demonize donald trump. wouldn't let conservatives have c fours. and the justice department said it isn't an offense. harry reid goes on the senate house will be in order. pursuant to clause 8 of rule >> we are leaving here going live to the u.s. house for debate on veterans' bills. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 609. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 609, a bill to

designate the department of veterans affairs health care center and center township county, pennsylvania, as the abie abraham v.a. clinic. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. county, walz, ea control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and add material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roe: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise in support of h.r. 609, a bill to name the department of veterans affairs health care center in center township, butler county, pennsylvania, the abie abraham v.a. clinic. this bill is responserd by my friend mike kelly from pennsylvania, and i'm grateful

for him in honoring an american hero. master sergeant abraham lived a truly remarkable live. as a teenager, he set a world record for tree setting. a pastime in those days. sitting in a tree for 3 1/2 months according to his obituary. at the age of 19 he enkhrised in the united states navy, and two -- enlisted in the united states navy and two years later united states army. over the course of a 30-year career, he served in the philippines, china, germany and panama and earned a number of accolades, including the purple heart and survived, mr. speaker, the baton death march and for 3 1/2 years in captivity being beaten, shot and starved. following his rescue, instead of returning immediately to the united states, master sergeant abraham agreed to stay behind to recover the remains of his

fallen comrades and ensure they received the recognition they were certainly due. following his service, urge sergeant abraham devoted his time caring for his fellow brothers and sisters in arms as a life-long member of several veteran service organizations and as a volunteer at the v.a. butler health care center where he spent a total of almost 40,000 hours over the course of 23 years tending to the veteran patients there. in his spare time, he authored two books, made personal -- made public appearances at schools and community centers and participated in documentary films that have aired on the discovery and history channel. and in addition to all of that, he was also a lightweight boxing champion and trainor. master sergeant abraham most certainly lived a full and interesting life characterized both service in and out of uniform. given that, it is only fitting and appropriate that we honor

him by naming the v.a. health care center in butler county, pennsylvania, after him. this legislation satisfies all the committee's naming criteria and is supported by the pennsylvania delegation as well as many v.s.o.'s. i want to thank congressman mike kelly for introducing this bill and i urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'd first like to thank the chairman for bringing h.r. 609 to the floor, and a very special thank you to the gentleman from pennsylvania for the honor and privilege to learn about this great american. it's the story you heard a little bit of it and you'll hear more from mr. kelly, it's sometimes unimaginable that such as mr. abraham walked amongst us and i oftentimes hear that people disparage when

congress does naming bills. if everyone was ever deserving of having a v.a. center named after them and the importance of attaching that name name and for the history that comes after, this is the gentleman. you'll hear more of this, but he was born in pennsylvania. the things stories keep coming up and up. apparently gifted ademically, of course a boxer and this is a point of personal privilege, he was a regimental sergeant major for a time when he was in his serve servais. served in the philippines, ina, panama and survived the bataan death march. hearing those survived, unimaginable horrors they survived and then imagine after being rescued and being liberated and having a chance to come home, mr. abraham made sure all of his comrades came home. he's a recipient of the purple heart, life-long member of the v.f.w., the purple heart, the disabled veterans and the

american defenders of baton. but i think the chairman brought up something truly remarkable. giving 40,000 of volunteer service to his fellow veterans. this nation could ask no more of a single person and, mr. rain are a ham continued to give. to -- mr. abraham continued to give. to the gentleman from pennsylvania, the people of pennsylvania were represented well by mr. abraham and it's an honor and privilege to support this piece of legislation. i ask my colleagues to read the bio of this great american. i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe. mr. roe: i thank you, mr. speaker. it's now my privilege to recognize my friend and colleague from pennsylvania, ike kelly, for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kelly: thank you, mr. speaker. i brought with me a picture of sergeant abraham. now, i never knew him when he looked like this. i knew him when he was much

