Political Quotes

“so the record is clear, as the distinguished chairman of the Military Construction VA subcommittee, Mr. Edwards, so eloquently stated many times right here on the floor of this House, there is a clear difference between the new Democratic majority's approach to veterans and the previous Republican leadership approach. The difference is that under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and the new Democratic majority, supporting veterans is one of the highest priorities of this Congress. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle will claim that we are leaving veterans out in the cold. As elected Federal representatives, we are accountable for not only our words but our actions as well. What the other side won't tell you is that we had passed a continuing resolution in the beginning months of this Congress because the previous Congress failed to ever pass the MilCon-VA appropriations bill last year. They also won't tell you that the continuing resolution included an increase of $3.4 billion for veterans health care. The other side doesn't want to talk about the emergency supplemental spending bill we passed a few months ago which included an additional $1.8 billion for veterans discretionary spending. I am no mathematician, but $3.4 billion and $1.8 billion add up to $5.2 billion, which is larger than any increase in veterans spending passed by the previous Republican leadership.”