Veterans' Access to Child Care Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I rise as the designee for the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Allred).
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer and speak in support of the amendment by my colleagues, Congressman Allred from Texas and Congresswoman Torres from California.
Our amendment directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to notify veterans of the expanded, cost-free childcare services in this bill, and perform outreach to veterans and their families.
Each of us have heard from the women and men who have served and sacrificed in uniform about the challenges that come from seeking access to the benefits that veterans have earned.
Last year, at a veterans' roundtable in Woodland Park, I heard from women veterans that it is not enough for Congress to enact a new provision and think our job is done. We must direct the VA to find the veterans who need help and make sure they know and fully utilize these services.
This straightforward amendment requires the VA Secretary to provide public notification on VA.gov about the program, and to perform outreach to inform eligible veterans. The VA has significant and specialized resources for our veterans. Veterans in my district rely on services at the Morristown VA Outpatient Clinic as well as nearby Lyons and East Orange facilities.
I had the opportunity to visit the Morristown Clinic last week and speak with caregivers and patients at the facility.
I want every veteran, including the more than 25,000 veterans in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District to know that these VA facilities are there for them. These specialized treatment facilities are part of systems worth strengthening and saving.
Mr. Chairman, we must make sure that childcare resources reach their intended recipients as we work to improve care for our veteran community. Only then will we see veterans coming forward to seek counseling and other medical services, secure in the knowledge that their children have a safe place during their appointment.
Simply put, this important childcare program will not work as intended or have the reach that it could without informing our servicemen and -women that it exists in the first place.
I thank the gentleman from Texas for this amendment, and I wish him and his wife--who is from Montclair, New Jersey--well as they welcome their first child.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), the chairman of the committee.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from California.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to add that I hope that the VA will do outreach with groups like Welcome Home Vets of New Jersey.
I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I have the amendment at the desk made in order by the rule.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer the 19th amendment to the Veterans' Access to Child Care Act.
The pilot program Congress authorized in 2010 to provide childcare at VA medical centers and clinics around the country is incredibly popular with the veteran community. It provides a safe, reliable option for parents who need to access VA healthcare. This bill will expand the program so that all caretakers, including parents and grandparents, can access this service.
The amendment I am introducing this morning ensures that caretakers have a safe and secure environment for their children at a VA center. It bars employment of individuals convicted of a sex crime, an offense involving a child victim, a violent crime, a drug felony, or other offense the Secretary of Veterans Affairs deems appropriate. It also ensures that the bill will not weaken State or local laws that enforce rigorous hiring guidelines.
As a working mom, I know all too well how important it is to know that your children have a safe and healthy environment while away from home. Mr. Chair, ensuring our veterans have access to childcare at VA facilities is the least we can do for the men and women who have stood up to serve our country.
Over 6 million veteran households have children. In my own community, I have heard from the new generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, many with young families, on the need for VA to modernize services in line with their needs.
This includes local veterans I have spoken to at our American Legion in Woodland Park, who are working parents with small children. They have remarked that the extension of this program could be a significant benefit to the veteran community in New Jersey. This bill means less stress for our veterans who would need to otherwise arrange for childcare to make an appointment. They have also told me that this bill will help veterans make and attend appointments because they wouldn't have to worry about arranging childcare. This acknowledges both the needs of our veterans and creates a support network for them.
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to the Veterans' Access to Child Care Act, which will specifically include military sexual trauma counseling and care services in the definition of services eligible for childcare at a VA center clinic.
We ask our servicemembers to risk their lives and their health on behalf of our country. They take care of us, and it is our duty to take care of them, especially after they leave the military.
Over the summer, I spoke to veterans in my district in New Jersey about the inadequacies they see in VA services for this generation of returning servicemembers.
I heard from female servicemembers about the need for better counseling services for victims of military sexual trauma, or MST. Several of the female veterans at a roundtable I held this summer remarked on the fact that their voices were not heard in either the planning of services or implementation of services.
Many of their fellow veterans did not make important appointments due to lack of access to childcare. Certainly, as a mother, I would not feel comfortable attending counseling and relating a story of sexual assault to a counselor in front of my children.
This amendment is just one step in what must be an ongoing effort in this Congress to address military sexual assault trauma. The Department of Defense estimates that in 2016, 14,900 Active Duty servicemembers, men and women, experience a sexual assault.
While this number is much lower than the 34,000 Active Duty servicemembers who are believed to have experienced a sexual assault in 2006, the armed services still has a long way to go to address military sexual assault in the ranks.
The female veterans in my community have remarked that because of the trauma of military sexual trauma, women often do not report it, and, therefore, the number of veterans who have been sexually assaulted is woefully underreported.
These are the invisible wounds of war--invisible trauma that we cannot see as our servicemembers return home. I am particularly concerned that victims of sexual trauma, which is prevalent in military and civilian populations, are not getting the services that they need.
This amendment will ensure survivors are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve when trying to access care at the VA without worrying about the cost or availability of childcare.
I take this opportunity to thank some of the veteran service groups in our district, like Welcome Home Vets and SOS Stakeholders, who support our veterans, give feedback to the VA on the needs of our servicemembers, and work tirelessly to connect service providers with veterans.
I also thank Congresswoman Kuster and Congresswoman Moore for cosponsoring this amendment and their tireless advocacy for our veterans.
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
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Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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