Rob Andrews: “This bill cuts $200 million out of this year's expenditures for the veterans' hospital system across the country and it…”

“This bill cuts $200 million out of this year's expenditures for the veterans' hospital system across the country and it forgives a $50 million loan to the Government of Jordan. I am going to repeat that. This bill says to the Government of Jordan, You do not have to pay us the $50 million you owe us. We forgive you. Then it says to the veterans across this country, Oh, by the way, we are taking $200 million, four times that amount, out of your VA hospital system. Now, some of us would like to offer an amendment that would at least reduce that cut of the $200 million by not forgiving the $50 million loan to Jordan. A lot of us would like to be able to say maybe the Jordanians should find the $50 million and pay us back. I find it ironic that in the Persian Gulf war, which was the first vote that Mr. Sanders and I cast as Members of this House, at the time of that war the Jordanians chose to remain neutral. They chose not to take the side of the United States for their own reasons. The men and women who served in our Armed Forces did not choose to remain neutral. They swore allegiance to our country and served us.”