July 23, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 124 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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PROVIDING BENEFITS INFORMATION IN SPANISH AND TAGALOG FOR VETERANS AND FAMILIES ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 124
(House of Representatives - July 23, 2019)
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[Pages H7204-H7206] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PROVIDING BENEFITS INFORMATION IN SPANISH AND TAGALOG FOR VETERANS AND FAMILIES ACT Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2943) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make all fact sheets of the Department of Veterans Affairs in English and Spanish, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2943 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 ``Providing Benefits Information in Spanish and Tagalog for Veterans and Families Act''. SEC. 2. FACT SHEETS. (a) Languages.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make versions of all fact sheets of the Department of Veterans Affairs in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. (b) Website.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and maintain a publicly available website of the Department of Veterans Affairs that contains links to all fact sheets of the Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Health Administration, and of the National Cemetery Administration. The website shall be accessible by a clearly labelled hyperlink on the homepage of the Department. (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit a report to Congress regarding fact sheets described in subsection (a) and details of the Language Access Plan of the Department of Veteran Affairs. The report shall include the following: (1) What the Secretary determines constitutes a fact sheet of the Department for purposes of this Act. (2) How such fact sheets are utilized and distributed other than on and through the website of the Department. (3) How such Language Access Plan is communicated to veterans, family members of veterans, and caregivers. (4) The roles and responsibilities of patient advocates in the coordination of care for veterans with limited English proficiency, family members of such veterans, and caregivers. [[Page H7205]] (5) Other demographic information that the Secretary determines appropriate regarding veterans with limited English proficiency. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2943, as amended. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. {time} 1700 Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Mr. Cisneros' bill, H.R. 2943, as amended, which would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide all VA fact sheets in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. One of my chief priorities as chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is to remove barriers that stand between veterans and their benefits. A language barrier should not prevent veterans from accessing the benefits they earned, and the burden should not be placed on veterans to request and wait for the VA to provide a translator. Mandating that fact sheets be provided in Spanish and Tagalog will break down a significant barrier that stands in between Latinx and Filipino veterans and their VA benefits. Mr. Cisneros' bill, H.R. 2943, as amended, mandates that all fact sheets be available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. Our veterans answered the call to serve from places around the world, including the Philippines and Puerto Rico, where English is not the predominant language. There are communities across the U.S., including in my district, where Spanish is commonly spoken and understood. This fix is easy; it does not come at an increased cost; and it is the right thing to do. The Department of Veterans Affairs produces fact sheets that explain many VA programs and benefits. The VA fact sheets provide key facts, such as eligibility criteria, documents needed to help support claims, and links to appropriate application forms. These fact sheets explain the process for getting a VA-guaranteed home loan, applying for disability compensation, using GI Bill benefits, and obtaining burial benefits for veterans and their surviving family members. Brochures and fact sheets explain VA healthcare benefits to veterans and caregivers. These fact sheets also advise veterans on the supporting documentation they need to help them apply for benefits so they are correctly identified as eligible or their claims are successfully adjudicated. During the codel I led to Puerto Rico this past weekend, I met with veterans who told me they are not receiving information on VA programs, and when they do receive information, it is in English, not Spanish. The one veteran who received a brochure on the MISSION Act in Spanish said it was incomplete compared to the English materials. This disparity should not exist. Veterans, regardless of the language they speak or where they live, should be able to understand how to access their benefits easily. I ask my colleagues to help our veterans who have done so much to serve our country and join me in supporting H.R. 2943, as amended. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I commend the chairman for bringing these bills forward in committee. I also commend the Speaker of the House for putting these bills on the agenda today, as well as the majority leader and the minority leader. These are very important bills. I rise today to support H.R. 2943, as amended. This bill, which is sponsored by Representative Gil Cisneros of California, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to make all fact sheets available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. During the markup of this bill, the committee adopted an amendment that Ranking Member Roe offered to further require the VA to post all fact sheets on a clearly identifiable, easily accessible location on the VA's website and require the VA to report to Congress on the Department's language-access plan to assist veterans with limited English proficiency. This would ensure that the entirety of our veteran population, as well as their families and caregivers, are able to access and comprehend important information about VA benefits easily. It would also ensure that any barriers to care that might exist for veterans with limited English skills, Madam Speaker, are identified and broken down. I am grateful to Representative Cisneros for introducing this bill, and I am proud to support it today. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cisneros), my good friend and a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee who is also a veteran himself, the author of this legislation. Mr. CISNEROS. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano for his leadership on this issue and for working with me to ensure this bill passed out of committee on a bipartisan basis. I also thank the gentleman from Florida for his support on this bill. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to rise today to ask my colleagues for their support on my bill, H.R. 2943, the Providing Benefits Information in Spanish and Tagalog for Veterans and Families Act. So many veterans have come from Puerto Rico, as well as the Philippines. The VA actually does have a hospital both in Puerto Rico and in the Philippines. This legislation would direct the VA Secretary to make all Department of Veterans Affairs fact sheets available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog. According to the U.S. Census, as of July 1, 2017, the U.S. Hispanic population is approximately 59 million people, making up 18 percent of the Nation's total population, making people of Hispanic origin the Nation's largest ethnic or racial minority. The U.S. Census has also reported that Filipino Americans make up the third-largest AAPI subgroup, with an estimated 4 million people living in the United States. With those changing demographics trending toward a more racially and ethnically diverse majority, the veteran population is diversifying at similar rates. The share of veterans who are Hispanic is expected to nearly double. During my time in service, many of my proud brothers and sisters in arms were of Filipino descent. With Spanish and Tagalog as the first language of an increasing number of veterans and their families, and our significant strategic national security footprint in Puerto Rico and the Philippines, it is important that fact sheets offered by the VA are made available to everyone. This bill would serve as an initial step in ensuring veterans and their families with limited English proficiency have full access and information on VA services, without burden or barriers. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of my bill to ensure we do not overlook veterans and their families who may need these important fact sheets. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, this is a very important bill. We were just overseas and met with the troops, and we had quite a few servicemembers from Puerto Rico. I would like to say that most of them spoke perfect English, but they may not. They should have access to all the information in their first language. Madam Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I am also prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time to render my final comments. [[Page H7206]] Our veterans and their survivors deserve the best care possible. The VA benefits application process can be confusing. Congress has taken action to reduce confusion and ease the application process. I remember when, only a few years ago, initial claims were taking more than a year. Today, initial disability claims are being completed in less than 160 days. This is, in part, due to streamlining the application process and providing more information to veterans. As I learned during the codel to Puerto Rico, in emergencies like Hurricane Maria, veterans need to know how the VA can help them prepare for the next storm. They need to know that they can get additional supplies of medication. Veterans need to know where to go in an emergency when communications are disrupted. They also need to know how to apply for assistance and emergency benefits after a disaster like Hurricane Maria because these disasters will happen again. The VA fact sheet on natural disasters, which tells veterans and their families which website to go to and where to call when their benefits are interrupted due to natural disasters, is only available in English. Yet, both the Philippines and Puerto Rico experience natural disasters like hurricanes, typhoons, and earthquakes. Mandating that VA fact sheets are made available in more than one language is yet another example of ways we can eliminate barriers for our veterans, streamline the application process, and help them get to the right resources when there is an emergency. Providing fact sheets in Tagalog and Spanish could even save lives. Madam Speaker, I wholeheartedly support H.R. 2943, as amended, and, again, I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Castor of Florida). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2943, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make all fact sheets of the Department of Veterans Affairs in English, Spanish, and Tagalog.''. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
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