Lynn C. Woolsey: “over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the untested…”

“over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the untested ideas of liberty, equality, and democracy. But today as a new generation of veterans is being created in Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans are underfunding the programs that are vitally important to our veterans by passing a budget that underfunds veterans health care by $1 billion and rejecting Democratic efforts to fully fund VA health care. What is even worse is that this will not stop this year because the Bush administration's plan for the 2006 budget includes a $900 million cut in funding for veterans health care. And this will conveniently not come into effect until after the election. No Republican has come forward and rejected the Bush administration's latest proposals to cut veterans programs. Not one. This is outrageous. Democrats are fighting to honor veterans by honoring their sacrifices. Why are the Republicans making our sons and daughters fight bravely on the battlefield and come home and fight the government for their benefits?”