Bob Filner: “I add my voice to those of my colleagues on this side of the aisle who have said there are stunning examples in this…”

“I add my voice to those of my colleagues on this side of the aisle who have said there are stunning examples in this bill of how the tax cut has forced us into insufficient funding for important programs. We all have said we have added $1 billion to the health care for our veterans in this budget. That is true. But $1 billion, given the inflationary cost of health care in this Nation, barely keeps up with that inflation; $1 billion barely keeps up with the inflation. How do we make up for all the years that we have not granted sufficient funding to our Nation's veterans? Of all people, these are the folks who we should take care of before we declare a surplus, before we give a tax cut to the wealthiest 1 percent of our Nation. It is our veterans who have made this Nation the prosperous one it is. Yet, they have come last, again.”