you and i got to tell you would have never known what he had gone through that. you ask them why did you do it, they said it wasn't an option. it wasn't an option. we had to do it. there are certain times in our history that people rise up and they do things incredible. ordinary people doing extraordinary things. and just being around mr. abraham for a long time -- i never called him abie. i always called him sergeant or mr. abraham. i was always so impressed. it is such an honor and privilege to be able to stand here in the people's house to talk about a true american hero. somebody who was not just a patriot but was compassionate. somebody who never stopped serving his country in so many different ways. and when i first read the ghost didn't n, i said, i

know about these things. he said, don't wore about it. we had to do it. to survive the bataaan death march, to be in a japanese prison camp for 3 1/2 years, to be stabbed, to be shot, to be beaten, to survive malaria and starvation. i said, did you ever think about trying to get away? he said, mike, i did. but here was the thing. if one of us were toess cape, the japanese -- to escape, the japanese soldiers would shoot 10 of the prisoners that were still in camp so we didn't want to do that to any of our colleagues. he said, i watched them die. we tried to get them through the darkest times that we could. i said, how did you endure? my faith. my faith. that's how we all get through the darkest time, on both knees, believing god is there for us no matter what. when you read his books and understand who this man was, and i think the second book was one that's incredible. let me read this because i just

thought if there was anything anybody did out of love it was mr. abraham. in his second book it was, o, god, where are you? i want you to think of this as a prisoner of war, who survived the bataan death march, who watched his colleagues kill along the way and if they fell down they got shot and towards the end they were put into open graves and they were told to go ahead and cover the graves. he refused to do it. he said, they're still moving. and so we come to today and think about what is it we as americans with do? what is it we can do? what is in our hearts? what is in our memory? what about all of those who came before us and what they went through? mr. abraham as a child went to school barefooted. his family didn't have money to buy him chutes but he had a love for our nation, he had a love for his fellow man, a love for veterans that was just

incredible. imagine being in that prison camp and not knowing what was going on in the outside world and i asked hi what did you do? how did you keep those spirits up? i made up stories. i would tell them i just heard there was a rumor going through that our armies are close and they are going to rescue us. think about that. they were clinging to a madeup story from this man because he knew that's how he would keep their spirits up. in the darkest of times. he smiled. i said it's incredible. sometimes you have to do things different to get people's spirits up. i want you to fast forward who this man was. i watched him with cane as he got into his later years in his 80's, in his 90's, going to butler's v.a. center every single day to help fellow veterans. his sole purpose in life was to help other american citizens, to help other veterans, to bring a little light into their life, to bring a little

happiness into their life. 40,000 hours of service in the v.a. center. he could have spent his time doing other things. but he didn't. he chose to stay with those he loved. he chose to serve those he loved. he chose to continue to serve, even his retirement, this nation he loved so much. i can't tell you how much it means to be able to look at that new health center going up and knowing, knowing that mr. raham, from his new post, is looking down and is so thankful to a grateful nation that we are taking time to take care of those who've given everything they can to make sure our nation remains free. this is an incredible time in our history. this has nothing to do with parties. this has nothing to do with who you vote for. it has to do with who we are.

the fact that every single one would as a role, and i just ask people, look into abie abraham. go online. go and see what sergeant abraham did and say, if i could just be a little bit like abie abraham, the world would be a better place. and for all of those who died in the service of our country, they will rest easier. mr. chairman, i thank you so much. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. roe reserves. mr. walz. mr. walz: we're prepared to close with no more speakers. i want to thank the gentleman again for bringing this to our attention, honoring sergeant abraham's life and, again, i think there is a little lesson here. how we conduct ourselves reflects on the sacrifice people like mr. abraham gave and the gentleman has done so honorably and nobly. i encourage my colleagues to support h.r. 609, and i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. roe. mr. roe: i thank you, mr. speaker.

