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September 29, 2006 (Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, gave the opening speech of the day on the floor of the U.S. Senate Friday morning. He used the opportunity to set the record straight on the status of funding and oversight of operations at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Below is the text of his prepared floor statement. To see some of Sen. Craig's commeents, click on: WATCH CHAIRMAN LARRY CRAIG IN ACTION. To listen to some of the audio, click on: LISTEN TO CHAIRMAN CRAIG SPEAKING ON THE FLOOR OF THE U.S. SENATE. To view the entire speech, click on: http://craig.senate.gov/mediaclips.cfm and then "Funding to Support Veterans." To see still pictures, click on: 2006 - Sept 29 - Chairman Craig on Senate floor FLOOR STATEMENT OF SEN. LARRY CRAIG Mr. President, I have sought recognition to comment on a speech that was delivered on the floor of the Senate Wednesday by the Senator from Washington. I have the utmost respect for my friend from Washington. She is a valuable member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a passionate advocate for America's veterans. That is not in dispute and I do not question her sincerity on that front. I do, however, take issue with her characterization of the record of the Bush Administration and this Republican-led Congress when it comes to caring for America's veterans. And in my capacity as Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I take issue with her suggestion that the Congress has not done its job in demanding accountability out of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is not surprising that a month removed from the mid-term elections, our Democratic colleagues are levying accusations against the Republican-led Congress that it has failed to hold the Bush Administration accountable on a host of issues. I have no trouble with tough oversight and accountability and finding answers to serious problems. But to constantly suggest that the "sky is falling", while leaving out any whiff of praise for any good that has been accomplished is purely political, and it is a disservice to veterans and the thousands of dedicated VA employees who care for them. The Senator from Washington's speech regarding the VA provides a very clear example of what I mean. During her speech, the Senator from Washington highlighted a recently-released GAO report that confirmed the problems VA encountered in the formulation and execution of its budgets for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 that ultimately led to the Administration asking for supplemental funding of $3 billion. From that report she drew her own conclusions -- in my view, unsubstantiated conclusions -- that VA had "misled" and even "lied" to Congress about the veracity of its budget requests. Then she demanded accountability, as if it were non-existent. I'm here to tell all of you that steps have and will continue to be taken to ensure accountability. As soon as we learned of last year's budget shortfall, I called a hearing to get answers. The answers all of us received from VA at that hearing, and then in subsequent oversight meetings, was what GAO reported on. So, very little of what GAO found is new information. More importantly, what the Senator from Washington left out of her rendition of GAO's report was that VA had already implemented nearly all of GAO's recommendations prior to submission of its fiscal year 2007 budget in February. Solutions to a problem were identified and implemented long ago. Also, based on what we learned during our oversight hearings, we required VA to submit quarterly reports on its budget execution. We have received three such reports this year. VA officials make themselves available to Members or staff, Republicans and Democrats, for briefings on the report contents and any other questions that might be asked. There is a degree of transparency in VA's budget execution now that is unprecedented.
1) The percentage of patients who report being seen within 20 minutes of scheduled appointments at VA health care facilities has improved from 65% in 2002, to 73% through the end of last year. 2) The percentage of primary care appointments scheduled within 30 days of the desired date has improved from 89% in 2002, to 96% through the end of last year. 3) The percentage of specialty care appointments scheduled within 30 days of the desired date has improved from 86% in 2002, to 93% through last year. 4) The number of veterans VA treats in non-institutional long-term care settings has increased by 50% since 2002. And the list goes on, and on, and on…. In 2004, the Rand Corporation examined why VA patients get better chronic, preventive care than similar U.S. adults. The answer? Rand concluded that VA's edge is "linked to improved information technology, tracking of performance, and accountability." In her speech my colleague from Washington also suggested that somehow this administration has dropped the ball in the quality of care provided to veterans, to include veterans of the War on Terror. What are the facts? Let's look at some of the recent media coverage of the Bush VA: 1) Washington Monthly, hardly a friendly critic of President Bush, 2) Time Magazine had this as a headline story one month ago: "How VA Hospitals Became The Best." 3) And Business Week ran this story just three months ago: "The Best Medical Care In The US." What about other accomplishments on behalf of veterans that President Bush signed into law? Let me list a few:
• The GI Bill education benefit for veterans has been boosted by 65 percent, raising the lifetime benefit from $23,400 to $38,700. • A new education program was created for members of the Guard and Reserve activated after September 11, 2001, providing up to $30,960 in benefits. • The education benefit for survivors and dependents of veterans has been increased by 46%. • The maximum VA home loan guarantee has been increased by 107%. • The largest expansion of the national cemetery system since the Civil War is currently underway. • Historic legislation was enacted to permit certain disabled veterans to receive their disability and military retirement benefits concurrently. • Comprehensive legislation was enacted to update and strengthen civil protections available to members of the Armed Forces. • Comprehensive legislation was enacted to improve job training and placement services for veterans. • A new insurance program was created to provide immediate payments of between $25,000 and $100,000 to servicemembers who have been traumatically injured since the beginning of the War on Terror. 2,700 injured veterans have benefitted so far. Now that is a record of accomplishment that I think this Congress and the American public can be proud of. Are there challenges ahead? Absolutely. And we will continue to work through those challenges for our veterans. I want to work with all of my colleagues, especially if we can come together on solutions that go beyond the reflexive response that many on the other side put forward as a cure all: "more money…more money….more money." Money is not the only answer. Sure money is part of the equation. But, you also need strong leadership, good policy, and accountability. These have been the hallmark of VA’s success. I am proud of what this Congress and this President have accomplished. I am proud of the work the Veterans' Committee has done during the last two years. You have my commitment that the Veterans' Committee will stay active, both in its oversight and legislative capacities. Our veterans expect and deserve that from us. But we need to conduct ourselves in Congress as they conducted themselves on the battlefield: united in purpose and mission. I yield the floor. #####
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Furthermore, for anyone interested in learning the facts about how VA is holding itself accountable for performance, you need not look far. Just open up VA's budget documents and you'll see a host of performance measures that show a degree of institutional accountability that is the envy of other government agencies and roundly praised by independent observers. Let me tick off a few of these performance measures and, as I'm doing so, please be mindful of how the improvement in these areas during the Bush years has impacted the lives of veterans:
had this as its cover story in 2005: "
• With enactment of the FY07 budget, VA's health care budget will have increased by 70 percent under President Bush.