Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, in this debate over VERA funding, we can disagree and discuss what are the most meaningful statistics and whether VA's funding formula has achieved true equity. I expect the gentleman to fight for funding for his area just as all of us fight for funding in our districts. But we ought to stick to the facts and avoid the kind of reckless scare tactics which some proponents of the Hinchey amendment have used. Some of my colleagues from New York are actually claiming that cuts in VERA funding have resulted in the, quote, deterioration of veterans health and even the loss of life in many instances. For example, in debate last week the proponents of this amendment claimed that, quote, many veterans lost their lives at two hospitals in New York as a result of VERA funding reductions. That is a very serious charge. The gentleman went on to say that this assertion is substantiated by the report which was done by the Inspector General of the VA itself. I have served on the ethics board of the Louisiana Medical Society. Allegations of patients dying are the most serious that can be made and should never be made lightly, particularly in light of what the VA report already says.”