As if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of my resolution, which is at the desk. Further, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon table with no intervening action or debate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Senator from Kansas. Mr. MORAN. Madam President, reserving the right to object, clearly, this is an important issue and one that has received attention by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and will continue to make certain that the decisions that are made by Department officials and by the administration are compatible with the well-being and best interests of those who served our Nation and are now veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs does need reform. The status quo is not acceptable. We need to make certain that every veteran, every member of our military who is now a veteran and seeks services in the Department of Veterans Affairs, that their needs are met. It has been a longtime goal of mine to make certain that the promises that were made to those who served are promises that are kept. We know things aren't as they should be at the Department of Veterans Affairs. All of us in this Senate have staff members who work on cases--what we call casework--to try to solve the challenges that a veteran meets in dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs. We all walk the streets of our home States. We have meetings and have conversations with those. And, often, it is a veteran who comes to tell us the story of what help they still need. While I continue to believe that nearly everyone--most who work at the Department of Veterans Affairs, many of whom are veterans themselves, are working diligently to make sure their colleagues-- veterans they shared that service with--are treated in a fashion that provides them with the best quality care and provides them with the benefits they have earned. Yet we know the system is still far from being able to accomplish that goal. In fact, the Department of Veterans Affairs--so many times, we have reports from the inspector general, who outlined dramatic changes that need to be made and outlined instances in which the Department of Veterans Affairs has failed in significant ways in meeting the needs of those who served our Nation. We have about 150-, 200,000 veterans in Kansas. They are a significant component of the nature of our State. They are respected and admired by their fellow Kansans. It is important for us to make sure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is living up to its commitment. It is our job as Senators and it is our job as members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs to do those things. The Senator from Connecticut is right. We have provided the tools to the Department, new opportunities for veterans to be better served and served in more ways--combating suicide; making sure that mental health services are more readily available; providing services through telemedicine; and most recently--well, almost most recently--the PACT Act, which provided new and additional benefits, both healthcare and financial, to those who served in Southeast Asia and served in Iraq and Afghanistan in regard to toxic exposure; and even more recently than that, care for and support for caregivers, those who serve their loved ones, family members who help veterans throughout the day in their circumstances--the Elizabeth Dole Act. So we are actively engaged in trying to make certain and hopefully making progress in making certain that more veterans receive better care at every opportunity. But the VA still needs a serious and thorough evaluation, and a component of that is workforce. My goal is to make certain that the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates how many people it needs to meet its mission and then adjusts accordingly, whether that is more or less, but to right-size the VA to make certain that those veterans who are in need of care, who deserve their benefits, are well cared for and receive the care and compassion they deserve. So I am going to offer a resolution myself, and in order to get to that point, I need to object to the Senator from Connecticut's resolution--his unanimous consent request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from Connecticut. Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I want to respond very quickly by saying, first of all, I think we share a lot of goals, but we need action. The VA is in crisis impending right now, in real time, affecting real lives in real time, people who need mental health care now, who need the Veterans Crisis Line now, who need those counselors and psychiatrists now. What I am asking is unanimous consent for a resolution that calls for restoring the VA workforce to meet that crisis and to doing right by our veterans. It shouldn't be partisan. It isn't partisan. I have been critical of the VA under Democratic administrations, under General Shinseki when he was there and the delays were unacceptable, and nobody was more direct or critical than I was. We can be bipartisan in our praise and in our criticism, but we need to stand up to the Musk-Trump slash-and-trash regime that has been so harmful to our veterans. And we can't go about it with business as usual. These draconian, indiscriminate cuts are doing harm to our veterans as we speak, and to avoid action is not only inappropriate, it is injustice to our Nation's heroes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas. Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 64 (Wednesday, April 9, 2025) Unanimous Consent Request