Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, as many of my colleagues know, the transition from deployment to civilian life is frequently difficult. Vet Centers, created in the wake of the Vietnam War, are community- based centers that were designed to provide critical services for veterans, service members, and their families. Today, there is a need to enhance these Centers to realize that original vision--which is why I am introducing the Vet Center Improvement Act.

This legislation is an outgrowth of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation that Senator Tester and I requested into allegations that changes to performance metrics at Vet Centers may have negatively impacted care and additional concerns that he and I had about their staffing practices. The subsequent GAO report concluded that recent changes ``have the potential to negatively affect care and create undue burden and stress on counselors providing that care at some Vet Centers.'' This report included recommendations to improve care, transparency, and hiring and staffing methods that form the foundation for our legislation.

Specifically, the Vet Center Improvement Act requires periodic review and reform of performance standards at Vet Centers; the creation and periodic reevaluation of a staffing model, along with standardization of position descriptions and responsibilities across Vet Centers; the creation of a working group to implement changes to improve quality of care for veterans and recruitment and retention of staff; and the GAO to review Vet Center infrastructure and examine what future investments are needed.

Additionally, our legislation creates a pilot program to provide grants to combat food insecurity and provide necessary heating and cooling assistance to veterans and their families. Food insecurity and the need for heating assistance are growing issues for veterans and others as a result of the pandemic.

I would like to thank Senator Tester for not only the attention he has paid to this issue as Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, but also for joining with me on this important legislation. Our legislation has received support from such organizations as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American Veterans (AMVETS), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), National Community Action Foundation (NCAF), National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP), the National Energy & Utility Affordability Coalition (NEUAC), and the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America. I look forward to continuing our partnership on this and other measures to improve care for our veterans, and I hope our colleagues will join us in this endeavor.

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