Political Quotes

“I appreciate the gentleman from Louisiana yielding his time as he prepares his remarks, which I look forward to hearing. Earlier this afternoon and into the evening, this House considered an appropriations bill related to Veterans Affairs and Military Construction. At that point I asked my colleagues to support an amendment that I offered for the FY 2012 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, and that amendment I am thankful to say was accepted. It was bipartisan acceptance. Both the majority and minority agreed it should be added to the bill, and I just wanted to tell the gentleman and my colleagues that amendment is very straightforward. It moves $22 million from the VA general administration to solve a dramatic cut in medical and prosthetic research. This bill that we are talking about, the VA-Military Construction account, as it was written, funds medical and prosthetic research at $509 million in FY 2012, but that is a $72 million cut over last year. But the amendment that I offered restores funding to an account that directly impacts treatment of amputees and other wounded veterans. Like all of my colleagues, I want to do everything I possibly can to support our veterans and to promote these programs. And like many of us, I have visited the facilities for amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center right here in Washington, DC, and I have spoken with those disabled wounded warriors who have lost limbs in the line of duty.…”