Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HCR86 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.C.R. No. 86
2	2
3	3
4	4	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
5	5	WHEREAS, The men and women who have served in this nation's
6	6	armed forces are entitled to ready access to the best possible
7	7	medical care; and
8	8	WHEREAS, For the more than 100,000 veterans living in the Rio
9	9	Grande Valley, the nearest U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
10	10	hospital is in San Antonio, as much as 300 miles and a five-hour
11	11	trip away, and the lack of a VA hospital in the Valley has long
12	12	imposed great hardships on veterans in that region and on their
13	13	families; and
14	14	WHEREAS, Veterans requesting appointments at the facility in
15	15	San Antonio typically wait months to be seen, even for serious
16	16	conditions; for those who cannot drive themselves, or who cannot
17	17	afford to drive, van transportation is provided by veterans service
18	18	groups; the lengthy trip, however, adds to the patients' physical
19	19	distress; no ambulances are available to convey veterans to San
20	20	Antonio, which makes the journey especially difficult for those who
21	21	are bedridden; and
22	22	WHEREAS, Once veterans arrive in San Antonio, they often wait
23	23	hours for an appointment that may take only 15 minutes, or they may
24	24	find that their appointment has been canceled; they may also
25	25	discover that they need to stay overnight, which adds to the
26	26	time-consuming nature of their trip and to its expense; and
27	27	WHEREAS, For veterans who must go to San Antonio several
28	28	times a month, the time lost to travel can make it difficult to hold
29	29	a job; the demands of such a trip also place a great burden on family
30	30	members who have to take time off from work, and possibly arrange
31	31	for child care, to drive a veteran to San Antonio, and who may need
32	32	to make such trips for many years; the cost of gas and meals, in
33	33	addition to the expense of lodging, if that is required,
34	34	substantially exceeds the prescribed travel allowance; and
35	35	WHEREAS, The current facilities for veterans health care in
36	36	the Valley are manifestly inadequate; the VA presently operates
37	37	several outpatient clinics in the region, but these do not offer the
38	38	full range of services, including testing and therapy, available in
39	39	San Antonio; moreover, the VA has failed to pay the bills of many
40	40	veterans who have had to seek emergency care at a local hospital; in
41	41	addition, although there are plans to contract with area hospitals
42	42	to provide some inpatient veterans care, the medical personnel in
43	43	those facilities are unlikely to have the necessary expertise in
44	44	treating the injuries and psychological trauma sustained by combat
45	45	veterans; and
46	46	WHEREAS, In recent years, local veterans organizations have
47	47	formed the Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley to help raise
48	48	awareness of this issue; and
49	49	WHEREAS, Veterans who live in the Valley, veterans from out
50	50	of state who make their home in the Valley during the winter months,
51	51	and U.S. veterans who reside in Mexico all sorely need and clearly
52	52	deserve a fully staffed, full-service veterans hospital in far
53	53	South Texas; now, therefore, be it
54	54	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
55	55	hereby affirm its support for the establishment of a veterans
56	56	hospital in the Rio Grande Valley; and, be it further
57	57	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
58	58	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
59	59	the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to the
60	60	speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
61	61	senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
62	62	Texas delegation to the Congress with the request that this
63	63	resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
64	64	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
65	65	Pea
66	66	Anderson
67	67	Lucio III
68	68	Gonzales
69	69	Guillen
70	70	______________________________ ______________________________
71	71	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
72	72	I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the House on April
73	73	22, 2009, by a non-record vote.
74	74	______________________________
75	75	Chief Clerk of the House
76	76	I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the Senate on May
77	77	21, 2009, by a viva-voce vote.
78	78	______________________________
79	79	Secretary of the Senate
80	80	APPROVED: __________________
81	81	Date
82	82	__________________
83	83	Governor