Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

At our hearing today we will examine four bills that have been referred to our Subcommittee.

The first bill H.R. 784 would require VA to submit quarterly reports on mental health professional vacancies.  The second, H.R. 785, would establish a pilot program to provide mental health outreach and training on certain college campuses for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans.  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made great improvements in the past two years to reach out to more veterans and provide better, more effective mental health services.  With a growing number of veterans in need of mental health care we must continue to focus on how we can build on the progress VA has made thus far and I very interested in hearing views on these proposals.

I thank our Chairman, Bob Filner, for reintroducing a bill to expand the benefits for veterans related to the reimbursement of expenses for emergency treatment in a local, non-VA facility.  I am pleased to see that changes have been made to the bill to clarify the requirements for VA payment under the program.    

I would also like to commend my good friend Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin for being a champion of women veterans.  Her bill, the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, includes a number of provisions designed to study, improve and expand access to care for our women veterans. 

The number of women serving in the active duty, guard and reserve continue to increase.   Today, women represent almost 8 percent of the total veteran population and nearly 5 percent of all veterans who use VA health care services.  VA estimates that the number of women veterans enrolled in VA health care will more than double over the next decade.  It is essential for us to make sure that VA is providing appropriate programs and services throughout the country to meet the unique physical and mental health needs of our women veterans.  However, as we examine new initiatives, we must also be careful to ensure that they compliment and do not overlap existing VA efforts in research and programs for women veterans.

I look forward to a very productive discussion on these legislative proposals and want to thank all of our witnesses for participating in today’s hearing.  Your testimony will help guide our actions to best serve our nation’s veterans.