Bob Filner: “As I said earlier, Mr. Chairman, we have a test as a Nation. Are we going to make sure that every returning young man…”

“As I said earlier, Mr. Chairman, we have a test as a Nation. Are we going to make sure that every returning young man and woman from Iraq and Afghanistan has the best facilities, the best health care, the best treatment, the best love, the best commitment that we, as a Nation, can offer? And are we going to make sure that their predecessors, from World War II to the present, are also given that same care and commitment? There are 200,000 homeless vets on the street tonight, mainly from the Vietnam era. We cannot allow that to continue. We have a 600,000 claim backlog for disability payments. We cannot allow that to continue. We have facilities that need to be repaired and rebuilt. We have needs for Agent Orange veterans and atomic veterans. We, as a Nation, must take up this challenge and must meet it.”