Deborah Koff Ross: “I want to thank both of these fine gentlemen, very active leaders in the Blue Dog Coalition, for joining me this…”

“I want to thank both of these fine gentlemen, very active leaders in the Blue Dog Coalition, for joining me this evening. We raise these issues, the largest debt ever in our Nation's history, largest deficit ever in our Nation's history, borrowing $1 billion a day, spending $.5 billion a day paying interest on the national debt, we raise these issues because as long as we are spending $.5 billion in interest payments each day that America's priorities are not going to be met, you can see here the red is the amount of money going to interest in our Nation. The light blue is the amount going to ensure that our children receive a world-class education. In green, a lot of talk about homeland security. Here is the truth: not much money in green that is going to fund our homeland in this post-9/11 era. And, finally, a lot of talk about supporting our troops, and I hope we all do. I certainly do. But isn't the way to honor our troops, isn't one of the ways to honor them to support our veterans? Because we are creating a new generation of veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan and across the globe as we stand here this evening, and yet you can see compared to the red, the amount of money going to pay interest on the national debt, you can see what is going to cover the amount of money to fund our veterans. It is time our government keeps its promises to our veterans. ____________________”