Title: Expressing support for policies that maintain a robust, fully funded and staffed Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs and do not jeopardize care for veterans by moving essential resources to the for-profit private sector.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for policies that provide necessary resources to maintain a robust Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and create integrated veterans health care networks.
The resolution also expresses opposition to policies that would move resources from the VHA to the private sector.
Additionally, the resolution supports the right to form, join, and operate independent labor unions in the government and private sector and opposes efforts against unionizing and collective bargaining procedures.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 701 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 701

 Expressing support for policies that maintain a robust, fully funded 
    and staffed Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 
  Veterans Affairs and do not jeopardize care for veterans by moving 
         essential resources to the for-profit private sector.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2019

Mr. Grijalva (for himself, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Pocan, and Mr. Takano) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 
 Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for policies that maintain a robust, fully funded 
    and staffed Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 
  Veterans Affairs and do not jeopardize care for veterans by moving 
         essential resources to the for-profit private sector.

Whereas Congress has promoted policies to improve the health care capabilities 
        of the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing significant increases 
        in funds to hire staff, conduct research, build more facilities, and 
        improve training;
Whereas the approximately 19,300,000 veterans of the United States are a diverse 
        group of individuals including older veterans with diseases associated 
        with aging and disabilities associated with past wars which require 
        frequent care and younger veterans with complex conditions related to 
        improved battlefield medical care, and as a group contain a higher 
        percentage of seriously wounded individuals needing complex lifelong 
        physical and mental health care, which differs greatly from the patient 
        mix cared for by most non-VA providers;
Whereas over 9,300,000 veterans are enrolled in the health care system of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, and of this number 7,100,000 actually 
        use the health care system for all or part of their care, which is an 
        increase of 82 percent since 2001, showing massive, growing need for 
        care furnished by the VA;
Whereas the RAND Corporation examined a decade of research and found that VA-
        provided care is equal to or better quality than private sector care in 
        all forty-seven quality-of-care measurements it conducted as part of an 
        independent assessment comparing VA outpatient care with comparable 
        civilian facilities;
Whereas the RAND Corporation's Ready to Serve national study found that compared 
        to non-VA mental health providers, VA mental health providers were 
        significantly more likely to deliver both culturally competent care, 
        which is important for engaging veterans and increasing access to care, 
        as well as evidenced-based care that yields clinically meaningful and 
        significant improvement of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and major 
        depression;
Whereas the Department of Veterans Affairs is better equipped than most non-VA 
        providers to coordinate complex veteran care and provide continuity of 
        resources for veterans, yet an increasing number of veterans are being 
        sent into the private sector each year, first pursuant to the Veterans 
        Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146) and 
        now pursuant to the VA MISSION Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-182);
Whereas mental health services, including suicide prevention, are of paramount 
        importance;
Whereas the over 420,000 employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs are 
        dedicated public servants;
Whereas, according to a bipartisan survey by Lake Research and Chesapeake Beach 
        Consulting, 80 percent of veterans polled oppose turning health care 
        provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs into a system of private 
        sector vouchers that may not adequately cover costs;
Whereas a Veterans of Foreign Wars survey found that 92 percent of veterans 
        believe working to fix the VA, rather than dismantling it, is the best 
        way to improve the care provided to America's veterans;
Whereas millions of dollars are being spent by organizations which value 
        dismantling the Department of Veterans Affairs and outsourcing veteran 
        care for private profit over investing in the Department;
Whereas one of the top priorities should be the expansion of care for the more 
        than 4,700,000 rural veterans by using rural clinics, VA mobile clinics, 
        and telemedicine under the supervision of each veteran's primary VA 
        doctor;
Whereas funding has not been increased sufficiently under the VA MISSION Act of 
        2018 (Public Law 115-182) for the Veteran Community Care Program that 
        pays for the costs of providing veterans private health care at the same 
        time that the Administration is requesting inadequate funding for 
        medical services at the Veterans Health Administration;
Whereas the freedom of workers to organize unions is an internationally 
        recognized human right, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights;
Whereas the right of Federal employees to form and join unions and to engage in 
        collective bargaining was established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 
        1978 (Public Law 95-454);
Whereas 30 percent of workers at the VA are veterans themselves and as strong 
        members of a union receive the good pay and benefits they deserve;
Whereas it is vital to attract qualified individuals to fill workforce shortages 
        within the VA system;
Whereas, on May 25, 2018, President Trump issued Executive Orders that proposed 
        damaging changes to unionizing and collective bargaining procedures 
        including eliminating nearly all union and workers use of ``official'' 
        time and eliminating reasonable due process rights; and
Whereas unions provide many benefits to our democracy, economy, and working 
        families, and a union worker receives on average 18 percent higher 
        weekly wages than nonunion workers: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports policies to provide necessary resources to 
        serve veterans by maintaining a robust Veterans Health 
        Administration;
            (2) opposes policies that would jeopardize care for 
        veterans by moving essential resources and veterans away from 
        the Veterans Health Administration and into the for-profit 
        private sector;
            (3) supports policies that would create integrated health 
        care networks for veterans with the Veterans Health 
        Administration serving as the coordinator and primary provider 
        of care, and selected high-quality non-VA partners providing 
        care when and where needed to ensure timely and convenient 
        access for all enrolled veterans, including those who reside in 
        rural areas;
            (4) supports the right of all Americans to form, join, and 
        operate independent labor unions at all government levels and 
        in the private sector; and
            (5) opposes any efforts against unionizing and collective 
        bargaining procedures.
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