Bob Filner: “I would ask in return, is the gentleman aware that the independent budget of 300 veterans' organizations around this…”

“I would ask in return, is the gentleman aware that the independent budget of 300 veterans' organizations around this country said that the minimum, the absolute minimum, to keep our VA health system going and not to have closures like the gentleman wants to protest about in his district, like I would not want in my own district, that that budget asks for $3.2 billion for veterans' health care? So the gentleman gave one-half of what was needed. And we are going to have these issues all through the next year based on the budget. I agree with the chairman when he called the budget the President's budget plus 1.7. I think it might be called the Walsh budget minus 1.5. That is, it is higher than the President's; but it is lower than what it should be. And the gentleman's Members are going to come up every day in the coming session and say please do not close my hospital.”