ethics, the he haverhill, the business side, the response ability of corporations. but the legal element is what i think has really seized congress to discuss, state governments to discuss. we have seen this in every walk of our domestic life and around the globe. is right, that this is a much broader issue for many, many people. faith-e people, it is a based kind of discussion that needs to be have. we have seen organized religion among men and women, but mostly men. i think this is just a broad conversation we have had for many decades. right now, we are what is illegal. .uest: i completely agree that is one of the issues we are say in lawmakers from both parties trying to figure out this year, what exactly they can't do to try to legislate -- what exactly they >> "washington journal" live every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern.

we'll leave this, ea u.s. house is gaveling in momentarily, coming into session for a four-day workweek. on today's agenda, a number of bills dealing with veterans issues such as health care and job training. the u.s. senate coming in at this hour with executive nomination this is week. senate live on c-span2, now live to the house floor here on c-span. house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house rule 192 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 524. h.r. 1972. a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to authorize the secretary of veterans affairs to waive the requirement of certain veterans to make co-payments for hospital care and medical services in the case of an error by the department of

veterans affairs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. dunn, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 1972, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. you're recognized. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield to myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1972, as amended. the v.a. billing accountability act. this bill would authorize the department of veterans affairs to waive co-payment requirements if veterans are not notified of their need to pay co-payment for a given service in a timely manner. v.a.'s untimely processing of claims is well documented. the negative impact of those challenges on recruiting and

retaining community providers is also well documented. however, those challenges have a negative effect on our veterans. three years ago this june, the v.a. medical center in minneapolis, minnesota, initiated a review of past processes on veteran in-patient co-payment charges for the years 2011 to 2015. following that review, thousands of veterans in minnesota and wisconsin were charged co-payments for services that they had received as much as four years earlier. receiving a large bill out of the blue for care that was received, in some cases years ago, understandably caused great concern and upset among veterans. the v.a. billing account blingt act would prevent -- accountability act would prevent that. the v.a. mission act that the house passed last week included several provisions that would make it easier for the v.a. to process and pay claims accurately and on time. this bill would protect

veterans by setting specific notification procedures that the v.a. must abide by when a veteran is going to be charged a co-payment for a v.a. service. and by authorizing the v.a. to waive a co-payment if an error is committed by the v.a. and caused the delay or notification. i am grateful to my colleague from pennsylvania, representative lloyd smucker, for introducing this bill. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: well, thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank the gentleman from florida. and i too rise in support of h.r. 1972. but i'd once again like to note, we're here again with the most productive committee in the united states congress, the most bipartisan committee, the most open. and it's fitting going into memorial day that the question of the shared commitment to this nation's veterans is never in question. so i am grateful. i'd also like to extend thanks to the gentleman from minnesota, mr. emmer, for his

work on this piece of legislation. bringing it to light and continuing to carry this until we got it to the floor. this committee has heard from veterans across the country that have experienced harassment from debt collectors and experienced adverse credit reporting through no fault of their own. the bill simply requires v.a. to waive any of those co-payments due by a veteran when v.a. makes an error that causes a significant delay in notification of the co-payment. it's a very simple solution to a problem that can significantly impact nearly every aspect of a person's life. this can add unnecessary stress for veterans when they're trying to pay their medical expenses and make ends meet. veterans shouldn't be hung out to dry when the v.a. is at fault. this legislation would mitigate the harm a delayed co-payment notification could create for a veteran. grateful for this bill being brought up today by the gentleman and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i now recognize my friend and classmate and the gentleman who introduced this bill, representative lloyd smucker of pennsylvania.

mr. smucker: thank you. i'd like to thank you for -- the speaker pro tempore: for how much time, please? how much time? mr. dunn: three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. smucker: thank you. thank you for your tireless work on behalf of our veterans to improve their lives and the lives of their families. i rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation to relieve veterans of financial burdens caused by delays at the department of veterans affairs. over the past decade, federal oversight of the v.a. has uncovered cases where the v.a. delivered delayed or inaccurate bills to our nation's veterans, causing financial stress and debt for military families. some bills going back as far as five years. in fact, last august the v.a. inspector general published a report that said the v.a. ssued $-- 1.7 million improper bills to veterans in 2015. what exactly does that mean? it means that the v.a. collected nearly $14 million from improper bills sent to

veterans for their service-related care. that's simply unacceptable. our service men and women should not have to pay for errors or delays caused by the v.a. many veterans live on fixed incomes and may not have the resources to cover unexpected costs caused by mistakes of washington bureaucrats. that's why i introduced the v.a. billing accountability act with my colleagues from minnesota, mr. emmer and mr. peterson. my district is home to more than 38,000 veterans. each one of them, and all those across the country, deserve the highest quality medical care and assurances that they will be billed in a timely and appropriate manner. this bipartisan legislation gives the v.a. the authority to waive a veterans' -- a veteran's could he payment if the -- co-payment if the veteran received the bill more than 180 days after they received their care at the v.a., or 18 months after they received care at a non-v.a. facility. this bill is supported by

amvets, disabled american veterans, paralyzed veterans of america, the american legion, veterans of foreign affairs, and the association of the united states navy. our nation's veterans, mr. speaker, and their families have sacrificed much in defense of our nation. we should be doing all that we can to make their transition to civilian life as easy as possible and that starts with making sure the v.a. not only delivers high-quality care, but also issues timely bills to our veterans and their families that they can count on. ultimately this bill will help bring more stability and financial security to their post-military lives. i'm proud to have introduced this legislation on behalf of the veterans and military families that i represent, and i look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it signed into law. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves?

mr. dunn: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: i continue to reserve, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: i rise to recognize representative tom emmer who has been working very hard on this bill and is the representative from the great state of minnesota. for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mrs. emerson: thank you, mr. chair -- mr. emmer: thank you, mr. chair. i want to thank the ranking member for his leadership as well. seems to be a lot of minnesotans, very concerned about this issue -- minnesotans very concerned about this issue. i rise today in support of h.r. 72, the v.a. billing accountability act. i'm proud to co-sponsor this important legislation. during my time in congress, i've been privileged to meet with many of our nation's veterans. far too often our nation's heroes do not get the treatment and care they deserve. during my early days in congress, nearly 1,500 instances of the delayed payment of veterans' medical bills were uncovered at a local

v.a. in my home state of minnesota. without notification or explanation, veterans were seeing their monthly statement increase by hundreds of dollars , understandably causing panic and worry. after congress got involved, the v.a. helped our veterans by outlining explanations for the charges, repayment options, and above all, offering them reassurance and relief from the stress and anxiety they were experiencing. this story is one of the many illustrating the need for the v.a. accountability act. this issue is not unique to minnesota. in 2015 1.7 million improper bills were issued by the v.a., leading to $13 million erroneously collected from our nation's heroes. veterans and their loved ones have sacrificed so much in defense of our nation. uncentral delays and payment -- in payment and billing errors intensify the disparity veterans already face. the v.a. must be held accountable and h.r. 1972 is the first step in creating a more transparent veterans

