Caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] about 20 minutes left in this discussion. A reminder, you can find it online at cspan. Org wj. The house gaveling back in. We take you now to the floor. He house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. The hat purpose does gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano madam speaker, i suspend the house rules and pass h. R. 4920. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4920, a bill to amentitle 38, United States an , to provide for exception to certain Small Business contracting equirements applicable to the department of Veterans Affairs procurement of certain goods and Services Covered under the Ability One Program, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempe pursuant to the rule, the california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from will each bost, control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano mad speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks extraneous material on h. R. 4920. The speaker pro tempore without objection. You, madam thank speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano this bipartisan legislaon sponsored by Ranking Member roe and me and 17 other provide would critically needed relief for onprofit companies that employ blind and disabled workers under the Ability One Program. Approximately 2,000 blind and disaed americans, including many veterans, are employed under v. A. s ability one contracts. Without this legislation, these nonprofit companiesill likely lose their v. A. Contracts because they will lose their awar preference. This bill would only exempt or grandfather the existing ability one v. A. Contracts from losing their preference so these employers so these employees would keep thei jobs it will not expandhe program. V. A. Expands spends approximately 27 billion on contracts and government purchase cards for goods and services. Of this spending, only about 100 million is spent on contracts with ability one nonprofit businesses. Approximately 5 billion is spent on ntracts with veteranowned Small Businesses. Many owned by dabled veterans in other words, a v. A. s ability one contracts are a very small percentage of the departments spending of the departments spending. Wever, the program is vital for the 2,0 blind and otherwise disabled individuals employed through ability one. This committee has long championed the Veterans FirstContracting Program and providing more opportunities for veteranowne Small Businesses to do business with the federal government. This legislati means we can pport both the veteran programs that employ and increase economic opportuties for veterans and individuals with disabilities. This bill was approved unimously by the committee on Veterans Affairs and is suppted by the blind veterans association, National Federation of the blind, American Council of the blind, National Industries for the blind, naonal association for the employment of people who are blind, source america, and tional council of source america employers. I urge my colleagues to support this very important legislation. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The eaker pro tempore the gtleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Thank you. Madam speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Thank you. Madam speaker, i rise today in ort of h. R. 920, the v. A. Contracting preference consistency act. I thank cirman takano for introducing the legislation, whichould preserv Employment Opportunities for bld and severy disabled that rely on v. A. Ntracts. This billaddresses a terrible technical conlict between the Abilityone Program and the v. A. Veterans fist program. Im sorry to say this cflict ists because of congrs oversight in drafting of the terans benefit pact of 2006. Whereas earlier legislation was clear aboutherograms 2006 act was silent. Mr. Bost the result has been a series of lawsuits beginning in 2017. I wish this conflict did not exist. But the fact is it does. And it still does. And it has put the jobs of over 2,000 individuals who are blind or severely disabled potentially at risk. Theyre a vulnerable population with an inability with an Unemployment Rate that hovers around 70 to 80 . The bills solution is simple and equitable. It preserves only the ability one work that was being performed in v. A. As of december 22, 2006. When the veterans benefit act of 2006 was enacted, creating the Veterans First program. No new work will go into the Ability One Program, rather it will all be reserved for Service Disability veteranowned Small Businesses under the rule of two. This is very similar to the v. A. s policy which balanced the two programs for nearly 10 years. While that policy provided effect was effective in practice, it was struck down because it lacked a clear statutory basis. Unfortunately theres been a great deal of wrong information circulating about this legislation. Some had alleged that it would abolish the vets Program Program or wipe away the supreme courts decision, and thats simply not true. He Vets First Program is a successful story. The volume of v. A. Contracting with veteransowned Small Businesses now exceeds 5 billion annually. This legislation in no way, shape or form erodes that. On the other hand, the v. A. Spending in the Ability One Program fluctuates between 100 million and 200 million in a typical year. This legislation would preserve only a portion of that, the portion that exists before vets first was created. At the end of the day, this issue about preserving jobs for the blind and disabled individuals and these jobs are extremely scarce. I want to see these jobs multiply, become higher paying and more opportunities for advancement. And the first step to do that is to make sure jobs continue to exist. There have already been a significant number of furloughs at ability one nonprofits. It is vital that we act before those furloughs turn to fulltime laufs. Last week 497 vets who are employed by the ability one nonprofit or supporters of the program sent a letter urging passage of this bill. The committee has received many other letters from businesses Business Owners who are opposing the bill who do not oppose the bill, depending on which program they are associated with. I do not for one minute want to fall into that false choice between opportunities for veterans and opportunities for blind and disabled individuals. They can coexist. They have coexisted in the past. And i want to make sure that they coexist in the future. To that end, i want to thank all of the cosponsors of this broadly Bipartisan Legislation and with that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i have no further speakers. Im prepared to close. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Bost thank you, madam speaker. I would like to yield at this time two minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina , ms. Virginia foxx. