Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. TITUS. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Nevada is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. TITUS. As the ranking member of the Disability Assistance Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the Veterans' Affairs authorizing committee, I rise today in support of this appropriations bill, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for the hard work that they put into this bill.

One of the main reasons that I support it is because it furthers our goal of eliminating the VA benefits backlog, which is an issue our committee has worked on daily for the last year and a half. One of my top priorities is ensuring that our Nation's heroes receive all the benefits they have earned in a timely fashion.

While I support this bill, I would like to take just a minute or two to raise an issue that is troubling to me and hope to bring it to the attention of the other Members of the House.

I know many of my colleagues will be deeply saddened to learn that some veterans and their families across the country are being denied the benefits that they earned while serving our Nation. A recent example of this discrimination against some of our Nation's veterans was highlighted in a report by CBS News just last week.

Seventy-four-year-old Madelynn Taylor of Boise, Idaho, proudly served her country in the United States Navy for 6 years. She lost her spouse in 2012 and soon after began the task of making arrangements to ensure that the two of them would be together in death just as they were in life. Being a veteran, Madelynn had the right to be interred at a State or national veterans cemetery. Since the closest national cemetery to Boise was nearly 8 hours away in western Oregon, Madelynn decided to inquire about a joint spot and memorial wall with her and her spouse's ashes to lay in rest together, just as hundreds of other couples have done, at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in her hometown of Boise.

The Idaho State Veterans Cemetery was opened a decade ago with 100 percent of the funding for the design, construction, and equipment costs coming from a Federal grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' State Cemetery Grants Program, and the cemetery continues to receive Federal funding for operations.

When Madelynn brought the necessary paperwork, including her discharge papers and marriage certificate, she was told that she and her spouse would not be allowed to be buried together.

Why, you ask, was she denied this right? The answer is that Madelynn is a lesbian. Idaho State law does not recognize the legality of a marriage between Madelynn and her wife, Jean, and therefore is denying the couple the honor and dignity earned through Madelynn's service as a member of the United States Navy.

Madelynn said this of her situation:

I just feel that it's the right place for me. I am a veteran, so they should let me ..... in fact, they would let me alone be in that crypt, but I don't want to be alone. I want Jean with me.

We rightfully elevate our veterans and their families because of their service and sacrifice, yet today some veterans across the country face discrimination by the States and the Federal Government they sought to defend. No veteran or their family should be treated as second-class citizens.

Nearly a year after the landmark Supreme Court decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, which effectively extended Federal benefits to legally married couples, we see the Nation's gay and lesbian veterans face obstacles accessing the benefits that they have earned and rightfully deserve.

While in uniform, our LGBT soldiers have access to the full complement of benefits available to members of the armed services. The second they transition out of the military, they are forced to leave these benefits behind.

I have introduced legislation to end this disservice, and I invite my colleagues to join me in supporting this important effort.

Mr. Chairman, today we debate legislation to fund the critical work of the VA and the earned benefits of our Nation's heroes and their families. My hope is that this body will give equal attention to all our veterans and their families and end the discrimination they experience when seeking benefits, including the right to be buried with their legally married, same-sex spouses.

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Ms. TITUS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Nevada is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. TITUS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment by Messrs. Blumenauer, Rohrabacher, and Farr. I am strongly in favor of it.

The people of Nevada voted overwhelmingly to legalize medical marijuana. In the coming months, the first medical marijuana depositories will go online throughout the State. At the same time, we also have a brandnew VA hospital, which will be serving the veterans of my district and all across southern Nevada.

Unfortunately, due to VA's current restrictions, the more than 250,000 veterans who call Nevada home will be unable to receive a prescription for medical marijuana through their VA doctors, and so they will not have the opportunity to take advantage of this available in Nevada medical option.

This is just not fair. I believe that the VA should have the flexibility. It has been said much more eloquently than I can by the sponsors of this amendment; but the VA should have the flexibility to recommend the best medical treatments available to our Nation's veterans, especially if that treatment is approved under the State laws where the veteran lives.

As a Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I regularly speak with both VA doctors and patients about advances in care for our Nation's heroes. Forcing those people--those brave men and women who have sacrificed so much--now to seek outside medical evaluation to access legal medical treatment from doctors who have little or no understanding of the unique challenges that our veterans face is simply bad policy--bad political policy and bad medical policy.

We have already seen the positive results that medical marijuana can have for patients suffering from PTSD and other ailments associated with traumatic experiences, such as combat. More studies are underway--including by the VA itself--that are anticipated to show these same kinds of results, and we have heard numerous stories firsthand.

I support this. I think it is common sense, it is bipartisan, we should move forward, and I urge my colleagues to join.

At this time, I yield the remainder of my time to Mr. Blumenauer.

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