administration. specifically, the bill will authorize the v.a. to waive payment for delayed bills that veterans receive due to v.a. error. minnesota is home to 337,362 veterans, each of whom deserves the quality care, quality care without stress and anxiety caused by unexpected or incorrect billings. our nation's service members should not have to pay for errors or delays caused by the department of veterans affairs. again, i want to thank representative smucker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dunn: i yield another minute. mr. emmer: again, i want to thank representative smucker for his leadership on this issue as well as chairman roe and my colleague, the ranking member, and the member from minnesota's seventh congressional district, and the entire staff of the house veterans' affairs committee for their hard work on this bill. and i urge all my colleagues to support h.r. 1972. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves? mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i

reserve and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i too would like to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania, representative smucker, representative emmer for your tireless work for care of veterans, not just in minnesota, across the country, and the gentleman from florida. please join me in passing h.r. 1972, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i would like to thank the ranking member, walz, and i once again encourage all members to support h.r. 1972 as amended, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1972, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, twiffereds -- 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass

h.r. 3642, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3642. a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to carry out a pilot program to improve the access to private health care for veterans who are survivors of military sexual trauma. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. dunn, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 3642, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i yield to myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 3642, as amended. the military sexual assault victims' empowerment act. it's a tragic fate that there are an increasing number of veterans who report experiencing sexual harassment or assault while serving on

active duty in our armed forces. these veterans deserve the best care and treatment we can offer them for the psychological trauma that they may be feeling as a result of that experience. this bill would require the department of veterans affairs to carry out a pilot program to furnish care in the community to veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma. this would ensure that veterans in pilot locations are able to choose a provider that best meets their specific needs and that they are most comfortable with. this bill is sponsored by representative andy barr from kentucky. and i thank him for his tireless advocacy to ensure access to care for veterans who have experienced this trauma. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. chairman, i do rise in support of this. i want to thank the gentleman. his concern is exactly in the

right place. it is focusing our attention on this issue. there are some things in the bill, though, that i'd like to point out. and these concerns have been shared by some of the veterans' service organizations. i do this in the spirit of the gentleman's exactly right on what needs to be done, this is about a process of trying to improve upon a piece of language. the v.a. was unable to submit views on this bill because of timing on how it was brought up. but for this reason i'd like to read just a few quotes from a statement the v.a. submitted on this bill to reflect the concerns shared by our staff and the v.s.o. community. this is v.a. quotes, and i do quote, as expects of the bill could jeopardize patient safety and well-being and create the ethically problematic situation of v.a. condoning and supporting a substandard level of care for program participants. quote, it is possible some veterans would even choose to leave the v.a. entirely to avoid this study. while i certainly appreciate the effort, i'm of the belief that this study could misallocate v.a. limited resources to do a problem of which the rand corporation and the national a -- academy of

sciences have offered up potential solutions. i'm supporting today's amendment in the nature of the substitute, but warn against future efforts to erode the high quality of care that v.a. is providing, in order to better reflect v.a.'s position on improving access to military sexual trauma, i'm excited to work with our v.x.o. partners on legislation that would implement the recommendations in previous assessments and crease access to the high quality care. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues across the aisle to join us in drafting legislation that continues to heal military sexual trauma victims. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: at this time i'd like to recognize representative barr of kentucky who is the sponsor of this bill for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. . barr: i rise in support of help identify

deficiencies and vulnerabilities in their care for sexual trauma and take action to improve services. according to the national screening program, one in four women and one in 100 men reported they have been victims of military sexual assault. during their time serving in the military this problem was made personal to me by a gloup of women in the sixth congressional district of kentucky led by m.s.t. survivor karen tuffs. sadly due in part to this emotional stress, two of these women have since committed suicide. to the ranking member's concern about quality of care, the problem with some of these women is they were revictimized at the v.a. according to an independent nationwide survey, researchers found female victims are 14 more times more like toy commit suicide than women who have never been assaulted. so we're all about improving the care of these women. while congress has recently taken several actions to better protect survivors of m.s.t.

within the military justice system, many survivors expressed concern that services within the v.a. health care system are insufficient to address their specific post-m.s.t. needs. that's why we've been working closely with the house committee on veterans affairs, veterans service organizations as well, and my v.a. pilot program development task force to improve medical care for survive yoffers m.s. tomplet to help those survivors get the care that best support theirs physical and psychological needs. specifically this would allow survivors to seek treatment specifically tailored to their m.s.t. injuries by a community care provider of their choice in a three 46 year -- three-year pilot program. this policeman would study results that the care provides that v.a. does not and help take -- v.a. take action to improve their care. our experience is just the introduction of this legislation has focus odd ethind -- focused the mind at the v.a. to improve the care

the v.a. provides. as i mentioned before, i did not create this legislation alone. it's been through the dedicated support and trusted advice of m.s.t. survivors who are members of our pilot program development task force and i thank them for their contributions including former commissioner of the kentucky department of veterans affairs, heather french henry. anyone co--- in conclusion, i would like to thank chairman roe and his staff for their horde work in support of this legislation and for his long-standing support on veterans issues. chairman roe truly cares about veterans and this leg -- this legislation is a testament to that devotion. yield back. mr. walz: i thank the gentleman's commitment to this issue. i appreciate the work that's -- that's been done.

so with that, i encourage my colleagues to support this piece of legislation and i yield back the remainder of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker, thank you, ranking member walls. i encourage all members to support h.r. 3642 as amended and 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. 3642 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being 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 florida seek recognition? mr. dunn: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3832 as amended, the veterans opioid abuse prevention act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the bill.

clip h.r. 3832, a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the executive director of the national network of state-based prescrippingts monitoring programs under which veterans affairs health care providers shall query such network and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. dunn, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. walz: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 3832 as amendled. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dunn: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: i rise in support of my legislation, h.r. 3832 as amended, the veteranness opioid abuse prevention act. more than 140 individuals every day are dying from opioid abuse

in the united states. open yids have resulted in the deaths of more americans than the iraq-after -- iraq, afghanistan, and vietnam wars 3u together other the same period of time. unfortunately the news is even worse for our veterans. former v.a. secretary mcdonell stated veterans are 10 times more likely to abuse opioids average american and that's among the leading cause of homelessness among veterans. in 2016 alone, the v.a. treated 66,000 veterans for opioid addiction. mr. speaker, it is clear that we are failing our nation's heroes and frankly that is unacceptable. that's why i introduced the veterans opioid prevention act to ensure no veteran slips through the cracks my bill increases opioid prescribing transparaphernalia state the v.a. and allows veterans administration doctors to do what most prives sector doctors are already doing. they access state databases listing all opioid prescription

from all providers this allows physicians to easily identify patterns of opioid use that put patients at risk. for addiction. once physicians are able to accurately identify patterns of use and abuse we can curb this epidemic and ensure our veterans are getting the best possible care. as a veteran and a doctor, i take my responsibility to serve those who fought for our freedoms very seriously. we can do more for our veterans aened must do more to support them and protect them. i believe my veterans opioid prevention act does exactly that. i urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of the gentleman's veterans opioid abuse prevention act. it was about 10 years ago to the day when we stood on this floor, i had a piece of legislation, one of the first i offered as a member of

