Jon L. Christensen: “I go back to the day that we were sworn in and our Speaker saying that this was going to be a Congress that was…”

“I go back to the day that we were sworn in and our Speaker saying that this was going to be a Congress that was dedicated to our children, and certainly, as everybody has pointed out, this budget that the President has sent out is just going in the opposite direction. I would say, too, that in the Virgin Islands we do not get full SCHIP, we do not get full Medicare, and therefore, a lot of the services that even, meanwhile limited in the States, you take for granted, we are not even able to provide to our residents. Our veterans as well have to travel to Puerto Rico for their veterans care, and the cuts will cut deeply into their ability to travel to Puerto Rico to get the care that they need. So, having just laid to rest two soldiers in the Virgin Islands, we are very sensitive to this issue, and we really have to sit down and work on this budget and ensure that our children, our veterans, our seniors receive the kind of health care that they need and deserve, and that we put that investment also to close the gaps in health care for people in our rural communities and people of color in this country.”