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Today, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a joint hearing to hear the 2019 Legislative Presentation of American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Vietnam Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Student Veterans of America, American Ex-Prisoners of War, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Below are Ranking Member Rep. Phil Roe's, M.D. (R-Tenn.) remarks:


Opening Remarks As Prepared for Delivery:

I am proud to serve as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and to work closely with each of these dedicated individuals to improve the lives of our nation’s veterans. 

Before we get started, I would like to personally welcome anyone who has made the trip here from the great state of Tennessee.  If you are able, please stand, or raise your hand, and be recognized.

Further, if we have any members of the organizations’ auxiliaries in attendance, I would like to welcome you and thank you for your role in serving our veterans, their families, and survivors.

We worked hard in the 115^th Congress to enact legislation to reform and improve VA and will work even harder in the 116^th Congress to ensure they are implemented properly.  Perhaps the most notable achievements are the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act - also known as the Forever GI Bill, the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, and the VA Mission Act. 

The first of these accomplishments is the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, which gave the Secretary the tools to swiftly and effectively discipline employees based on poor performance or misconduct. This important legislation also focused on more robust protections for whistleblowers in order to address the retaliatory culture that has plagued certain areas of the department for far too long. It is our job to ensure this bill is being used as Congress intended and we are providing veterans and their families with the VA workforce they deserve.

Additionally, with your help, we enacted the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, which I hope will finally help fix VA’s broken appeals system. VA recently went live with their implementation of this law and I am pleased with their progress. I have personally heard from several veterans who have had a successful experience with the RAMP program.  However, we must remain vigilant to ensure that veterans have their claims adjudicated in a timely manner instead of waiting around for years on end.

Another one of our shared achievements was the enactment of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act, or the Forever GI Bill. I know that many of the groups before us today were vital in securing the passage of this legislation, and I thank you.  One of my top priorities for this congress is ensuring proper implementation of this law. The Forever GI Bill improves the Post-9/11 GI Bill for veterans, their surviving spouses, and dependents, and for the first time in the history of the GI Bill, eligible participants will be able to use the 36-month benefit throughout their lifetimes.

After signing this bill into law, VA has struggled to meet deadlines established within the law, and it is critical that we maintain vigorous oversight of the implementation so that our veterans never have to see a backlog and extended wait time for adjudication of benefits like they did this past fall ever again. I won’t rest till VA pays students every dime that they are owed under this law.

Another major priority for me this Congress is the passage of the Blue Water Navy Act. Last year, the House did its job to fix and pay for this issue by passing the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2018, 382-0.

 I was disappointed that despite the unanimous vote in the House, we were unable to get the bill across the finish line in the Senate. I want to be clear that this hiccup was not the result of anything that Senator Isakson or Tester, did, or didn’t do. They fought hard for this piece of legislation.

While I am encouraged by the Federal Circuit’s recent ruling regarding Blue Water Navy veterans in Procopio v. Wilkie, we cannot stop until these veterans receive the benefits they are due.  I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to ensure this bill makes it to the President’s desk swiftly.

Another top priority of mine for this Congress is strong and effective oversight of the VA MISSION Act.

I have said it before and will say it again –our efforts to improve how VA refers veterans to community providers is intended to supplement, not supplant, the VA healthcare system.

My goal has never been to privatize the VA healthcare system.

Rather, my goal is to make the VA healthcare system work better for veterans.

That is the purpose of improving VA’s community care program and establishing the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission.

The AIR Commission is intended to assist VA in modernizing and realigning its medical facility footprint across the country in order to meet the needs of veterans where they live.

I am confident that, once fully and appropriately implemented, the VA MISSION Act will lead a stronger, more stable VA healthcare system that serves the needs of veterans and their families.

Last, but certainly not least, is the implementation of a modern, commercial electronic health record. I appreciated the Secretary’s extra effort to review the new EHR’s interoperability capabilities, and we will be watching their progress with great interest over the upcoming months.

I look forward to achieving these goals with your help, and more importantly, continuing our strong partnerships with each of you to ensure the best possible service is provided to every veteran.