congress, the step care pain management for the v.a. i remember delivering a speech here about if we tchonet do something about the overprescription we'll be in a situation of crisis, i think is the term i used. at that time we started talking about multiple approaches to pain management. at the time we brought it up, the vfrlt a. did not want to consider things like accrue puncture and yoga. now we're in a situation where the gentleman is right. even with that moving forward, according to the center for ethics and the rule of law, between 2010 and 20 15, the number of veterans adicted to opioids rose 55% to a total of roughly 68,000. this represents about 13% of all veterans currently prescribed opioids. various published studies found a significant increase of suicide among our veteranance thepped general u.s. population. when opioid use disorders are apparent. h.r. 3832 is amended to require v.a. to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a state-based prescription drug monitoring program to further

avoid -- identify opioid misuse and dependency. this can ensure veterans receive the most appropriate treatment available while recusing the risk of opioid abuse. we a response to believe the do what we can to reduets the opioid epidemic among our veterans. it's a step in the right direction to prevent the overprescription of opioids to veterans so we can prevent them becoming addicted in the first place. i stand in strong support of this and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserve the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: i reserve, i'm prepared to close. mr. walz: good petion of legislation, smart move forward, i encourage my colleagues to vote for it, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: i encourage all members to support h.r. 3832 as amended and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the sque, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3832 as amended.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules -- >> i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman requests the yeas and nays. >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in fare 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 clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. dunn: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3946. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. caller: h.r. 3946 a bill to name the department of veterans' affairs community-based outpatient clinic in states breaux, georgia, as the ray hendricks veterans clinic. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr.

dunn and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will ontrol 20 minutes. mr. dunn: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dunn: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.r. 3946 to name the totcht veterans affairs community-based outpatient clinic in states breaux, georgia, the ray hendricks veterans clinic. this was introduced by my colleague rick allen and i'm grateful for the measure. ray hendricks served honorably in the korean conflict and served until his retirement in 199 . in his 4 years of service, mr. hendricks rose to the rank of command sergeant major he also served in the american leon for over 60 year, hold manage state

and national posts. along with many accomplishments for veterans, mr. hendricks was instrumental in obtaining 5,000 signatures throughout the community to demonstrate the need for v.a. clinic in states bro. four years later, mr. hendricks' effort paid off when a v.a. officially dedicated a new clinic. in addition to his work with the american legion, mr. hendricks served in a governor-appointed position to the state veterans board through the v.a. service board for three seven-year terms. mr. hendricks' outstanding score vis to his community shall serve as an inspiration to us all and it's my great pleasure to support h.r. 3946 to name that very clinic he work sod hard to establish, the ray hendricks veterans clinic this legislation satisfies all the committee's naming criteria and is co-sponsored by the entire georgia congressional delegation and supported by many v.s.o.'s. once again i thank congressman rick allen for introducing this bill and urge all my colleagues

to join me in supporting it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise to add my voice to those supporting h.r. 3946. which does name the v.a. community-based outpatient clinic in states breaux, georgia, the ray hendricks veterans clinic. i would like to say that the this time, i hear from people and they talk about things on here, yeah, they're naming another post office or v.a. clinic. that's right, we are today. we're naming a v.a. clinic after someone who gave their life serving this nation, coming back, doing the things that build our community, and i think what people think is this is an exercise we go through. i would encourage, mr. speaker, for everyone when they go by one of these buildings and see a namen the side of it and wonder what it's after, you can now google those things pretty easy. i guarantee you, every time you goog that will name you'll come away amazed at what your fellow citizens did. what they gave to this country.

and in the case you heard it from the gentleman about ray hendricks' service, 42 years in uniform, i will guarantee you that states breaux, georgia, is a better place because of -- that states bro georgia is a better place of -- statesboro georgia is a better place because what he did. we honor people who put country first and it's very obvious to me having never met ray hendricks or until this bill was brought forward i sure wished i had known him. i would have been -- loved to have been in a unit where sergeant major hendricks served because it's obvious he cared. with that, i strongly support this piece of legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. walz -- mr. dunn: i'd like to recognize -- mr. dunn: i'd like to recognize the spon so far this bill for hree minutes.

mr. allen: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleagues for the naming of this bill here. i rise today to speak about this great gentleman. one who fought for his community and who is so deserving to have the statesboro v.a. clinic named after him. as was stated, sergeant major ray hendrix. for those of who you are not aware of the life and legacy of ray hendrix, i'd like to take some time here today to recognize the impact he had on so many lives in the state of georgia and nationwide. ray hendrix spent his entire life serving this great country. 42 years of putting his life on the line in the u.s. army. where he fought in the korean war. and his service was long from over. as an active member of the american legion, he continued to fight ways to help his country and community, serving in several leadership posts. his local, state and national levels -- at local, state and national levels. while working with the american legion, he handed out wheelchairs, walkers, crutches

and flags for public schools in his community. he also organized an efficient bus system in augusta and dublin, both located in georgia's 12th district. that would transport veterans to the v.a. centers to receive needed treatment. continuing his work, ray saw a need for a v.a. clinic right in his hometown of statesboro. he worked diligently to collect 5,000 signatures from folks in his community to demonstrate the need for the v.a. clinic close to home. ray then took his actions a step further by advocating for this cause to the u.s. department of veterans affairs right here in washington, d.c. he was also appointed to the veterans' service board by three consecutive georgia governors. governor barnes in 2001, governor purdue in 2008, and governor deal in 2015. he served three terms as board chairman and is survived by his wife, mary, three children, 10 grandchildren and nine

great-grandchildren. as a veteran public servant and bullet county native, it is my home that my -- hope that my colleagues will join me in renaming the v.a. clinic in statesboro, georgia, after a man who is truly deserving. with the support of georgia senators and representative, as well as the georgia southern student organization and many others, i cannot think of a better way for a more worthy man to have his name honored atop of the v.a. clinic in statesboro, georgia. i urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing my bill, h.r. 3946, to rename the statesboro v.a. the ray hendrix veterans clinic. and i yield back. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and i reserve and i am prepared to close. oh, and include extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr.

speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from georgia for taking the time to tell us about sergeant major hendrix. this is exactly my point in making, that if you want to exemplify what this nation is about, we're a nation of people, we're a nation of patriots and when they rise above, it like ray hendrix did, i think it is a -- it is appropriate of all the things we do on this floor, i make the case that these namings are a pretty important piece what have we do. so i thank the gentleman for this, encourage mying -- my colleagues to enthusiastically support this piece of legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i thank sergeant major walz for his comments and once again i encourage all members to support this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. 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. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting 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 florida seek recognition? mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4245. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4245, a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to submit to congress certain documents relating to the electronic health record modernization program of the department of veterans affairs. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. dunn, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. dunn: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 4245. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 4245, the veterans' electronic health record modernization oversight act of 2017. this is not just a transition to a commercial e.h.r. if successful, it will be transformation of how the v.a. delivers and manages health care to nine million veterans. but the path to achieving a seamless interoperable health record is far from clear. much has already been said about the program's price tag, nearly $16 billion over 10 years. it is a gigantic management exercise involving thousands of people. it is also an immense challenge to document clinical processes, maybe for the first time. and doctors and nurses have been performing for years and re-engineer these. h.r. 4245 would ensure that the committee gets access to this program's key performance reports and contractual documents.

