Political Quotes

“I also want to congratulate the gentleman from Texas for the superb job he has done in putting this bill together. It is a well-balanced bill, and everyone understands the gentleman's convictions and his passionate desire to defend the interests of American veterans. Madam Chair, there are more than 6 million veterans and their families who depend on the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical care, for disability payments, and education benefits, and this bill represents our obligation to them. It builds on our actions of the last 2 years, which have provided the most significant enlargement of education benefits for veterans since the passage of the original GI Bill of Rights. One of the bill's highest priorities is to help cut through the bureaucracy that disabled veterans face over their claims. They shouldn't have to wait months and months for their paperwork to be processed before receiving the benefits owed to them. The bill provides for an additional 4,000 permanent claims processors--a 25 percent increase to work through more than 1 million disability claims. These resources are especially needed now that the Vietnam veterans will be eligible to file claims for disabilities caused by Agent Orange. Veterans' medical care is the largest component of the bill.”