i think this is an amazing story that mr. kelly has shared before us. i had a history professor in the ge that survived bataan death march and spent 3 1/2 years -- i wonder if these two men knew each other. he, too, was a remarkable man. i can think of no honor than to honor his memory by renaming this medical center. i ask that all members support this legislation. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 609. hose in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 512.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the -- does the gentleman wish to pass the bill as amended? mr. roe: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 512, a bill to title 38, united states code, to permit veterans to grant access to their records in the databases of the veterans benefits administration to certain designated congressional employees, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and add extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roe: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thanks, mr. speaker. i rise today and urge all members to support h.r. 512, as amended, the wingman act. first, i want to say a special thanks to our colleagues, congressman yoho and davis, for

introducing the wingman act. this bill will help members cut through the red tape an help constituents who have applied for benefits from v.a., and isn't that why we're here, to help our constituents? the problem is when a constituent calls one of our offices to ask about the status of a claim for benefits, the only thing we can do is write v.a. and wait for the v.a. to respond. i know i get very frustrated, and i'm sure my colleagues do as well, how long it takes for v.a. to get back to us. the wingman act provides a simple solution. the bill allows designated permanent full-time congressional staffers to long up the status of the claim on v.a.'s database, but only if the veteran has given the staffer permission. staffers would have read-only access to v.a. databases, meaning they won't be able to add or remove any information. passing h.r. 512, as amended, would allow members to help constituents who simply want to understand the status of their claim for benefits.

i urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 512, as amended, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the chair recognizes mr. walz. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 512, as amended, the wingman act. i, too, would like to thank the gentleman from florida for trying to do all they can to speed constituent services to their folks, and this legislation gives certain designated congressional office caseworkers access to veteran's electronic disability benefits. it has broad support in this house, both democrat and republican. the bill would allow designated congressional employees to have read-only access to the v.b.a. administration database to look up veteran's record. congressional staff would not be able to add or remove anything from the record but simply check on the status of a veteran's claim and check that evidence and documentation are submitted. the reason this is so important, a veteran at times will wait months only to be

told the piece of document has been missing that could have been added months before. it just makes sense. it tracks the system. it ensures that the veteran is getting the fastest best possible claim adjudication. . there are privacy safeguards in the bill. also, the bill requires congressional employees designated for this access must be full-time employees. veteran service organizations have suggested that the v.a. should put a tracking system in place to ensure the employees are helping constituents from their congressional district and the staff be found accountable if they abuse this authority. i support that suggestion. in my district, service organizations have asked to have read-only access so they can assist veterans. i would like to work with chairman roe. there is a broad bipartisan

support for giving congressional staff access to veterans' records to help the veteran. often it takes too long to find find e out the status of a veteran's claim. allowing the staff to do the checking themselves seems like a simple step in the right direction. last congress, similar legislation to h.r. 512 unanimously passed this house. i urge my colleagues to support it today. mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: mr. waleds reserves his time. mr. roe. mr. roe: i ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis, control the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bilirakis is recognized. mr. bilirakis: i would like to yield two minutes to mr. -- the gentleman from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bergman: i rise in support

of h.r. 512 the wingman act. i'm honored to represent the 1st district of michigan, which as a state, has a higher than average percentage of veterans and the first district has doubled the percentage of veterans than the rest of the state. to advocate for these fine men and women who served so honorably, we have the absolute imperative to make sure that they get the help that they need to cut through the bureaucratic red tape at agencies such as the department of veterans affairs. i have been serving in congress for just over a month now and already my office has been flooded with requests from veterans seeking aid in navigating the benefits claims process. unfortunately, the v.a. is notoriously plagued by a culture of complacency and inefficiency.

even something as simple of checking the statistics tuesday of a veteran's claim means that congressional staffers have to circle around numerous times with v.a. employees before being able to provide the veterans in the 1st district with an accurate update. as a rett van, i know that time is valuable to our veterans. we have to introduce more efficiency and transparency into the benefit claims process. h.r. 512 is designed to cut out the middle step. the wingman act provides congressional offices with read-only access to veterans' records within the veterans benefits administration. this commonsense bill allows our veterans quicker access to simple status inquiries and provides greater transparency for congressional offices and allows the v.a. employ quees

more time to work on completing these claims. i thank you. i thank you for your attention. i yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. bilirakis reserves. mr. walz. mr. walz: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. walz: i yield three minutes ' a member of the veterans committee, the gentleman from from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: i thank my good friend, ranking member of the veterans affairs committee and mr. walz for allowing me to speak in support of h.r. 512, the wingman act. i rise today in support of h.r. 512 introduced by my colleague, mr. yoho from florida, which would allow veterans to grant

