John Chenoweth: “Mr. Chairman, in these difficult times when we are trying to balance the budget and establish the priorities that this…”

“Mr. Chairman, in these difficult times when we are trying to balance the budget and establish the priorities that this body must adhere to because the American people adhere to certain priorities, those priorities will fall time and time again to our veterans, those people who marched off to war and many of them came back with gulf war syndrome. I have a number of them in my district, and my heart goes out to them. I honor them and I respect them, and my priority is with them, because America should keep its word to its veterans. They kept their word with us. It was Teddy Roosevelt that once said a man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal. I think to increase research and development to $25 million for gulf war illness research is a top priority. I think it must be done. For too long this country ignored the ravages of gulf war syndrome and ignored that it was a bona fide problem that our soldiers came back home with. Our veterans have earned a square deal. They were promised a square deal. That is not what they are getting with this appropriations bill, unless we adopt the Tiahrt-Chenoweth amendment.”