Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, many of us have worked hard to improve funding for veterans health care, the hallmark in this Congress. I want to thank Members on both sides of the aisle for their efforts in this regard. We began the budget process with a funding proposal from the administration that was totally inadequate. The $700 million add-on that the Republicans are now supporting sounds substantial, but it fails to meet the needs expressed by VA officials, both on and off the record. For this reason, I am going to reject this proposal for VA-HUD appropriations. It goes farther in meeting some of the challenges faced by the VA healthcare system, but not far enough. Unfortunately, the Republican majority on the Committee on Rules failed to protect the Edwards-Evans-Stabenow amendment under the rule. The Edwards amendment would have more than doubled the additional funds the appropriators added to the VA healthcare system. Many VA leaders have agreed that these funds would have offered welcome relief to an overwhelmed VA hospital system facing growing pains.”