congressional offices, staff access to their records within the v.b.a. mr. speaker, there are no veterans benefits administration personnel in the northern march and yass. the they have no one to deal with but for the very occasional of the one six-hour visit from v.b.a. staff from guam or hawaii and usually comes once every six months. staff requests for information on behalf of the veterans sometimes takes months to receive a reply. this bipartisan would enable the permitted staff to obtain the information directly from v.b.a. data bases. this will be meaningful to veterans in my district who face challenges. you see, mr. speaker, i

represent three islands and i for with social security social security, we are allowed to go and take data information, application forms, bring them to the main island where we wait in line like everyone else and submit the applications on behalf of the constituents we serve. having separate islands, having a post office on one island and no post office in another island, so it's a little complicated and difficult. and so, can you just imagine for the veteran who needs access to his v.b.a. records or access to his veterans health administration ser son pell, because -- personnel, because we only have one in the northern marianas.

and our veterans deserve this. and so our veterans responded to defend this country. we must in return do on everything we can to serve them in the same manner. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. walz: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. bilirakis. mr. bilirakis: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. yoho, good friend and strong advocate for our veterans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. yoho: i want to thank you for the work you guys have done and congratulate chairman roe for taking over the v.a. committee and thank the committee staff for their diligence and help on this piece of legislation as well as the colleagues of this bill, representative davis, kirsten sinema.

the committee unanimously in the house on bipartisan support of the members of this chamber. while it was disappointing we were unable to cross the finish line in the senate, i'm confident that this year, with 17 members in the house and seven members in the house, i'm encouraged and my hope is we will see it pass the senate this congress and signed into law by the president. congressional constituent advocates work diligently in our district offices to help veterans navigate the v.a. appeals system but they are hampered to wait weeks, months and sometimes years to receive the documents from the v.a. to help the veteran reach a favorable resolution. wingman will cut out the middle man and providing direct access to the files that our office has permission to obtain.

advocates must have a privacy release form by the constituent. this doesn't change. what changes is the wait time our offices, veterans and their families must endure while the v.a. sends us the appropriate documents. wingman will help veterans like james from my district who had eight but related claims filed and didn't know which files were attached to which claims, when they were received and which department they were referred to or could have filed one single claim. had my staff had access to the files, they would have been able to update his claims without having to go on a wild goose chase for the documents within the v.a. system. getting his case on track could have happened in a matter of days rather than years. he is more than deserving of this especially since some of his claims are over

six-year-old. another constituent lost her husband. the v.a. was mailing all correspondence to his widow to an incorrect address and resulted in an overpayment and was not aware of it. damaged an's account her account and new spouse's tax return being confiscated. with access to the system's files, our office would have had a clear picture of the time line of events. instead our staff had to hunt down the relevant files from numerous branches and resemble them like a significancesaw puzztl. when i hear stories, these people paid the price for their service and our country owes them a debt. as a country, we can do better by our veterans and families. wingman will not get rid of the

backlog or solve all the problems. let's put the words customer service in our government. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back. mr. bilirakis: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. walz. mr. walz: it's a privilege for me to yield three minutes to the the gentlewoman from hawaii and iraq, an of the war in ms. gabbard for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mr. gabbard: one of the things i appreciate most about the job to represent hawaii's 2nd district is to be able to respond to and provide assistance to the hundreds of veterans from across my state that contact our office every single year. they call to ask for help with things like compensation and pension issues, health care, mileage reimbursement, especially for our veterans that living on the neighboring islands, education, home loan

benefits and more. this is a responsibility as a member of congress and as a fellow veteran that i take very seriously. if a veteran contacts my office, they are required to go through the congressional lie aceon at the v.a. we try to get answers for them on things they haven't been able to get answers on or heard back on. too often we are faced with a bureaucratic layers within the v.a. and slow turnaround that leaves congressional staff jumping through hoops to get critical information on behalf families. and their at times, we have waited for months to get answers from the v.a. on behalf of the hawaii veteran for something that should be a quick turnaround like a status update. this is unacceptable and i'm proud to co-sponsor the wingman act, legislation introduced by

