Karen Thurman: “I listened with interest in this last debate, and I think there are very few people on this floor that do not support…”

“I listened with interest in this last debate, and I think there are very few people on this floor that do not support the amendment that our colleagues from Arizona and Mississippi have introduced, and has been accepted, giving an additional $40 million to the VA system. However, and I am sure that the gentleman from Arizona knows this better than anybody, in Arizona he needs additional money because between the years of 1980 and 1990 more than 24 veterans came to Arizona per day. But what I cannot understand in all of this conversation is why Congress, when appropriating all of these extra resources, and maybe even somewhat based on the comments of Mr. Lewis about the gentleman from Los Angeles, why are we not making sure that those resources are going to those States that need these dollars, rather than under the same funding formula that we have seen over the last 50 years to, in fact, some hospitals that have empty beds. Mr. Chairman, my amendment today has four qualities that I think should compel this Congress to rise in unanimous support of it: It costs nothing. It eliminates wasteful spending. It is bipartisan in nature. And, most importantly, it is about equity for our Nation's veterans.”