[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         VETERANS' RESCISSIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Gutierrez] is 
recognized during morning business for 3 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Madam Speaker, you know, we keep calling these cuts 
rescissions. But let us face it. These are not rescissions, but rather 
a retreat, a retreat from recent promises to fund programs during this 
fiscal year, a retreat from long-standing promises to serve veterans. 
And, just as an army in retreat turns its back and runs, those who 
support this package are also turning their backs.
  Obviously, the Appropriations Committee has done a disservice to all 
Americans affected by those cuts. But, let us consider how shameful it 
is to do a disservice to people who have already given their service to 
this country. That means America's veterans. These cuts are financing 
14 years of failed, phony, fiscal policy from the GOP--two sets of 
Republican budget-busters that are squeezing working families like a 
vice.
  In 1981, a Republican President began to cut taxes for the wealthy 
and build up our defense. And in 1995, a Republican Congress wants--
sound familiar?--to cut taxes for the wealthy and build up our defense. 
To quote that same Republican President, ``there they go again.''
  Let us see how flawed these rescissions are.
  Just look at the decision to cancel improvements at the VA hospital 
in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now I do not know whether any member of the 
Appropriations Committee has traveled to the facility in San Juan. But 
I have. I can speak firsthand of the overcrowding and long delays as 
patients try to access the services supposedly available to them. I can 
attest to the urgent need for the proposed renovation of the hospital. 
But rather than break ground on a new veterans' facility, the 
Republicans would prefer that we break a promise.
  And, it is not just happening in San Juan, but at 5 other facilities 
in the VA system affected by these cuts--areas where more than 1 
million veterans reside. Furthermore, these cuts show that these 
rescissions are not just an abandonment of compassion, but an 
abandonment of reason. That is because, rather than produce the great 
savings that the Republicans so grandly advertise, these rescissions 
would cancel exactly the kind of services--like outpatient care--that 
rein in the escalating costs of medical care.
  In addition, I want to state two simple facts about outpatient care, 
or ambulatory care: first, it saves lives; second, it saves money. You 
would think that the Republicans would at least care about one of those 
facts.
  You know, many of us have accused the Appropriations Committee of 
using a hatchet or a meat ax to make these cuts when a scalpel would 
have been better. Well, it turns out that VA surgeons will not even be 
using scalpels pretty soon, since the Republicans will not let them buy 
any new ones. As I said earlier, these Republican rescissions are 
really a retreat.
  When they were young, these veterans were sent overseas, to lands far 
from their home. And if they wanted to, these service men had plenty of 
reasons to retreat. But rather than retreat from battle, they endured. 
Rather than shirk from duty, they stood up for principles. I want to 
encourage this House to show the same determination. I want this House 
to show the same willingness to carry through on principle.
  Rather than retreat, I urge the House to muster up the courage to 
fight, to fight for what is right, to fight for, not against, the 
American family, to fight for those who fought for us, to reject this 
rescission package.


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