Bob Wise: “First of all is veterans. Madam Speaker, I think it is important that we recognize that veterans are at a crossroads…”

“First of all is veterans. Madam Speaker, I think it is important that we recognize that veterans are at a crossroads right now and this Congress is at a crossroads, and it is important to reestablish that commitment and to reaffirm commitment to our veterans. The budget plan that was proposed in this House just last year would have cut veterans' programs, VA programs, by $6.4 billion to the year 2002, and yet at the same time there would have been over $2 billion in tax cuts, many of which went to the wealthiest individuals. This proposal, had it gone through, would have meant the VA medical system would have had to reduce employment by 9,500 employees, denying care to 165,000 veterans that it was planning to take care of. This also means that they would have had to have reduced their workforce by the year 2002 by 61,000 workers or about 30 percent of their work force. I am happy to say that we beat this back, Madam Speaker, but yet even under the appropriation bills veterans were going to be asked to increase prescription copayments, to double the copayment that veterans pay for prescription drugs, and to deny 150,000 veterans Medicaid coverage in 2002, most of whom could not afford private insurance and would have been ineligible for VA medical care.”