Senate Proceeding on Sep 24th, 2008 :: 4:43:53 to 4:58:35
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Speech By: Robert Menendez

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Robert Menendez: d of title 1 of s. 3297 be unsserted in lieu throrvetion that the amendment be considered and agreed to the bill as amed be read a third time, pad, and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table,

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with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. craig: mr. president, oib. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho? objection is heard. mr. menendez: mr. president,

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i assume my distinguished colleague from wyoming is object objecting on behalf of -- i mean, of idaho, is objecting on behalf of senator coburn. mr. craig: mr. president? mr. menendez: and i understand

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that if that is the case. you know, i have a problem in that we have a process that has festered here where one person suddenly believes that they are the guardian of what is good and what is

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n. and i always get concerned when suddenly one person in an institution believes that they can use the powers that are reserved largely for the purposes of ensuring that something that they feel is he

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passionate about or so strongly about and to protect the powers of the minority can be preserved but then it gets abused. and hundreds of pieces of legislation get stopped by one senator. now, i'm going

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to intend to continue to push this, because i want mothers throughout this country to understand who is it that is blocking their way from having the type of access and help that is necessary to be

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able to ensure that in fact they don't have to go through these depressions alone. we have many stories across the landscape of the country of mothers who didn't know that they were having postpartum

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depression and the consequences were that they thought about hurting their children. and hurting themselves. we can do far better. when the house of reprouesentatives passes this very same bill -- and

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we changed it to accommodate our colleagues on the republican side of the aisle in the "help"ommittee -- but passed it 382-3 -- 382-3, the reality is -- is that something is wrong when one senator believes

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Larry Craig: that they can stop the progress on behalf of millions of women in this country. and i'm going to come to the floor time and time again. i want american women know who is the impediment to the opportunity

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Larry Craig: for them to get the help they need. i want mothers to know who is the impediment to get the help they need. i want families to know who is the impediment to get the help they need. i want husbands

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Larry Craig: to know who is the impediment to have their spouse get the help they need. that is one senator, one senator. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate recess subject to the call of

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Larry Craig: the chair following the remarks of senator craig. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. craig: without objection, so ordered. mr. menendez: mr. president, i had another statement, but i see

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Larry Craig: senator craig here. even though i know he objected to my request on behalf of someone else, i am going to yield the floor and come back at a later time. mr. craig: mr. president? the presiding officer:

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Larry Craig: the senator from idaho is recognize ed recognized. mr. craig: mr. president, i thank my colleague's generosity. i understand the time constraint constraints he was underunder his u.c. and i appreciate

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Larry Craig: that a great deal. i certainly objected for this side because it had not been cleared and following the standard procedures of this senate, no senator comes to the floor in the absence of others and

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Larry Craig: makes the unanimous request expecting it to pass. and so i was speaking on behalf of the republican side where " senator" has not yet cleared this bill. it was not a reflection of my own attitude or concern

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Larry Craig: over the issue. mr. president, i have come to the floor often over the last good numbers of years to speak about a variety of issues. in the last four or five years i spoke of my concern over a lack

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Larry Craig: of a national energy policy and the productivity of the great private secretary in our country to produce energy for the american consumer and the in inability of public policy or political figures to allow

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Larry Craig: that to happen. for all kinds of reasons -- and of course we've now experience ed one of the greatest energy shocks in our country's economy, and yet we still stand still today, immobile in our ability

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Larry Craig: to deal with it for a variety of reasons. today i do not come to the floor to speak about energy. i'm here today to speak about two health cashes that are important to our nation: accessibility to

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Larry Craig: health care services and health care for veterans. as chairman of the vent veterans' affairs committee, i had the opportunity to learn more about the phenomenal job the department of veterans affairs

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Larry Craig: does to provide health care to our nation's veterans. v.a. runs facilities across the country that employ some of the finest doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. these are dedicate

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Larry Craig: ed men and women who provide world-class health care to our nation's heroes. the v.a. has also a training ground for many of our nation's health care professionals. according to the american association

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Larry Craig: of medical colleges, more than half -- yes, that's right -- more than half of our nation's physicians receive some part of their medical training in v.a. hospitals. over 28,000 residents and nearly

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Larry Craig: 17,000 medical students rotate through the v.a. health care systems each year. clearly, v.a. has become an in invaluable piece of the health care systems for all americans. at the same time, the v.a.

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Larry Craig: is a separate health care system within our nation and creates a certain disconnect. the focus of v.a. has been on establishing a system that is dependent upon bricks and mortar mortars and a fixed

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Larry Craig: location. in the vast majority of situations, veterans enrolled in the v.a. health care system must receive health care at v.a. facility ies unless they want to pay for care through private insurance

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Larry Craig: or out of their own pockets. this system that veterans -- this means that veterans who do not live near a v.a. facility have more difficulty -- a more difficult time accessing v.a. care because of where they

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Larry Craig: choose to live. to address this, v.a. aims to build facility ies in logistic locations or strategic locations to serve the greatest number of veterans. i'm pleased that in the past few years v.a.