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, madam chairman. Madam speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 4920, the department of Veterans Affairs contracting preference consistency act. This bipartisan bill provides a necessary fix to ensure that nonprofit organizations that provide jobs for the blind and those with significant disabilities and companies that are owned by veterans receive their due and are no longer in conflict. The Ability One Program was enacted by congress to give nonprofit organizations that employ the blind or those with significant disabilities preference treatment in competing for certain federal procurement contracts. Unfortunately, due to an unnecessary conflict between ability one and a similar program, the Veterans First program, which sets aside some department of Veterans Affairs contracts for servicedisabled veteranowned Small Businesses, a legislative fix became necessary. R. 4920 provides that fix by grandfathering in v. A. Contracts that predate the creation of the Vets First Program, to restore eligibility for nonprofit organizations that employ blind individuals or those with significant disabilities. This Bipartisan Legislation is proof that the choices between helping veterans and those with disabilities is not mutually exclusive. Id like to thank chairman takano and Ranking Member roe and all of the members on the committee for their work on this bill, and i urge my colleagues to support its passage and i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Bost i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california eserves. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Bost madam speaker, im ready to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bost thank you, madam speaker. As has been testimony here today from both sides of the aisle, this is a both of these programs are vitally important. We believe the sister legislation would move forward in making sure that both veterans and the blind and disabled that are working in our v. A. System will be taken care of. I appreciate everyone thats been a sponsor of this bill, and i encourage all members involved to vote yes. And with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4920, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 4920. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4183, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4183, a bill to direct the controller general of the United States to conduct a study on disability and pension benefits provided to members of the National Guard and members of reserve components of the armed forces by the department of Veterans Affairs and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. Bost, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on h. R. 4183, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4183, as amended, identifying barriers and best practices study act, introduced by representative khanna of california. I support this legislation that requests a multiyear study on v. A. Disability and pension benefits for members of the reserve components and National Guard. My veteran should have access to care and compensation for loss of earning power. Since september 11, members of the reserve component and National Guard have increasinglyanced the call to service to increasingly answered the call to service to meet our nations needs. Yet despite this, members of the National Guard and reservists and their families dont always have access to care. We have heard from v. S. O. Partners that members of the forward and reservists have trouble proving injury. Their medical records can be scattered and incomplete. This potentially affects forwards and reservists. The difficulty of obtaining a line of duty which provides clear documentation of injury rests on their shoulders. This can prevent receipt of compensation if the v. A. Down the road. The study requested by this bill will compare reserve and National Guard veterans and special operators such as pilots and divers to active duty veterans and provide congress with a report on barriers they face when receiving their benefits through v. A. The findings in the report will best inform congress on next steps toward providing reserve and National Guard veterans the compensation and benefits they have earned. I urge all members to support h. R. 4183 as amended and take the first steps to removing barriers to benefits for guard, reserve, and special operators. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Bost thank you. Madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bost thank you. Madam speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 4183, the identifying barriers and best practice studies act. H. R. 4183 as amended would require the Government Accountability office to complete a study that compares the utilization of disabilities and pension benefit between veterans of the National Guard, reserve, and active duty components. Some National Guard and reserve veterans believe its more challenging for them to successfully apply for v. A. Benefits compared to veterans of regular components. According to a statement from the record provided by the american leon during the subcommittee hearing on h r. 4183, guard and reserve veterans have historically been at a disadvantage when seeking v. A. Compensation and benefits due to poor reporting and documentation of injury which is occurred during a period of reserve or active duty for training. We must ensure that all of our veterans who have been injured as a result of their service receive the benefits they have earned. This legislation would shed additional insight into the barriers our National Guard and reserve veterans could face when seeking v. A. Benefits. This may in turn inform how v. A. Could improve its claims process for National Guard and reserve veterans. I encourage all members to support h. R. 4183 as amended and with that, i reserve the balance f my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano i have no further speakers and im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bost im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Bost thank you, madam speaker. As mentioned, this is a problem we have been dealing with with our reserves and National Guard, we want to make sure theyre provided with these benefits. I want to encourage all our members to support this legislation and with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano madam speaker, i want to take this moment to just reflect on how much our reservists and National Guard have contributed to our National Defense in these past 18 years. Some of us may recall the role of the guard and reserve during the vietnam war era where that was often a refuge for Service Members who were not expecting to be called into active duty, or called into service. But gone are those days. The National Guard and reserve are called up frequently and often on multiple deployments and they have served our country tremendous with patriotism. So i have to say that im very pleased that were moving forward with a study. I think it is a travesty if our reservists and guard cannot document their serviceconnected injuries and not be able to collect the benefits that they deserve down the road. With that, i urge all my colleagues to join me in passing h. R. 4183 as amended. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 4183 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. I