Chris Dodd: “The funding approved by this body and supported by this motion would address these shortfalls and allow State homes to…”

“The funding approved by this body and supported by this motion would address these shortfalls and allow State homes to tap into a trust fund to provide more funding for construction that has already been approved by the VA. In light of these facts, I urge my colleagues to consider the consequences of not acting today. Call it Groundhog Day. Call it what you want. But the fact is, we have another chance now to get right what we didn't the other night. Again, I support and appreciate what my colleague from Iowa did by offering an amendment to provide for these priorities. But we did not provide any funding for them. And there is not a Member of this Chamber who does not know what is going to happen. They did it as basically a political cover, to have an amendment which said: Yes, we agree with you, we should be paying for these priorities. But then, when I offered the amendment to pay for them, of course, I lost. Today, you will get a second chance, like in the movie ``Groundhog Day,'' to try to get right what we got wrong the other night. You make the choice. If you think $64.8 billion in tax breaks for the two-tenths of 1 percent of the American population making more than $1 million a year is a more important priority than providing for State facilities that serve veterans, providing for disability payments and veterans medical care, then you explain that to your constituents. But that is the choice I am going to offer you this evening.…”