it would also require the v.a. to notify us when significant events -- significant negative events occur. and the time to enact this legislation is now. the v.a. awarded its primary contract with a corporation at the end of last week. i thank ranking member walz for spear heading this effort. i also appreciate general bergman and ms. kuster, the chair mnd and ranking members of our oversight and investigative subcommittee, for theirwork on h.r. 4245 and the overinside spade work they do every day. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 4245 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise in support of h.r. 4245, veterans' electronic health records modernization be a. when i first came to congress back in 2007 as a veteran myself, one of the things in the questions we asked was, electronic medical records had been out there quite some time,

the v.a. was a pioneer in their vista system, vista a on managing health. and it's not just a data base. as dr. dunn knows well, these are important diagnosic tools, they have to be right. but the thing that every veteran for 20 years was saying, why do we have one medical record in the department of defense so, when we leave the army, the navy, the marines, the air force, we drop off a cliff we all carry around a paper file they print out to us, and then we try and get back into the v.a. and it's an entirely different system that doesn't talk to one another? it's seemed pretty self-evident that by the time you raise your hand until the time we bury you with honors, it would make sense if we had a joint electronic medical record. that was the genesis of this. and i am proud to say it was a long road but we had that signing of the contract. what this piece of legislation does is, i want to be very careful about -- we do this many times here, we pass a piece of legislation and pat ourselves on the back and send it away, only to watch it die a

horrible death in the executive branch. not be implemented correctly. or not provide our oversight. this simply says, and dr. dome was exactly right, -- dunn was exactly right, this is a $16 billion 10-year project. that's our current projections. everyone in here knows that if we get a 10% delay and a 10% cost overrun, we will probably be relatively happy with that. that's over a year and it will be a nearly $2 billion addition. that money will have to come from somewhere. it will slow down implementation and we saw reports early last week that there were serious concerns in the pilot program that was out there. so what this does, and i once again thank the chairman and the majority staff for recognizing this is our responsibility. we will not shirk that here. it asks them to report to us. it lets us stay on top of this before it becomes a crisis. every single one of us here knows that it is coming someday

that we're going to hear about misinformation, something dropping through, a cost overrun. and this just gives us that added security. this is a project that cannot fail. and i have witnessed in my time in congress too many i.t. failures, specifically at the v.a. contracts signed, it's going to happen, it's a good thing, it has the potential to, as, again, the gentleman said, revolutionize how we deliver care. but it has the potential to go in the wrong direction if we are not doing our constitutional right of oversight. i urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i reserve and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: i thank the gentleman. i think this is once again the legislative branch as it was meant to be taking back its oversight responsibility. we are going to authorize this. we are going to appropriate the funds.

i think it's only prudent that we have another layer of oversight to make sure that this huge, huge project, nearly unprecedented, upgrade integration of electronic health record of anywhere in the world, happens correctly. with that, i encourage a yes vote on this and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, once again i encourage all members to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. 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 .ill, h.r. 4245 those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4830 as a amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 537. h.r. 4830. a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to provide for the disapproval of any course of education for purposes of the educational assistance programs of the department of veterans affairs, unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by department and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. dunn, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 4830, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may

consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dunn: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 4830, as amended. the sit-rep act. also the service members improved transition through reforms for ensuring progress act. mr. speaker, the post-9/11 g.i. bill provides generous education benefit, including a monthly living stipent to -- stipend to veterans and eligible dependents. in order for a student to utilize this, they must provide a certificate of eligibility to the school or training program and then the institution certifies the student's attendance to the department of veterans affairs. after this process, the school receives tuition payment and the veteran receives their monthly housing allowance. mr. speaker, if all goes well, those claims are supposed to be processed within 12 to 14 days for original claims and between six and eight days for supplemental claims. however, there are times when delays do occur and they can have a significant impact on a

school and a student's bottom line. these delays typically occur at the beginning of a semester, or when a school doesn't do their part to certify a student's attendance quickly. mr. speaker, we've been told that some schools and training programs have essentially taken these delays out on their student veterans, dependents and surviving spouses by placing students on payment plans blocking access to school facilities and in some cases have been barring students from registering for classes. mr. speaker, i believe these practices are incredibly unfair. as students should not be held accountable for bureaucratic delays and hiccups that are outside their control. i am pleased that h.r. 4830 as amended would address this issue and say that in order for schools and training programs to be eligible for the g.i. bill, they must adopt a policy that doesn't punish students in any way for delays in tuition fees and payments that are not their fault. i would like to thank vice chairman bilirakis and the

tragedy assistant program for survivors, taps, a great organization that helps survivors of all ages deal with laws for bringing this important bill forward. i urge my colleagues to support 4830 as amended and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i'd like to thank the gentleman from florida for once again bringing up a really important piece of legislation. i believe the gentleman is also the longest serving member of the v.a. committee and any species of -- piece of important legislation over the last decade-plus has had his hand in it. h.r. 4830 as amended is a bill we are worked on in a bipartisan basis with taps, the tragedy assistance program for survivors. taps came to the committee and to mr. bilirakis after they heard many surviving spouses that with all the changes that were being implemented on august 1, there will be delayed payments and processing time for payments for veterans and survivors in -- enrolled for the fall 2018 semester.

the forever g.i. bill that we are all in this body proud of passing and proud of updating contains several large scale changes the v.a. is currently working very hard to implement. some of those changes went into effect in the fall of 2017 and taps reported to the committee that because of delays in v.a. payments, many schools demanded payment from students. there were stories of students not allowed to attend class, register for classes or use campus facilities only because the v.a. payment was delayed. in some cases students were even put on a payment plan they could not afford or forced to take out student loans with egregious orientation fees in order to continue their education. this bill will provide students receiving v.a. payments with the same protections as those who receive title four funding such as pell grants and federal student loans. these title four students are allowed to attend classes, participate in extra curriculars and use campus facilities as long as their school knows payment is forthcoming. mr. speaker, h.r. 4830, as amended, would the give the secretary of veterans affairs

the ability to disprove any course of education unless the educational institution providing the course permits individuals to attend or participate in courses pending payment by the v.a. and accept a certificate of eligibility as a promise. as such, the bill will serve as a preventive measure to discourage schools from engaging in shutting out g.i. bill beneficiaries out of simply -- simply because of an administrative delay. thanks really good step toward ensuring -- this is a really good step toward ensuring that beneficiaries are not unnecessarily prevented from getting the most of their benefits due. to be very clear about this there's very few benefits that are really earned in the way a g.i. bill benefit is earned and those of us who have used the g.i. bill to get an education know how important it is. i thank the gentleman for continuing to show care for these veterans, great, smart piece of legislation. i encourage its adoption. i reserve the balance of my time. mr. walz: i would like too

recognize -- mr. dunn: i would like to recognize gus bilirakis for four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. dunn, a fellow floridian, and also my good friend mr. walz who has done an outstanding job over the years supporting our veterans. i also want to thank you for your service. i rise today in support of my bill h.r. 4830, the service members improved transition through reforms for ensuring sit-rep ct, or the act which will hold veterans harmless from bureaucratic red tape at higher education institutions at the v.a. i'm proud of the work my colleagues and i conducted on the v.a. committee last year to pass the harry w. colmer veterans assistance act or the forever g.i. bill this historic legislation expanded access to education and improves and