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Larry Craig: increased the number of outpatient clinics in my state of idaho. unfortunately, these new clinics cannot completely serve -- or re resolve all of the issues or serve a veteran in a total way. i am

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Larry Craig: sure that all of my colleagues and particularly those who represent rural states like my home state of idaho have heard from veterans who wish they could utilize their v.a. health care benefits at a

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Larry Craig: facility close er to their home. it is a significant barrier to care when a veteran has to drive for several hours to reach a v.a. facility. an elderly veteran, possibly in his or her 70's or 80's,

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Larry Craig: driving literally hundreds of miles to get to that v.a. facility is in itself not only impractical, in many instances it is impossible for that veteran. we also need to concern health care access for

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Larry Craig: the general population. it is no surprise that our nation is face ing a crisis when it comes to having an adequate supply of health care professionals. according to a july 2007 report of the american

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Larry Craig: hospital association, u.s. hospitals need needed approximately 116,000 -- that's right, 116,000 registered nurses to fill vacant positions. this is a national r.n. vacancy rate of about 8.1%. another study

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Larry Craig: estimates that the shortage of our r.n.'s could reach 5 500,000 by 2025. i did the math on my age and determined that that's about when i'm going to start needing possibly more health care provided

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Larry Craig: by health care professionals and at this moment we're suggesting that that will be the period of time when there will be potentially the greatest shortage. an aging workforce, a shortage of slots in

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Larry Craig: nurse ing schools and a general population that is living longer and therefore requiring more health care services are all contributing to this nurse ing shortage. and this shortage in health care providers

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Larry Craig: is not limited to nurses. in the 2006 report by the health resources and services administration, they project a shortfall of around 55,000 physicians by 2020. in addition, various study ies have indicate

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Larry Craig: ed current or impend impending deficiencies in various specialties, including cardiology, resumenology, and -- and rumenology nology. and i think most americans understand the significance of this situation.

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Larry Craig: we can build all of the medical facilities we want. but they serve no purpose if there are not enough medical professionals to work in these hospitals and clinics. that is where v.a. and other medical

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Larry Craig: facility ies, be they public, private, or nonprofit, run into each other. they're all competing for a pool of health care professionals that are not growing and that is not -- that is not growing as quickly

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Larry Craig: as it is needed. i'm concerned that ultimately it will diminish the quality of health care that is delivered to our nation's veterans and, of course, to all americans. so how do we address the health

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Larry Craig: care needs of all americans when faced with these challenges? i think we need to examine how we -- how we can integrate v.a. facilities with other health care facilities to better serve not only veterans

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Larry Craig: but entire communities. is there a way that we can utilize existing v.a. facilies to serve all of those living in rural communities that struggle to recruit health care professionals without compromising

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Larry Craig: care for veterans? is there a way we can change the v.a. health care system to enable veterans to receive care at their local non-h.v. health care -v.a. healthcare providers? i know these kinds of changes

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Larry Craig: will not happen quickly and they will not happen easily. earlier this session, i introduced two pieces of legislation that proposed dramatic changes in v.a. health care system -- assistance. i'll

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Larry Craig: just say that these proposals were not enthusiastically welcomed by many in the entrenched v.a. advocacy community. s. 815, the veterans health care empowerment act, would allow veterans with a service-connected

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Larry Craig: disability to receive hospital or other medical -- medical care at a medicare or tricare eligible facility. when i introduced this legislation last month, i stated my belief that most veterans would

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Larry Craig: choose to continue to receive health care at a v.a. facility. i still believe that's true but i also know that this legislation would enhance access of care for veterans whop do -- veterans who

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Larry Craig: do not live near a v.a. facility by serving them in the communities in which they live. i also introduced legislation s. 441, state, veteran home modernization, which would allow instead of building

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Larry Craig: veterans homes to do noninstitutional care and to do day care and respite care for our veterans. i know my time is now limited to let me close with this thought. earlier this year, a group of young

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Larry Craig: iraqi and afghan vets dime my office concerned about health care. one of them pulled from his pocket a credit card and said, "senator, why can't this become a v.a. health care card that allows me access

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Larry Craig: to health care in my community paid for by the veterans administration because i have, upon my service and upon my disability, bn granted access to the v.a. health care system? i live in rural idaho but

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Larry Craig: i must travel miles when they are hospitals and clinics all around me and i can't have access to them. what's wrong with that picture?" what's wrong with that picture is that this wonderful, marvelous

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Larry Craig: v.a. health care system is a static, in-place system that doesn't have the flexibility that modern health care spheeks and that it must have -- care speaks to and that it must have in the future.

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Larry Craig: well, i'm retiring from the united states senate so these pieces of legislation will not be introduced again. but i am challenging my colleagues, as you stand and so proudly speak of your concern

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Larry Craig: for veterans and your concern for their care, that you step away from the bricks and mortars and from the frigidity ofri the activist-advocacy groups who think that the health care for veterans can only be delivered

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Larry Craig: in one form. modernize it. change it. give it flexibility if you want to give ultimate health care to your veterans and you want to integrate nonveterans into that quality health care system in