Joaquin Castro: “Thank you, Congresswoman. Mr. Speaker, my time is short, and so I want to cut to the chase. The United States of America…”

“Thank you, Congresswoman. Mr. Speaker, my time is short, and so I want to cut to the chase. The United States of America should honor its veterans and stand up for them in the same way that they stood up for us during their time of service. Mr. Speaker, I had a chance, as have many other Members of Congress, to visit with the Acting Secretary of the VA about a week ago in San Antonio and also to meet with some of the veterans who were being served there at Audie Murphy. These are folks who served during the Vietnam war, Korea, and other times of conflict. These are folks who are very proud people who don't ask a lot from their country but who are there for care. Too often in Congress, we have been Monday morning quarterbacks rather than leaders on this issue. It was mentioned a bit earlier that veterans are not a partisan issue, and I agree with that. The problem in Washington these days is too often only partisan issues are the ones that get talked about. We have to take action as soon as we can to support our veterans and to make sure that the VA has the funding that it needs to do its job properly. There was a story that the Acting Secretary told about his visit to Phoenix.…”