Gwen Graham: “When we voted in 2001 and again in 2003 for the most massive tax cuts in American history, targeted primarily at the…”

“When we voted in 2001 and again in 2003 for the most massive tax cuts in American history, targeted primarily at the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, we were making a choice. One of those choices comes home today, and that is, will we be able to adequately finance our responsibility to the health care of American veterans as well as the health care of those American men and women who have been injured as a result of the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? This is about real people. I take a different job every month, and in November, on Veterans Day, I worked at a VA hospital in Miami, FL. While I was there, I met a returning soldier. I will use the name 'John' in order to respect his confidentiality. John is approximately 24 years old. He was born and lived most of his life in Puerto Rico. The reason he is in the Miami VA hospital is because it has responsibility for certain specialty care that is provided to veterans from most of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”