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As a country, we are uniquely blessed. We live in the world’s finest democracy where each one of us has the opportunity for nearly limitless fulfillment and prosperity. That freedom and opportunity has been made available to us because of the sacrifices of those who have fought for and defended America. The entire nation owes our military personnel and veterans a huge debt of gratitude, and ensuring that debt is properly repaid is one of my top priorities in Congress. This week the House passed several pieces of legislation to improve the lives of our nation’s veterans and their experiences at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
H.R. 476 requires that all facilities comply with VA’s scheduling policies and prohibits VA medical center leaders from receiving awards or bonuses if their VA medical center fails to certify compliance with the scheduling directive. H.R. 1005 increases access to adult day health care for veterans eligible for nursing home care, allowing veterans who qualify for more costly VA-paid nursing home care the ability to stay at home longer.
H.R. 1162 creates a pilot program to explore Magnetic Resonant Therapy as treatment for veterans experiencing mental health conditions. H.R. 1329 ensures that our nation’s veterans receive the same annual cost-of-living adjustment as Social Security recipients. H.R. 1545 improves VA’s current internal monitoring and information-sharing practices of prescription drugs and helps prevent the over-prescribing of narcotics through partnerships with states.
H.R. 1725 seeks to reduce the number of unnecessary disability examinations by requiring additional information be provided to Congress regarding VA’s use of private medical evidence in support of claims for disability compensation. H.R. 2288 creates a new system to help VA move through the backlog of appeals so veterans waiting on their disability decision can have peace of mind.
Helping America’s Most Vulnerable
On Tuesday the House approved H.R. 1809, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2017, which reauthorizes and reforms the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) to help state and local leaders better serve at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. The House also approved H.R. 1808, the Improving Support for Missing and Exploited Children Act, which updates the Missing Children’s Assistance Act to help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) strengthen its recovery and prevention efforts.
These bipartisan bills are different in policy but share a similar purpose. One streamlines a law that provides support for missing and exploited children. The other makes reforms to assist at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. But both renew a commitment we have made to help and protect our most vulnerable children.
Combating Child Abuse and Exploitation
Every child deserves to have a safe childhood. But sadly, this is not the case for too many of our nation’s kids. This week the House approved several bipartisan bills to protect children and punish those who abuse them.
H.R. 695 ensures that youth-serving organizations have access to national background checks on prospective staff and volunteers through the FBI’s database. H.R. 883 helps protect valuable information used to prosecute and convict child predators. H.R. 1188 reauthorizes the two primary programs of the Adam Walsh Act—the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and Sex Offender Management Assistance Program—for five years and makes targeted changes to make the system more efficient and just.
H.R. 1842 makes communities safer by enhancing penalties for sex offenders who fail to register in the national sex offender registry when they have a prior state conviction for a violent crime. It also ensures enhanced penalties for child exploitation crimes apply equally to all dangerous sex offenders. H.R. 1862 combats global sex tourism by closing loopholes that allow child predators to go unpunished for their abuse of children overseas.
H.R. 2473 provides educational resources to prosecutors on investigating and processing cases with a trauma-informed and victim-centered approach, and encourages states to provide appropriate services to victims of trafficking. The bill also calls for reports on the implementation of state safe harbor provisions and on how to improve mandatory restitution procedures for victims of trafficking in federal courts.
H.R. 1761 protects child pornography victims by addressing a loophole in the law, adding additional bases of liability to the crime of child pornography production. H.R 1973 requires prompt reporting of suspected cases of abuse, mandatory education, and implementation of policies and procedures for preventing, reporting, and addressing allegations of sexual abuse at amateur athletic governing bodies.
President Trump’s FY 2018 Budget Proposal
Students, workers and small businesses cannot succeed in an economy that is crippled by too much government and too much debt. During the last eight years, we were told time and again that more spending on more programs would lead to more prosperity. Hardworking taxpayers were burdened by new programs they couldn’t afford, yet they never experienced the prosperity they were promised.
For too many years, the federal government has not lived within its means because policymakers have not set real priorities. The president’s budget proposal reflects the consequences of this failed approach as well as the urgent need for tough choices and bold solutions to pursue a more responsible course.
On Tuesday President Trump released his budget for fiscal year 2018. As I said earlier this year, no one will agree with every proposal outlined in this budget. It is now up to Congress to review the details and establish important priorities. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration to advance much-needed reforms that deliver relief for America’s taxpayers and empower families and job creators to succeed.
What’s Coming Up?
Next week the House will hold a district work week. As we observe Memorial Day, I urge you to join me in taking time to pause, reflect and honor the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in the pursuit of a more prosperous and free America.
Sincerely,
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