[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        H.R. 4013, THE VETERANS' HEALTH PROGRAMS IMPROVEMENT ACT

  (Mr. BISHOP asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the passage of H.R. 
4013, which would exempt the Veterans Health Administration from a law 
that will cut 25,000 VHA full-time positions.
  This bill is intended to keep the VHA strong during a time of 
tremendous and unprecedented change. The VHA expects its workload to be 
enormous in the coming years as it tries to cope with the changes 
brought on by new health care reform laws.
  To knowingly propose a decrease in the VHA work force when it is 
certain to have an increase in its workload is unfair and illogical.
  Critics say it should be defeated because it will rescind the power 
of reinventing government laws.
  Have you no compassion. The VHA is charged with caring for many of 
the men and women who risked their lives for you and me and democracy. 
Many of them will carry red badges of courage to their graves. Let us 
not desert our veterans, for they never deserted us when we needed 
them. Health care is one of the few rewards that remain for veterans 
service--a benefit they earned with blood, sweat, and tears on the 
battlefield. It would be dishonorable to strip them of this badge of 
honor.

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