modernizes the g.: i. bill for our veterans and this is one of the reasons, mr. speaker, we came to congress. to do something like this to help our veterans get their education. in our committee hearings on implementation of the forever g.i. bill, we heard concerns about the delays in processing of tuition payments between the schools and the v.a. i also had round tables in my district with veterans and this was a concern of theirs. so while the average timelines for processing these benefits are 25 days for new claims, nine days for supplemental claims, oftentimes the processing timelines spike higher at the beginning of each school year upon its surge in claims. we heard concerns from our v.s.o. stake holders. i thank them regarding delayed payments resolving from either

slow v.a. processing or a mistake or tardyness by the school certifying official. in some cases, the delays meant schools putting a hold on a student's account or forcing the student to begin payment of tuition and fees on a payment plan until they receive money from v.a. my bill, the sit-rep act, would give the secretary the authority to disapprove courses for the g.i. bill fls unless -- unless the institution adopts a policy ensuring it won't impose a fee to the veteran or deny the veteran's access to education. this policy would be aflired first 90 days of the school term. the sit-rep act is a commonsense bill that protects student veterans and their families who through no fault of their own are denied access

to education because the school made a mistake or the v.a. made a late payment. it is not the veteran's fault and they should not be punished for the actions of others. i urge all my colleagues to join me in support of my practical and bipartisan legislation which will help ensure our student veterans have full access to the educational benefits they have earned and deserve and i hope that the senate takes up this bill quickly so again, i urge passage of this great bill and we got to get it to the president's desk as soon as possible. i want to thank the committee staff as well. they did a great job on this bill. thank you, mr. speaker. yield back. mr. dunn: i reserve and am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. walz: i thank the gentleman from florida, great work on, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from florida is recognized.

mr. dunn: i encourage all 4830 to support h.r. and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house pass the bill h.r. 4830 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. >> mr. speaker, we seek a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the quelt requests the yeas and nays? >> i do 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5215.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. caller: h.r. 5215, a bill to amend title 38 united states code to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to prohibit employees found to have knowingly misused department of veterans' affairs purchase cards from serving as purchase cardholders or approving officials. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minute. the chair recognized the gentleman from tennessee. mr. walz: i ask unanimous con -- mr. roe: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the record on h.r. 5215. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i rise in support of h.r. 5 15 the veterans affairs purchase card misuse mitigation act this legislation is sponsored by my veterans affairs colleague, jack

bergman, kathleen rice, dr. neal dunn. h.r. 5215 would implement an additional safeguard in the v.a.'s multibillion dollar purchase card program which has lacked adequate controls and periodically been abused. the legislation directs the secretary to revoke the card from any employee found to have misused it. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5215. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i've often said i'm the v.a.'s staunchest supporter and i'll be their harshest critic. on this one i'll be their harshest creditic. time and again we hear of employees misusing purchasing cards. every dollar misused is one less dollar not being used toward veterans and it's taxpayers' dollars that immediate to be guarded. this erodes congress' ability to oversee the budget.

employees who misuse the purchase cards should be held accountable and should not be allowed to be purchase cardholders. this legislation will ensure from llars are protecting misuse. if you dot right, you keep using it. if not, you won't be using it anymore. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i'd like to yield three minutes to our oversight and investigation subcommittee chairman general jack bergman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bergman: thank you, mr. speaker. government purchase cards are issued to federal employees who make small, simple purchases. their transaction limit was $3,500. but the f.y. 2018 ndaa increased that limit to $10,000. this increase will cause purchase card usage to go up, thereby increasing the chance

for misuse. purchase card transactions already total roughly $4 billion annually in v.a. and the program has been found repeatedly to lack adequate controls related to waste, fraud, and abuse. as chairman of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, it's my job to monitor programs involving taxpayer dollars and veterans. that is why i introduced the veterans affairs purchase card misuse mitigation act. it will mitigate the potential for misuse of purchase card spend big requiring the v.a. secretary to revoke a purchase card from any employee found to have knowingly misused their card or approval authority. currently, penalties are applied slowly, if at all, and employees are very rarely term nayed -- terminated for purchase card misuse or abuse. h.r. 5215 creates a safeguard to stop purchase card misuse once it begins and holds bad

actors accountable for all of their actions. mr. speaker, being a good steward of taxpayer dollars it is my top priority and this bill brings accountability to the necessary but problematic purchase card structure. i urge support of this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: does the gentleman have further speakers? mr. roe: i do not. mr. walz: i'm prepared to close. i would like to note on this, there are other issues at hand here. there are certainly some of these cases where people are blatantly misusing them. that's a small percentage. the vast majority is leadership not implementing policies, especially the medical and surgical supply form lair. people are taking a short cut, instead of the contracts and way it should be done. the fact is, it's not somebody going out and buying themselveses a new phone or something. it's them going out and buying things that are actually going to be used but it's a stupid way to do it. we end up pay manager money.

we don't have certain contracts. it just is not the way to budget. so i think this has a lot of really good things that it can do. one of them it should continue to do is force v.a. leadership to have a better plan in place and we see it right here in the d.c. v.a. of not having this supply management piece down right. i encourage support of this piece of legislation, yield back the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5215 and 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. 5215. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. roe: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5418. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. caller: h.r. 5418 a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to carry out the medical-surgical prime venn tore program using multiple prime vendors. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman wish to call up the bill as amended? roe, r. roe: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs carry out the medical-surgical act with prime vendors.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, will each criminal 20 minutes. mr. roe: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roe: i rise in support of veterans affairs medical-surgical purchasing stabilization act. v.a.'s medical-surgical prime vendor program is an ambitious effort to save money by developing a form lair and using the department's massive buying power. unfortunately, the as a results -- the results have fallen far short of expectations. i held a theerning subject last december and continue to monitor it closely. the form lair was created with little clinical input and does not contain what clinicians need. over the past year, physicians, surgeons, and nurses have been

organized into teams to re-evaluate the form lair. at one point, a group of clinicians was put in a room for a week to concentrate on the task but the form lair remains troubled. now the v.a. is negotiating the program but it remains crucial v.a. get the form lair right. this is a matter of safety as well as finances. h.r. 5418 as amended would put clinicians with appropriate expertise back in charger of the form lair, the first step toward stabilizing the medical-surgical prime vendor program. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5418 as amended and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves, the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. this ties into what we were just discussing. for many years we heard complaints at the v.a. formulary did not meet the needs of health care providers

making the health of our nation's heroes even more challenging. . clinicians who treat veterans should be at the center of the decision making. involving clinicians at every step is the same best practice employed by other private sector and nonprofit hospitals. we've got wonderful physicians on this committee. it makes sense that they should be there. i've heard it time and time again over the years that we get better results when we do that. it's why this committee was concerned when v.a. would outsource the development to venders who had no experience treating patients. this legislation would prevent v.a. from outsourcing formulary development. it would also ensure v.a. follows best practices and sticks to a timeline so v.a. facilities and venders have a predictable, functional medical supply system. now v.a. must demonstrate it's willing to put the right leadership and resources in place to appropriately manage the project and ensure end users of the formulary, the clinicians who are treating veterans, have the supplies as