ted yoho of florida which allows us to cut through the red tape and ensure our case workers can provide quicker more efficient more efficient and effective service to our veterans. it would help streamline the claims process by allowing congressional offices on behalf of our veteran constituents to directly access the status of pending claims, waiting decisions, statement of the case and so on. i urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation so all of us can better serve our veterans who sacrifice so much for our veterans and community. i yield back. mr. walz: we have no further speakers and i urge support of h.r. 512 and we yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. bilirakis. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. once again, i encourage all members to support this legislation and i want to tell you that representative yoho -- his outstanding work and we had

a discussion on this particular issue, he came up with the suggestion and he is falling through with it. it's a good piece of legislation and get it through the senate this time. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 512 as amended. those in favor say aye. . r. bilirakis: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. bilirakis: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 244 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: a bill to encourage effective investments to recrew

the employ and who served in the military with annual presidential awards to private sector employers recognizing such efforts and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. bilirakis: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous materials. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: thank you. h.r. 244 as amended would require the department of labor establish a higher vets medallion program to award employers with higher vets medallion for their efforts to

recruit, employ and train veterans as well as providing charitable services to veterans and their local communities. while we still have work to do, it's important to note that the veteran unemployment rate has continued to decrease over recent years and as of last month, was at a low rate of 4.5%. we have more work to do. while many factors have led to the continued reduction of the unemployment rate for the men and women who have served our nation's employers in both the public and private sectors deserve a lot of credit and it is important that we highlight the work that these companies have done and publicly recognize the commitment to hiring our veterans, our hiring our true american heroes. i commend them so much. with this idea in mind, h.r. 244 as amended would authorize the secretary of labor to create the hire vets medallion program which would recognize employers

who hire and retain veterans as well as companies who provide support services to veterans and their communities. employers would earn either platinum or gold status based on requirements related to the number of veterans hired each year. providing pay equity for guardsmen and reserve employees who are called up to active military service and other requirements. once these employers have earned a hire vets medallion, they would be able to publicly display their award to illustrate the work they have done on behalf of our veterans and the priority they place on hiring veterans within their work force. as we work to continue to decrease the national unemployment rate among our men and women who have served, it is vital that we highlight and thank the employers who have stepped up and have recognized the benefits of hiring a veteran and there are many veterans.

the work ethic is outstand the dedication, the integrity, really, outstanding people. and i'm glad that our employers have stepped up. i want to thank the staff of the department of labor and the trump administration for working with us to make improvements to the legislation from what was passed last year. i also want to thank counselor paul cook of california for introducing and advocating for this bill and it has, again, it has my full support. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 244 as amended and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. mr. walz is recognized. mr. walz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.r. 244, as amended, the hire act. i want to give a special thank you to my colleague, counselor cook a vote nan -- vietnam veteran and since he got into

congress, he's been our veterans' staunchest supporter. this is an innovative, bipartisan piece of legislation this program solicits voluntary information from the private sector, which we know they want to give and we know they're out there hiring folks. display it with other marketing materials as a recognized medallion symbol of their support and willingness to make sure we hire veterans. employers who provide community and charitable services will also be eligible. hiring veterans isn't just the right thing to do because it's morally and ethically right, it makes good sense and our folks know that. the men and women in our military have received experience that helps them thrive in employment. they need a foot in the door. thanks to the hard work of d.o.l. vets along with efforts in the private sector. unemployment among veterans is 4

ppt 5%, lower than the national average. we also know that the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans remain unacceptably high at 8.5%. the hire vets medallion program represents an additional incentive for employers to hire and retain veteran which is something we can all get behind. thank you, colonel cook, for introducing this legislation. thank you to the chairman for throwing his support behind it. i'm proud to stand in support of this legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. bilirakis spsm mr. bilirakis: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, paul cook, a good friend and veteran's adhave cat. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cook: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. bilirakis, for yielding time. as a combat veteran, i'm deeply concerned that the men and women of our armed forces continue to

