Daniel Akaka: “we must go beyond what his amendment seeks to accomplish. In a few minutes, we will begin discussion of our alternative…”

“we must go beyond what his amendment seeks to accomplish. In a few minutes, we will begin discussion of our alternative amendment. Our amendment would provide the funds to ensure that veterans will not see their out-of-pocket costs increase. Our amendment would add resources to care for newly returning servicemembers. Our amendment would shore up the system for all veterans needing mental health care. The Burns amendment is based on the premise that the President's budget is ``good enough.'' The opposition urges veterans to be pleased that they are getting an increase at all in this tough budget climate. In my view, especially in this time of war with so many competing demands, we can and should do much better. Veterans should not have to ``get what we give them.'' They ought to be provided with what they deserve. Let us not forget the sacrifices made by these men and women and the sacrifices made by their families. What we have heard much about is that VA is already adequately funded. The administration, and my friends on the other side of the aisle, continually cite a 50-percent increase in veterans spending since the year 2001. I applaud my colleagues for their support of veterans as demand for VA's top-quality health care services has increased. It only makes sense for spending on veterans programs to increase in accordance with the increases we have seen in the defense budget, particularly since Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.…”