needed. again, another good piece of legislation. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. now yield three minutes to general jack bergman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. bergman: thank you, mr. speaker. the medical-surgical prime vendor program is v.a.'s system of contracts to purchase and distribute medical and surgical supplies. v.a. attempted to create a centralized mspv formulary to standardize its products, all that is purchased by the clinicians. an idea to concentrate v.a.'s buying power to extract savings from fewer suppliers. but the formulary was developed with inadequate input from experienced clinicians and as a result it contains unwanted supplies while omitting necessary products. because of these problems, usage of mspv has failed to meet its objectives, putting

some of the prime vendors and suppliers under financial strain and threatening the stability of the program. h.r. 5418 preserves the mspv's current structure consisting of multiple regional prime vendors and it prohibits a move to a single nationwide prime vendor. the bill also requires that each v.a. employee making decisions related to the structure have medical expertise relevant to those items. h.r. 5418 ensures medical professionals have the tools and resources they need to deliver world class care to our veterans. i urge support of this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee reserve? mr. roe: reserve. mr. walz: do you have any further speakers, mr. chairman? mr. roe: we have no further speakers. mr. walz: good legislation. support its passage. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: it's harder to he -- for me to believe we're going to pass a piece of legislation that has this much commonsense in it. with that i urge urge -- with that i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: all time having been yielded back, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the ill, h.r. 5418 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to can he railroad -- reconsider is laid n the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. roe: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4958. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 531. h.r. 4958. a bill to increase effective as of december 1, 2018, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans 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, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee.

mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5958 -- 4958. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i urge my colleagues o support h.r. 5958 -- 4958. this bill was introduced by subcommittee chairman mike boss of -- bost of illinois and i appreciate his leadership on this issue. v.a. provides compensation to help fulfill our obligation to take care of the brave men and women who have been injured during their service to our nation. this money can be a life line for veterans who have service-connected disabilities that may effect their earning ability. these veterans often have families to support and they should not be worried about how they're going to pay their bills when prices go up. this bill will help ensure that the value of veterans' benefits are not eroded by inflation, by giving veterans a cost of living increase.

if social security recipients receive one this year. the amount of the increase will be determined by the consumer price index, which is established -- which establishes the cola for social security beneficiaries. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise too in strong support of h.r. 4958, veterans' compensation cost of living adjustment. as the chairman said, it's our responsibility to make sure the guarantee of these benefits is not eroded by inflation. it provides for simple cost of living adjustment. at the same rate is set for social security benefits. it might seem like a small amount in any one year, but without the adjustment for inflation, the impact on veterans' finances is significant when compounded over time. i want to commend the subcommittee, chairman mike bost, for his work and elizabeth esty, both for co-sponsoring the bill and bringing it to us today. i thank chairman roe for clearing this bill. it's an important one. our veterans have been waiting

for word on this. i'm happy to report it looks like we've taken that step, forward moveking it forward. hear -- step, moving this one forward. i hear a lot about. this thank you for. that i ask my colleagues to support -- thank you for that. i ask my colleagues to support the bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time lidetoik yield three noins -- i'd like to yield three minutes to mike bost from illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for three minutes. mr. bost: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a must-pass bill. many disabled veterans and their families depend on the veterans' benefits to pay for things like food and medicine. for many of these veterans, these payments are a life line. in some cases, if these benefits may even be the only -- these benefits may be the only income these veterans have. it is only fair that we ensure that the benefits paid to veterans who were injured during the military service do not lose value because of inflation. if we don't, it could become hard for people who are injured while serving this nation in

uniform to keep their heads above water. h.r. 4958 would financially protect the veterans who protected us by providing a cost of living increase. the amount of the cola will be the same increase that social security beneficiaries will receive. i want to thank the disability assistance and memorial affairs ranking member, ms. esty, for being the lead co-sponsor of this bill with me. this bill has also enjoyed bipartisan support. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 4958 and help disabled veterans and fair families keep up with rising -- and their families keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close if the gentleman has no further speakers. mr. roe: i am also. mr. walz: good piece of legislation. i thank the gentleman for bringing it up. taxpayers understand that this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing. it's a good piece of legislation. i encourage a yes vote.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank subcommittee chairman and marine veteran mike bost for bringing this up. it's a great piece of legislation. i encourage all members to support h.r. 4958 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the -- all time has expired. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 4958. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting 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: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5044. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 532. h.r. 5044. a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to clarify the treatment of certain surviving spouses under the contracting goals and preferences of the department

of veterans affairs. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to iranian their remarks -- in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert ex treanious material into the -- extraneous material intoed resort on the bill -- into the record on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. roe: thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. thank you. i rise today in support of h.r. 5044, service-disabled veterans small business continuation act. current law authorizes a special set-aside program at the department of veterans affairs for veteran-owned small usinesses and service-disabled -owned small businesses called vets first program. this program has been highly successful in providing vosb's and sdvosb's more opportunities, so much so that v.a. spent almost 20% of all contracting dollars with these firms in 2017.

while we should all laude the success of the program, there's been concern that current law do not appropriately address concerns of what happens to awards and contracts of vosb and a vob when -- v.o.b. when the veteran-owned -- veteran owner dies. the sudden death of a veteran could bring significant upheaval for a small business as they lose their v.a. contracts which kim pact the veteran's family and -- which can impact the veteran's family and employees as well. this would clarify and authorize the spouses of veterans who died with less than 100% disability rating to maintain vosb and vosb status for up to three years following the veteran's death. i believe this change to current law is an appropriate way to continue the success of the vets first program without hurting other veteran terms. i thank my colleagues, chairman chabot for introduce this -- colleague, chairman chabot, for introducing this bill. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i stand in strong support of h.r. 5044. the gentleman has brought a really important point forward. currently if a veteran's death results in their small business becoming less than 51% owned by a service-disabled veteran, the surviving spouse can acquire the veteran's ownership interest if the veteran had 100% disability rating. this allows surviving spouse to keep their loved one's small business. however, the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran who has less than 100% disability are not allowed to do the same. this is a clear case of spirit and intent of the law. i don't think anyone intend for a 60% service-disabled veteran who lost a limb in combat and then dies, for their spouse to lose their eligibility. it's a really important point to bring up. this bill will now permit a surviving spouse to maintain a small business status for a period of three years after the veteran's death or until the spouse remarries. simply allows a gold star sposs

a bit more time after a loved one's death to settle any business affairs of the d.c. spouse. it's the right thing to do to ease the burden that comes with the loss of a spouse, an expression of gratitude for their family's smpt i appreciate the gentleman from ohio's willingness to point this out and i strongly support this and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time lidetoik yield three minutes to chairman chabot, this is his piece of legislation, i appreciate him being here on the floor today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. chabot: thank you, chairman roe, and ranking member walz, for your leadership and thank you, mr. speaker. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5044, the service-disabled veterans small business continuation act. this bill ensures that the surviving spouses of service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses are able to retain the service-disabled veteran-owned status of their small business for three years, as was mentioned, after the passing of the veteran spouse. this policy is already codified

in title 38 of the united states code. however, there's a lack of parity between title 38 and the small business act. i've heard from several small businesses about this issue, including one in my district. this discrepancy creates legal uncertainty and confusion in the application of this important policy. and what we're trying to do is clear it up. to guarantee clarity and certainty for the administration of these service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, these small -- the small business act must conform with the policy prescribed in title 38. h.r. 5044 dispels any legal uncertainty, ensuring that these important policy changes to the law are sustained. most importantly, this bill provides peace of mind for surviving spouses of veteran business owners. and one of the main things a

