Joe Cunningham: “Mr. Chairman, sometimes it is almost laughable. I am a veteran. I live here in the Northeast right now. I want fairness…”

“Mr. Chairman, sometimes it is almost laughable. I am a veteran. I live here in the Northeast right now. I want fairness for veterans. There is no one that I take a back seat to on support for veterans issues or active duty military issues. But I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. Let us look at cause and effect. I am going to speak to my Republican colleagues, not even the opposition over here. Many of those that live in the Northeast are the first to support the great social programs. Look at the National Endowment for the Arts. Why do you not cut it? How about Davis-Bacon, that we can save 35 percent on all construction, but will you stop that? We could put every penny of that in veterans. And the great social programs that you support and the war on the West. So do not come to me crying that your veterans are not being taken care of. Those that support defense, we want live veterans. Three hundred percent operation deployments above what it was during the Cold War. We are only maintaining 24 percent of our military. That means all of them are going to become veterans. Defense cuts. And then my colleagues on the other side from the Northeast saying, well, there were tax breaks for the rich. Now, I want to tell the gentleman, veterans benefit from tax breaks, just like anybody else.”