Political Quotes

“one of the pleasures and honors I have in this body is to serve as the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds veterans' programs, housing, as well as environment, space, science, and emergency management. On the veterans side, we have a very heavy responsibility to the people who, in my State and throughout the country, have been willing to put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, and I think they deserve the best that we can give them. That is why in past years, I have been very disappointed and troubled at this administration's approach to funding for veterans' medical care. Quite frankly, they were willing to sacrifice these important programs, at least on paper, in order to pretend that they were reaching a balanced budget. I think that is just plain wrong. I was also disappointed earlier this spring when the President and the congressional leadership proposed to take $300 million out of veterans' medical care as a part of the budget agreement. I said at the time that we would not let that happen. I am pleased to report that last night in a bipartisan, bicameral session, the Senate and House negotiators on both sides, Democrats and Republicans, approved a measure that provides more funding than the President, more funding than the budget agreement for veterans' medical care. The conference agreement that we hope will soon be signed into law provides $17 billion next year for medical care for veterans.”