Tim Ryan: “Is it no wonder that people do not vote? Is it no wonder that people are disconnected from their government when they…”

“Is it no wonder that people do not vote? Is it no wonder that people are disconnected from their government when they see the duplicity that we have seen in the last week or so in this Chamber? It has been stated many times tonight and I hope it will continue to be stated, where on one hand we are falling all over each other to say we are supporting our troops in Iraq and at the same time in the wee hours of the morning we are cutting veterans benefits, $15 billion in benefits, $9.7 billion in health care. All of a sudden, we say that we can afford a tax cut that is primarily going to the top 1 and 2 percent in this country, which is going to lead to more debt. At the same time, we have more seniors, we have more veterans, we have more challenges and need more aid to spread democracy around the world. We need more aid to heal and mend the international relationships that we have ruined over the past few months. We have more of a demand for education in this country. Madam Speaker, let me make some recommendations. We need to index the GI bill for inflation so that our veterans can afford to be educated. We need to increase the service-connected compensation and death benefits.”