Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline: May 25, 2019

When it comes to covering Congress, the media often focuses on one or two controversial pieces of legislation at a given time. What many Americans do not know is each week, a whole host of bills are passed under a House provision where there is little debate and often the bills are passed on a voice vote. Reading each one takes a lot of time and effort, but it is important to make sure I understand how each bill would impact the Sixth District and its citizens. In this week’s column, I want to highlight a few of this week’s suspension bills along with a brief synopsis of the legislation.

With Memorial Day upon us, the House focused heavily this week on veterans’ issues and passed nine bills aimed at keeping our promises to the men and woman who served our country in uniform.

In response to the 20 veterans a day that die by suicide, the House passed several pieces of legislation addressing the effectiveness of treatments, staffing, and reporting that will provide Congress timely information to better guide our efforts to stem and ultimately end this national tragedy. The Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act, H.R. 2333 requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the VA suicide coordinators’ responsibilities, workload, training, and vacancy rates and determine whether the use of coordinators varies among department facilities. Similarly, the Veterans’ Care Quality Transparency Act, H.R. 2372 directs the GAO to study the effectiveness of outside groups and programs that work with the VA to provide suicide prevention and mental health services to veterans. Additionally, in wake of an increase in the number of veteran suicides which have taken place at VA facilities, Congress passed the Fostering Intergovernmental Health Transparency in Veteran Suicides Act, H.R. 2340. This bill requires the VA to notify Congress of every suicide that occurs inside one of their facilities.

Congress also sought to address concerns relating to veteran mental and physical health by passing the Whole Veteran Act, H.R. 5359 which directs the Veterans Affairs Department to prepare for Congress a report which includes potential alternative care options for retired service members. To provide increased mental health resources to veterans who meet certain criterion, the House also passed the Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act, H.R. 1812 which would allow veterans and active-duty service members who responded to a national emergency or major disaster to have access to Vet Centers, a right in which they have fully earned.

Our chamber also took up legislation that would increase success to the 165,000 veterans’ who transition from the military into civilian life. That is why the House passed the Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William Bill Mulder (Ret.) Transition Improvement Act, H.R. 2326. Far too often, our veterans struggle to transition into civilian life, and this bill is intended to make that career change easier. We also passed the Veterans’ Education, Transition, and Opportunity Prioritization Plan Act, H.R. 2045 which creates a new agency within the VA that will prioritize veterans’ benefits relating to education, job training, and home loans.

Furthermore, the House took a step to better the lives of our disabled service members by supporting the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, H.R. 1200. As the title suggests, this legislation provides disabled veterans and their families with a cost-of-living adjustment meant to help ease the burden of day-to-day expenses.

Finally, we sought to improve the efficiency of the VA by passing legislation to close a loop hole which allowed outside third-party organizations to take advantage of the GI Bill and bill the VA for, in some cases, $100,000 per student for flight training expenses. The bill also allows the VA to replace government-issued headstones or markers in a private cemetery to add an inscription for a spouse or child who died before or after the veteran. I am proud to have joined my colleagues this week in supporting these pieces of legislation which will benefit millions of veterans across this country.

Amherst Town Hall
Next week, I will host a town hall in Amherst County. The town hall will take place Wednesday, May 29, 2019, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Amherst-Monroe Ruritan Club, 115 Bruner Road, Monroe, VA 24574. Sign up on Eventbrite by clicking here.

As with my previous town hall meetings across the Sixth Congressional District, this town hall will allow me to engage with Amherst County residents and take your views to Washington.
Citizens of Amherst County will be given priority regarding comments during the town hall. I hope you can attend.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your congressman. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest updates.