Political Quotes

“I rise to oppose this bill for a number of reasons, but primarily because it breaks our promise of health care to our nation's veterans. Many of us have worked hard to make improved funding for health care for veterans a hallmark of this Congress. I want to think the Members of both sides of the aisle for their efforts in this regard. We began this budget process with a funding proposal from the Administration that was inadequate. I believe the Administration's willingness to reconsider their initial proposal and add a billion dollars was responsible for leveraging the significant additional funds for veterans' health care this Congress is now discussing. I commend the Administration, and particularly, Vice President Gore for his leadership in the Administration's decision to increase its request for veterans medical care by $1 billion for fiscal year 2000. That said, I am going to reject this proposal for VA-HUD appropriations. It goes further in meeting some of the challenges faced by the VA health care system, but it does not go far enough.”