army national guard. the bill makes investments in programs that are vital to the rebuilding and resetting of the force after 13 years of conflict. in particular, it increases funding by $720 million for facilities sustainment and modernization and provides each military service for funding for maintenance. i especially appreciate the chairman's focus on encouraging d.o.d. to meet the f.y. 2017 adline for achieving fully audible financial statements. and it provides $8 million above the request for the comptroller's office to improve business and financial systems throughout the department. continuing problems at d.o.d.'s strategic forces are also addressed in the bill and funding is provided to address issues directly impacting intercontinental ballistic missile crews.

with regards to the industrial base, i was dismayed that in the fiscal year 2015 budget request, the administration proposed the elimination of long-standing provisions that contracts buy america requirements and support domestic manufacturing. i am pleased to note that the committee chose to reject the administration's inexplicable proposals to jettison these buy america proposals. the bill can name several other provisions and initiatives aimed at securing our industrial base, including $220 million to establish a program for the domestic development of the next generation liquid fueled rocket engine. hopefully this program will fill a troubling void in the u.s. space launch industry. one other area of the bill i'd like to highlight is the funding increase for the humanitarian mind action program. albeit a small program, i believe its mission of immense value. all too often, innocent

civilians are the victims of explosive remnants of war. it is only right to share our military's expertise with host nations under the disposal, demilitarization of explosive ordnance. i thank the chairman in particular for his special efforts in this area. however, i would point out that there are certain aspects of the bill that give me pause. fundamentally, these concerns have little to do with the detailed work of the subcommittee which i believe did its very best under the constraints under which it operated. rather, the concerns stem from congress' continued failure to confront our long-term fiscal challenges. in the fiscal year 2015 budget request, the department of defense proposed some significant initiatives, including military pay adjustments, restructuring tricare and the retirement of several weapon systems, such as the a-10 and the kiowa warrior, in order to stay under the fiscal year 2015 budget cap, provide for future flexibility

and to meet national security strategy. having said this, one could easily point out that the administration then undercut its own efforts by planning for higher spending in fiscal years 2016 through 2019, and by submitting the disingenuously named opportunity, growth and security initiative. and subsequently, also submitting under funded priority lists. regardless, a number of the proposals the department put forth for fiscal year 2015 do possess merit. with few exceptions these proposals have gained no traction in congress. most were excluded or had language prohibiting or postponing their start in the recently passed national defense authorization act. i do not suggest that the administration is uniformerly correct, nor do i dismiss the result in impacts of many of these initiatives. but the alternative of staying the course and hoping for some relief in fiscal year 2016 is

very wishful thinking. the sooner congress wishes a consensus required to make the difficult decisiones that are essential to deal with the reality of finite resources the better we can provide for our nation's defense. in closing, i again want to reiterate my thanks to the chairman. he and his staff have ensured that the defense subcommittee ave continued the tradition of dealing clab are atively and effectively -- collaboratively and effectively. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: i'm pleased to yield five minutes to the chairman of the appropriations, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, i urge our colleagues to support this defense spending bill for 2015. this bipartisan legislation provides