Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Veterans Health Administration Hearing

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s hearing on the Veterans Health Administration:

Thank you, Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, for holding this important hearing on the potential shortfall for the Veterans Health Administration.

My thanks and a warm welcome also go to today’s witnesses, Under Secretary for Health Dr. Elnahal, and Under Secretary for Benefits Mr. Jacobs, for appearing today before the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs subcommittee.

While today’s hearing covers a vitally important topic, I am dismayed that this committee is disinterested in completing the work of the Appropriations Committee on time. 

We sit one month from the expiration of the continuing resolution we passed in September, without so much as a topline agreement. 

This Committee — and this Congress — should be laser-focused on finishing appropriations bills that can become law before the end of the year. Some of my colleagues want to delay our work until well into next year by passing yet another continuing resolution. 

Continuing resolutions are never a good way to fund the programs and services that our veterans depend on.

We need to properly fund the government so that we are not constantly facing shortfalls and needing supplementals to keep the government functioning, and to ensure Veterans receive the health care services they are entitled to. 

Congress needs to do its job, and we should not adjourn without enacting full-year appropriations bills. Democrats are at the table and ready to negotiate on final, full year bills that can gain the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, for that is what is needed in order to keep the government open. I implore the majority to join us. 

On the topic of today’s hearing, thanks to the successful outreach efforts of the Biden Administration, the VA is serving more veterans than ever before – but that increase in beneficiaries, in addition to the rising costs of health care, has led to a funding shortfall for VA medical care. This is a success story – and we should applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for ensuring America is upholding its promises to our brave veterans. 

Over two years ago, we enacted the PACT Act and promised our veterans that they would receive the benefits and medical care that they require after exposure to toxic substances with dedicated funding. 

Thanks to the administration’s outreach to veterans entitled to this care, the number of veterans seeking care from the Veterans Health Administration has increased beyond projections, necessitating additional funding to bridge the gap. 

In fact, more than 796,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was passed, which represents a nearly 37 percent increase compared to an equivalent period before the legislation was signed. 

We must provide this dedicated funding to uphold our promises – our nation’s veterans laid their lives and their bodies on the line for our nation’s freedom and security, they are entitled to this care, and we must do everything to ensure it is provided. This should be nonpartisan and noncontroversial. 

Before I conclude, I must address the VA benefits supplemental we passed in September. 

While it remains clear that there is a large resource gap that we must take steps to address to ensure our Veterans receive the benefits and care they deserve and are entitled to, I am concerned by the Department’s apparently unnecessary request for an expedited $2.8 billion for Veterans benefits which was in fact not needed prior to October 1. 

Quite frankly, it makes it more difficult for this committee to pass and provide the necessary supplemental appropriations if we cannot be confident of the accuracy of what agencies are telling us they need and when they need it. 

I look forward to receiving more information about how this costly error occurred and what steps VA is taking to ensure that future estimates are as accurate as possible. 

Having said that, the purpose of today’s hearing is on VA health care, and I look forward to a robust discussion on how we can support our veterans’ health needs.

We stand together and support our veterans. We must ensure we uphold our promises to our veterans. 

Thank you, and I yield back.

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