veteran is always looking out for is making sure that his or her spouse is taken care of after they're gone. so this will not only give the survimbinging spouse peace of mind, -- surviving spouse peace of mind, but the veteran, him or heff self, peace of mind a-- herself, peace of mind ahead of time. i thank the chair mnd and ranking member and members of the house veterans' affairs committee for their leadership in clearing this up and again giving peace of mind to veterans and their spouses all over america. i would urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5044. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman continue to reserve? the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: i'm prepared to close, mr. speaker. . grateful for the gentleman bringing it up. encourage its passage and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: i encourage all members to support h.r. 5044. yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5044. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition. mr. roe: i move to suspend the rules and pass s. 1282. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1282, an act to redesignate certain clinics of the department of veterans affairs located in montana. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will 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 extend their remarks and add extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i rise today in support of s. 1282 to designate certain clinics in the department of veterans affairs located in montana. this bill is sponsored by senator danes from montana, and

i'm grateful to him for introducing this legislation in honor of three american heroes. the first is sergeant david j. thanker, who was born in bridger, montana, and joined the u.s. army in 1940. following the surprise attack on pearl harbor, sargent volunteered for a secret mission, the doolittle raid. he was an engineer and tail gunner for crew number 7, the ruptured duck. during the mission the crew successfully carried out the mission and attempted to fly to china. the aircraft ran out of fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing on a beach. the violent landing caused serious injury to all crew members. thankfully he was able to drag his men from the wreckage and lead them to safety after avoiding several japanese patrols. bravery and saving the lives of his crew, he was awarded the silver star. his other decorations included the distinguished flying cross, air medal with four oak leaf

clusters, and chinese army, navy, and air corps medal brave lives of class a first grade. s. 1282 would further honor him by naming the clinic of the department of veterans affairs located at 2687 palmer street n missoula, montana, the daviddy j. thanker clinic. i can think of no better name than that. the second to be honored is dr. joseph medicine crow who was born on crow indian reservation near long grass, montana. he went on to get his bachelor's degree and masters in anthropology from the university of southern california in los angeles in 1939. he was first a member of the crow tribe to obtain a master's degree. after the war broke out, he joined the army and became a scout in the 10 rd infantry division. while at war, he completed all four tasks required to become a war chief, touching an enemy without killing him, taking an enemy's weapon, leading a

successful war party, and stealing an enemy's horse. he is the last member of the crow tribe to become a war chief. after serving in the army, he returned to the crow agency and was appointed travel historian and anthropolgist. he was appointed the keeper of memories of his tribe and published many historical books. he continued to right and lecture at universities and public institutions until his passing at the young age of 102. i am truly honored to rename 1775 a. clinic located at spring creek lane in billings montana, the dr. joseph medicine crow department of veterans affairs clinic. the final american hero to be recognized by this bill is ben steele. he was born in billings, montana, and graduate interested billings senior high. in 1941, he enlisted in the army air corps where he was assigned 7th material squadron -- bombardment group.

his group was assigned to the philippine islands. during the ensuing japanese invasion, he fought to defend his base on bataan. after his capture, he was forced to endure the horrendous bataan death march and was a japanese prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years. fter the war he was a true renaissance man, consulting for the department of defense, serving as a crafts director of the military district of washington, d.c., chairing the art department of eastern montana college, and giving workshops, demonstrations, and lectures at museums, schools, and civic centers. as a survivor of the bataan death march, he was devoted to his creator, his family, his country, and his art. in his memory i'm privileged to support this bill to rename the clinic of the department of veterans affairs at 1766 majestic lane in billings, montana, the benjamin charles steele department of veterans' affairs clinic. this satisfies all the k3450e9

committee's naming criteria and co-sponsored by the entire montana congressional delegation and supported by many v.s.o.'s. i'm proud to support it as well and urge all my colleagues to join me. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i, too, rise in strong support of s. 1282, which names these three veterans' clinics in montana. i'll reiterate what i said earlier that sometimes i hear people disparage aingly talk about we're not doing anything in congress except naming v.a. clinics and post offices. that's right. we're naming three v.a. clinics for three american heroes. you just heard chairman roe give the story of david thatcher, ben steele, and the doctor and what they did for this nation. these are movie scripts in any other world except this is real life. real american heroes who did exactly what was asked of them and then in each one of these cases return back home to build this nation. i oftentimes and i'll continue

to say it, when you drive by a v.a. clinic and there is a name a on it, google it. you will be amazed at what your fellow citizens can do. with that i encourage -- a yes vote on this piece of legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i just as i close, i can't encourage my members enough to vote for this. my history professor in college was a survivor of the bataan death march. wrote a book, "apocalypse undone" and told he never slept through the night until he wrote that book. i wondered if these two gentlemen, mr. steele and my professor, knew each other. i hope they did. and they both lived to have successful lives. this truly was or is the greatest generation. no question about what these men did when they returned home. once again i encourage everyone to support this. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired and yielded back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass

senate 1282. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. froms the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition -- for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition. mr. roe: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3663. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3663, a bill to designate the medical center of the department of veterans affairs in huntington, west virginia, as the herschel "woody" williams v.a. medical certainty. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, gentleman from tennessee, mr. roe, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes 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, so ordered. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you.

i rise today in support of h.r. 3663, to designate the medical center of the department of veterans affairs in huntington, west virginia, as the hershel "woody" williams v.a. medical center. this bill is sponsored by my friend and colleague, congressman evan jenkins, and i'm grateful to him for introducing this legislation in honor of an american hero. he enlisted in the marine corps may 26, 1943 in charleston, west virginia. following his training he was deployed to participate in the invasion of iwo jima. on february 23, 1945, a system of enemy pillboxes pinned down his unit. with a 70-pound flamethrower and covering fire from only four riflemen, he braved the vicious barrage and charged forward alone. he fought four hours, successfully destroying several enemy strongholds and saving the lives of countless marines. corporal williams fought the entirety of the five-week battle for the island despite suffering a wound for which he

was award add purple heart. for his actions and his heroism in the face of brutal combat, president truman awarded corporal williams a medal of honor on october 5, 1945. after 20 years of service, he retired from the marine corps reserve and worked with the department of veterans affairs. now he serves on the goff o goff's west virginia military advisory board and runs the hershel "woody" williams medal of honor foundation. a not for profit that honors gold star families and provide scholarships to eligible gold star children. he's the only surviving marine to have received a medal of honor during the second world war and i'm privileged to support h.r. 3663 in his honor. this legislation satisfies all the committee's naming criteria and sponsored by the entire west virginia congressional delegation and supported by many v.s.o.'s. as an aside, mr. speaker, i had the privilege of attending an event in kings port, tennessee, williams was the

sponsor for our memorial that's there in kingsport,town tfpblet i want to thank my west virginia colleagues for bringing this up. i thank congressman evan jenkins for introducing this bill. i urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i, too, again rise in support of the designating the v.a. medical center in huntington, "woody" es hershel williams v.a. medical center. you'll hear more from the gentleman from west virginia. it's once again proving the point that these are not exercises in few tillity. this is how america honors and remembers. our children need to know who these people were when their name shows up on the v.a. medical center. on this one i think the gentleman from west virginia nows this, but we were discussing this over here, all of us in minnesota got to know

