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Washington, DC– Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today supported the House passage of several bills designed to improve the care and services our veterans have earned through their sacrifice and service to our nation.

“Our veterans have earned the best care and service that our nation can provide because of the sacrifices they have made to protect our families and our country,” said Congressman Guthrie. “We must continue to work in a bipartisan manner to see what improvements we can make to help our veterans as they transition back to their lives at home following their service.”

H.R. 3106, the Construction Reform Act of 2016, makes a variety of reforms to the construction process for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to increase efficiency and prevent cost overruns. The bill mandates the use of industry standards, requires congressional approval for use of certain funds to cover budget overruns, increases congressional reporting requirements, and creates a new position within the VA, the Assistant Inspector General for construction. 

H.R. 2360, the Career-Ready Student Veterans Act, amends the approval process for the use of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for education and training programs to ensure that these benefits directly prepare veterans for the workforce in their chosen field of study.

H.R. 677, the American Heroes COLA Act of 2015, provides the same annual cost-of-living adjustments for veterans as Social Security beneficiaries and prioritizes the processing of disability claims for Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients and veterans who have reached the age of 70, have a life-threatening illness or very serious injury, are homeless, were a Prisoner of War (POW), or have suffered military sexual trauma. The bill also expands eligibility for a VA headstone or grave marker to any veteran who served in the Armed Forces on or after April 6, 1917.

Furthermore, a series of health-related bills improves the care and services that our veterans have earned. Among other reforms, these bills require the VA to determine on a semiannual basis whether the VA medical centers are meeting performance standards and then deploy a rapid response team to underperforming centers to improve outcomes as soon as possible, directs the VA to identify mental health care and suicide prevention programs that best serve female veterans, and prioritizes treatment for MOH recipients and exempts them from certain copayments.

Lastly, H.R. 3036 designates the National September 11 Memorial located at the World Trade Center in New York City as a national memorial.

Here is the complete list of veterans’ bills that passed the House:

·        H.R. 3016, the Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act;

·        H.R. 3106, Construction Reform Act of 2016;

·        H.R. 2360, Career-Ready Student Veterans Act;

·        H.R. 3262, To provide for the conveyance of land of the Illiana Health Care System of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Danville, Illinois;

·        H.R. 4056, To authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to convey to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs all right, title, and interest of the United States to the property known as "The Community Living Center" at the Lake Baldwin Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, Orlando, Florida;

·        H.R. 677, American Heroes COLA Act of 2015;

·        H.R. 4437, To extend the deadline for the submittal of the final report required by the Commission on Care;

·        H.R. 3234, VA Media Center Recovery Act; and

·        H.R. 2915, Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act.

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