struggle to find jobs upon their return to civilian life. these individuals have not only displayed great courage serving their country, but have certain skills that make them ideal candidates for employment. now, i'm not going to go over many of the things that were said about the -- how the program an incentive, i think that's been covered. but i just want to underscore the fact that this is a problem. it's not a new problem. and you know you can have the statistics, but you have to ask yourself, why do we have a lower percentage of veterans that are not getting the job? and you know, as already mentioned, i'm a product of the vietnam war. and the veterans that were getting out there, a lot of people were afraid to hire them. they didn't know whether they would be recalled. back into the service. they didn't know whether they

had post-traumatic stress disorder. they didn't know whether there were -- and they were not going to take a chance on it. and that was sad. and i'm saying that's many, many years ago. but the stats don't lie. i'm very, very supportive. i get passionate about these programs. because the bottom line is we have to make sure that we take care of the troops. and this is a bill that, with the cooperation of private industry, has those incentives built in there. so i'm optimistic. we had bipartisan support last time, we went all the way up there. we're waiting until last time at the senate, holding our breath and everyone knows you don't always get what you want. i'm not going to give up, the people that have been supporting this bill, because we're all verying very passionate about vet raps. and i want to thank chairman roe, i want to thank the ranking

member, walz, for his great support and military service. and i'd also like to thank representative tulsi gabrd for once again being the -- gabard for once again being the original co-sponsor of this legislation and always there for the veterans and the military. and fwuss -- excuse me, congressman bill ru case for -- bilirakis for your great support this passed out of the house last november with unanimous bipartisan support. i urge my colleagues to once again vote in favor of this bill. i yield back my time. mr. bilirakis: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: mr. bilirakis reserves. mr. walz. mr. walz: it's my pleasure to yield three minutes to the gentlelady from haye, still serving this nation in uniform, major gabard. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. gabbard: i'm standing in strong support of h.r. 244, the hire vets act, which i'm proud and honored to have worked on with my colleague an fellow

veteran, colonel paul cook from california. this is personal for us. this is about our brothers and sisters in uniform from different generations who have been hon in order and thanked for their service in uniform but unfortunately are often forgotten about when they lay that uniform down. most people aren't away -- aren't aware that every single day roughly 500 veterans are transitioning from military life to civilian life, joining more than 2.9 million veterans who returned home since 9/11 alone. through service and training these are men and women who are highly trained, they have experience leading, making decisions, under pressure. acting and working well as a member of a team. and accomplishing the mission. data shows that veterans are sisk assets in our communities. they have higher rates of voting, engaging in local governments and community organization, participating actively in community service and more. together these qualities make our veteransest p personally

valuable to employers, whether it be in the private sector, public sector or nonprofit sector. unfortunately for them, returning to civilian job market is not as easy as it should be. they often face an unfriendly job market or even unfriendly culture that doesn't fully understand them and what they bring to the table. many people don't understand that our veterans are not seeking pity or a handout. they are looking for an opportunity to continue to serve. to continue to contribute to our communities and our country. so this legislation is focused on encouraging employers to hire more veterans. we've seen different programs and initiatives in my home state of hawaii and states across the country that focus on recruiting and retaining veterans, but the fact is that there are still more than 400,000 unemployed veterans across the country. we need to do more. this legislation, the hire vets act, gets directly at this need

by setting up an incentive system to encourage employers to hire and retain veterans. it creates a standard of recognition for employers who go the extra mile to retruth and retain veterans and provide services that support our veteran community. we came together at the end of last year, passed this legislation unanimously, and i'm hopeful that my colleagues will once again stand and pass this important legislation and move it along through the senate and to the president's desk for his signature. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. mr. walz: we have no further speakers, i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 244 as amended and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. bilirakis. mr. bilirakis: i urge all members to support this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 244 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3

being in the affirmative -- >> mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. without objection, the title is mended to the bill h.r. 512. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. bilirakis: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 974. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 974 a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to authorize the sec retear of veterans afairs to award a -- in awarding a contract for goods and services

to give preference to those who employ veterans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: thank you. mr. speaker, to improve employment opportunities for veterans and business opportunities for the companies that employ them, h.r. 974 would authorize the sec retear of the department of veterans affairs to consider how many veterans and -- an offerer employees in the decision to award a contract. under this bill, the secretary may give a preference to such employers based on the percentage of the work force made up of veterans. makes sense. the bill would also allow the

secretary to debar any offerer who willfully and intentionally misrepresents the number of veterans they employ. glad that provision is in there. mr. speaker, the unemployment rate among certain age groups of veterans still exceeds their nonveteran peers and this legislation is one commonsense step to incentivize employers to bring veterans into their work force and increase job opportunities for veterans of all ages. we should encourage small uld and large businesses to provide job opportunities for veterans and provide the secretary its authority to consider such hires when making contracting decisions. this will further incentivize government contractors to make a positive investment in their companies by making investments in our nation's veterans.

