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

Floor Speech

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Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:

Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to prepare an environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to a health care facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs that is--

(1) designated as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service; and

(2) located in a highly rural area.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from South Dakota is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Chairman, as you may know, the Department of Veterans Affairs manages thousands of historically significant parties, and according to a recently released study and report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the VA has a track record for neglecting these national treasures.

By neglecting these properties, veterans in South Dakota and across the country have suffered by creating obstacles, so veterans can't gain access to health care. Many of them have to travel many, many hours for just a simple checkup.

My amendment is very simple and straightforward. It protects rural veterans access to health care by ensuring that no funds will go towards closing rural hospitals in high-need areas that are designated as national historic landmarks.

Reports have shown that the VA needs to pay more attention to these national landmarks it is entrusted with and focus on the veterans that these facilities serve. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment.

I want to thank the chairman, ranking member, and the committee staff for helping me offer it today, and I ask for your support.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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