Thomas Daschle: “one of the surprising aspects of the debate about the amendment now pending has been the testimonials from some…”

“one of the surprising aspects of the debate about the amendment now pending has been the testimonials from some colleagues who say they like the current VA funding system. If you believe you can look veterans in the eye and tell them they are well served by the current VA health care system, then my amendment is not for you. If you are satisfied with telling 500,000 veterans they cannot enroll at the VA, then this amendment is not for you. If you think the system is performing well that results in hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting months, sometimes years, to see a doctor to get prescription drugs, then vote no on this amendment. If you feel good about voting to ask veterans to contribute more than a billion dollars out of pocket for their health care costs and send out the bill collectors to hunt them down and make sure it works, this amendment is not for you. Lastly, if you think it is appropriate to ask hundreds of thousands of men and women to sacrifice everything for their country and not ensure that they can get access to health care when they return, my amendment is not for you. Those considering opposing my amendment should take a look around. President Bush's own veterans health care task force, as well as the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, believe the current system is broken and that it urgently needs fixing and have endorsed the concept underlying this amendment.”