who he was last february when the world was watching f some of us remember the moment, when people said, who is discussing this over that marin who walked out and tossed the coin at the super bowl, it was this gentleman. i remember the sense of pride and sense of awe. we kind of got things in perspective because they told a little background on his story that we were going to watch a game. this gentleman was out there fighting for the freedoms to allow that game to happen. it was a wonderful moment. i am a certainly again proud and grateful to be able to encourage people to cast a yes vote on this piece of legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to congressman jenkins from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia -- mr. roe: five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for five minutes. mr. jenkins: thank you so much, mr. chairman. thank you so much, mr. speaker. today we're voting on h.r. 3663, which would rename the huntington v.a. medical center in honor of corporal hershel "woody" williams. i first met him more than 20

years ago when i was elected to the state legislature. over the more than two decades i have known him, woody has never, never stopped fighting fellow veterans. and i am honored to call him a constituent and a friend. at 94 years young, woody is still a fellow veterans. vocal advocate for our veterans and their families. whether it be at countless legislative committee hearings, veterans recognition and appreciation events, veterans day and memorial day, commemorations, woody is there fighting for our veterans. woody is an unbelievably brave and kind man. not only did vocal advocate he extraordinary heroism at eo jima, but he has -- iwo jeem gentleman, but he has dedicated his life to serving our community. each boy our local scout

council gets all newly elected eagle scouts together and woody is invited to come and spend time with the boys to share a few thoughts. when my two sons became eagles, woody shook their hands. he looked them in the eye and challenged them to conduct their life according to the scout oath and motto, do their duty to god and country. which section actly how he has lived his life. throughout west virginia and the nation, woody is best known for his brave efforts in the pacific theater during world war ii. corporal williams was a demolition sergeant serving with the 21st marines, third marine division when american troops landed on iwo jima. i'd like to read from his medal of honor citation.

quote, quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, corporal williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine-gun fire from the unyielding positions. covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for four hours under terrific enemy small arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain service, flame throwers struggling back valiantly, frequently to the rear of hostile encampments to wipe out one position after another. devotion to duty

throughout his fiercely contested action sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the u.s. naval service. woody williams believed in something greater than himself. his country asked and he answered. and corporal williams was there in that place at that time when his country needed him most. following his military service, woody continued to serve our nation as a veterans' representative, representing the department of veterans affairs. he also founded the hershel "woody" williams medal of honor foundation to recognize the sacrifices of our nation's gold star families. woody is an example of the best that west virginia and our nation has to offer. and is quite simply an american hero.

renaming the huntington v.a. medical center to honor his service would be a fitting tribute for all he has done for our veterans and their families. thank you for this opportunity. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. walz: i'm prepared to close. does the gentleman have an additional speaker? mr. roe: i have two more speakers. mr. walz: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: -- mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to -- i'd like to yield three minutes to my friend from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. kinlkinl thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you -- mr. mckinley: thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to support the bill that would name the v.a. medical center in huntington, west virginia, after a true american hero and my personal friend, hershel "woody"

williams. woody is recognized as the last living medal of honor recipient from the notoriously horrific battle of eejim washington -- ejim -- iwo jima. but in west virginia he's known far more for his work for veterans. he serve 3d3 years as a counselor with the department -- 33 years -- served 33 years as the counselor with the department of veterans affairs. he served as the commandant at a nursing home for years, providing care to aging veterans. then in 2012, he helped start a medal of honor foundation, dedicated to honoring gold star families and fallen loved ones. the foundation has erected monuments in 36 states like tennessee, and offers scholarships to children in gold star families. woody frequently travels to washington to participate in special ceremonies at arlington national cemetery in honor of our fallen heroes. and earlier this year, as my colleagues have mentioned, he

was received national -- he received national recognition for his service to our country when he was asked to perform the coin toss of the super bowl. 's often said that the character of a person is -- isn't measured by their actions but rather -- in the lime light, but rather by the work they do when character of they're not being in the light. when no one's looking. woody's life is a manifestation of working behind the scenes. he has been unwavering in his support for our veterans and congress has an opportunity to offer him our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. i urge my colleagues to support the passage of h.r. 3663, and i thank my colleague, evan jenkins, for this introduction of the bill and his support for woody williams. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i'll continue to reserve. mr. walz: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr.

speaker. at this time i'd like to yield four minutes to my good friend, mr. jean fan day. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from montana is recognized. jean jean i thank the gentleman -- mr. gianforte: i thank the gentleman from i rise today in support of this legislation, as well as the legislation i introduced along with the montana senate delegation to honor three montana veterans by renaming three department of veterans affairs facilities in their honor. these three veterans have shown the true spirit and dedication all montanans and americans should aspire to. ben steele from roundup, montana, joined the army air corps and was stationed at clark field in the philippines in 1941 when he was 24. following the japanese invasion, ben fought on baton and survived the baton death march. he was held prisoner for 3 1/2 years. and sketched with char coal scenes on concrete and secret scraps of paper. some of his work is still on demrace in the mcarth --

display in the macarthur museum in for this fofpblgt he taught at m.s.u. bill forgs 33 years. -- billings for 33 years. he passed away in september, 2016, at the age of 98. the only thing he liked more than art was fishing. i'm proud that the billings community-based specialty clinic will be renamed in honor of benjamin charles steele. david thatcher enlisted in the army air corps in december of 1940. following the attacks on pearl harbor, mr. thatcher volunteered for a secret mission, joining jimmy doolittle in a bombing mission over tokyo. serving as a b-25 tail gunnar on the ruptured duck, thatcher saved the lives of his crew when the plane crashed into the sea, trying to make landfall in china after the raid. for his actions, thatcher was awarded the silver star. the ruptured duck was piloted by lieutenant ted lawson who wrote "30 seconds over tokyo."

robert walker played thatcher in the movie. thatcher flew in the african and european theaters for the rest of the war. thatcher worked for the postal service for 30 years following his army career and was an avid outdoorsman. he passed away in june, 2016, at the age of 94. the community-based outpatient clinic in missoula will be designated in his honor. the community-based outpatient clinic on spring creek lane in billings will be designated in honor of dr. joseph medicinecrow. he was born on the crow indian reservation in 1913 and was first member of the tribe to receive a master's degree, graduating from southern cal in 1939. after working in the naval shipyard in bremerton, medicine crow joined the army in 1943 and served as a scout in the 103nd infantry division in europe much he became the last surviving war chief of the crow nation, having successfully led

a war party, stolen horses from the nazi s.s., and disarming an enemy and capturing him without killing him. for his service in world war ii, he received the bronze star and the legion of honor. after the war, he worked for the crow agency and the bureau of indian affairs, as well as little bighorn college. he has served on numerous boards and educational commissions. he even addressed the united nations. he passed away in april of 2016. while their friends and families know their great deeds, i'm honored to share this story with you and the rest of the country. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves. mr. walz: we're prepared to close. once again, mr. speaker, i just remind everyone here that these are not just naming bills. this is our history. it's important. the four stories told today