Steven Holt: “To bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for those who have borne the battle.'' Those are the words of our greatest…”

“To bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for those who have borne the battle.'' Those are the words of our greatest Republican President. It was the beginning of a national promise, a promise, an obligation, a sacred obligation to look after those who bore the battle. The result is today we have in the VA excellent doctors and nurses, excellent facilities as far as they go, but it is not far enough. Patients have unacceptable waits. And when it comes to medical care, to delay is to deny. Those who served in uniform did not wait to serve. This bill effectively cuts veterans health care. Do not just take my word for it. The DAV, the VFW, Paralyzed Vets say this cuts health care. The rule denies waivers to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) to try to address this. That is reason enough to justify defeating this rule. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan) have done their best; but we must not forget, these cuts were not an accident. They did not happen in the Committee on Appropriations just yesterday. They are the deliberate result of a partisan budget that was rammed through Congress a few months ago. It was passed with some empty promises to some of our colleagues that veterans would be taken care of later.…”