Joseph T. Burns: “With regard to what my friend from Hawaii has done today, I remind my colleagues that there has already been an increase…”

“With regard to what my friend from Hawaii has done today, I remind my colleagues that there has already been an increase in this budget since a year ago. We are basically prioritizing our money to be spent where it is supposed to be. If you look at the total budget growth, it has grown from about $72.6 billion to $74.9 billion in the last 5 years, an increase of around 50 percent. The result is a 69- percent increase in veterans health care since President Bush has taken office. So we are not underspending. We are just not doing a very good job of assigning our priorities where the money should be spent. We asked the VA to look at their costs to give us some idea of how they are being more efficient now. The reporting of the VA has become a lot better. It gives us a better handle on where we should be spending those dollars. My amendment does not shortchange any veteran. We just have to do a better job in our priorities. We have asked the VA to be outcome-oriented, and the outcomes have been improved. Access to health care has increased. The quality of care has increased. Patient satisfaction is up to 83 percent. That was unheard of just 4 or 5 years ago. By asking for increases over and above, basically we are doing nothing more than engaging in a bidding war. I can use the auction method pretty easily because that is where I cut my teeth. I don't mean to make light of the process, but we have to draw the line somewhere. I am a veteran.…”