Political Quotes

“I rise today not to introduce a new idea, but simply to remind my colleagues of an old one--the idea that we have a deep and ongoing commitment to the veterans of our Armed Forces. As we are asked by some to consider cutting the budget even further, this notion should be kept not only in the back of our minds, but at the forefront of the argument. Members of the Veterans' Committee, like all Members of this House, have already made difficult choices in the name of deficit reduction. We have done so with care and attention. After all, that is what our veterans deserve--care and attention-- whether it comes from a VA doctor who stands by a veteran's bedside, or from a Member of Congress who stands at this lectern. Several distinguished veterans' groups have spoken out against further, unspecified cuts in the budget, like those proposed in a motion to instruct budget conferees. They know what less funding--in the amount of tens of millions of dollars--really means: It means less medical care for veterans, longer delays in the adjudication of claims, more lives at risk. Whatever districts we represent--conservative or liberal, wide-open farmland or a beautiful, big city like Chicago--all Members of this body share a common constituency: The men and women who put their lives on the line to protect this flag, and this institution. The budget is not simply about numbers. It is about the omen and women who served us. It is now time for us to serve them.”