Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1228) to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the organization of the Office of Survivors Assistance of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1228

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Prioritizing Veterans' Survivors Act''. SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF ORGANIZATION OF THE OFFICE OF SURVIVORS ASSISTANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

Section 321(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ``in the Department'' and inserting ``in the Office of the Secretary''.

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Mr. BOST. 1228.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1228, offered by my friend and colleague Representative Ciscomani of Arizona.

This bill would ensure that VA prioritizes its care, services, and benefits for surviving family members of veterans as much as VA does for veterans.

This bill would do so by requiring that the VA Office of Survivors Assistance conducts its mission within the Office of the VA Secretary.

In 2008, Congress created the Office of Survivors Assistance to serve as the Secretary's principal adviser and resource on all VA benefits and services for veterans' surviving loved ones.

However, the Biden-Harris administration moved this office from the Secretary's office to the Veterans Benefits Administration Pension and Fiduciary Service.

This decision to hide the Office of Survivors Assistance near the bottom of the VA organizational chart reflected the Biden-Harris administration's lack of commitment to the surviving loved ones of our veterans.

During the Biden-Harris administration, the Office of Survivors Assistance did not have a direct line to the Secretary on the care, services, and benefits offered by the VA offices, including those outside the VBA's Pension and Fiduciary Services that they did in the original bill of 2008.

Mr. Ciscomani's bill will correct the Biden-Harris administration's disservice to survivors and would ensure survivors have a seat at the table again.

The current administration supports this bill and is therefore as committed as I am to ensuring that the needs of the veterans' surviving families are prioritized by the VA.

Now, I am proud to co-lead this bill with Representative Ciscomani on behalf of the surviving families of our Nation's heroes, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1228.
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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, very clearly, I say to our veterans and the taxpayers that a partial claim bill would cure the problems that veterans are having with their home loans. If the ranking member and the other side of the aisle will work together with us, with the partial claim program, we can actually do that.

By going down the path that he has just said--he says he is for the veterans. Apparently, he is only for the veterans today because the veterans of tomorrow will not have the program because it will break the bank.

This is actually sensible. It is a way that we can do this. We can make sure our veterans are taken care of. We need to pass the bill that we were just discussing, which is H.R. 1228.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
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