i thank for -- everyone for their support. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. walings. mr. walz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.r. 974, boosting rates of veterans act. i thank the chairman for his kind woman and thank the gentlewoman from new york and uthor of this smart piece of legislation. they don't have good reliable jobs rating for them. v.a has long-term cats for medical equipment, medical supplies and more. v.a. gives preferences to veteran-owned small businesses. this legislation expands this contracting preference to allow the secretary to give preference to companies that actively

search out and employs veterans. already, a smart approach for those companies because it brings veterans to a job skill they learned over the years. but this bipartisan piece of legislation adds no cost to the taxpayers. lows for debarment to stop a company. the brave act represents a win-win for the private sector and government and our veterans. i thank my good friend. and thank chairman roe and vice chairman bilirakis to bring good pieces of legislation to the floor. we are grateful. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. bilirakis. mr. bilirakis: i reserve as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. walz. mr. walz: it's a pleasure for me to yield five minutes to the lead sponsor of this legislation, a member of the

veterans affairs committee. the gentlewoman from new york, ms. rice. miss friday: i rise in support, the boosting rates of veteran employment act which i introduced with colonel cook from california. the brave act is commonsense bipartisan legislation that will authorize the v.a. secretary when awarding federal contracts to give preference to contractors with consentration of full-time employees. this will cost absolutely nothing and reward companies that actively hire and invest in our veterans and give them opportunities to bring their unique skills, training and experience to the civilian work force. it will create an incentive for other companies to do the same and bring more veterans into their work force. and as more and more companies

hire more and more veterans, they will see investing in veterans is good for business. that is the real incentive. it's getting the benefit of employees who have worn the uniform and trained by the greatest military and learned to get the job done no matter what that job is. we need more businesses in the private sector to recognize the value of our men and women who severed our country. veterans are not looking for a handout but just need an opportunity. the brave act will ensure veterans have those opportunities. i want to thank chairman roe and vice chairman bilirakis and ranking member walz to bring this bill to the floor today. this legislation passed unanimously in the last congress and i urge members to give it the bipartisan support it deserves. thank you. and i yield back. mr. walz: we have no further speakers on our side. i urge my colleagues to support

h.r. 974. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. bilirakis. mr. bilirakis: once again, i encourage all members to support this legislation. i commend representative rice for her good work. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill 974. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing. a sufficient number having arisen, the the yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant floydtion 1238-b-3 of the d. spence of the national defense authorization, 22 u.s.c. as amended and order of the house of january 3, 2017 of the following individuals on the part of the house to the united states-china economic and security review commission for a term expiring on december 31, 2018. > mr. larry wartzel and glen hubbard of new york, new york. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the appointment of 931-c of the comprehensive recovery act of 2016 and order of the house 2017 of the following individuals on the

part of the house to the creating options for veterans expedited recovery commission. the clerk: captain rows, u.s. navyy. and lieutenant colonel jamal s. kahn, jamesville, wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2017 and the order of the house of january 3, 2017 of the following individual on the part of the house to the national commission on military national and public service. he clerk: mr. thomas killagon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker appointment of the public safety officer medal of valor act of 2001 and the order of the house

of january 3, 2017 of the following individuals on the part of the house to the medal of valor review board for a term of four years. the clerk: mr. brandon clay, oklahoma, mr. brian murphy, milwaukee, wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant to 20 u.s.c. and the order of the house january 3, 2017 of the following individual of the board of trustees of the merican folklife center in the library of congress in the house for a term of six years. the clerk: ms. patricia a. atkinson, carson city, nevada. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

in recess until approximately 6:30 p.m. today.