Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Enyart), a veteran colleague. {time} 1345 Mr ENYART. I thank the gentlewoman. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a veteran and 35-year military member in support of swift action to remedy our veterans' health care concerns. As former commanding general of the Illinois National Guard, I have seen firsthand the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make each day, sacrifices that affect not only themselves, but their families, as well. That is why it didn't come as a surprise to me to see so many family members standing beside their veterans at the Marion, Illinois, VA hospital 2 weeks ago. I stopped by two facilities--one scheduled and one a complete surprise to the staff and administrators, a lesson learned from my days in the military. I wanted to see the true nature of the problem for myself. I didn't want to speak to administrators or to managers. More importantly, I wanted to speak to patients and to frontline workers. Although most of the veterans I spoke to received quality care, far too many spoke of burdensome paperwork and of delays. Although the southern Illinois facilities I visited have better-than-average wait times for patients, even one patient on a waiting list is too many. And although most of the staff that report daily to our Nation's VA facilities are competent, caring individuals, there are some who are not. That is why I support the two main goals of H.R.…”