[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND 
             INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1996

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                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2099) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
     Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent 
     agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment 
offered by Congressmen DeFazio, Rohrabacher, Stark, and Metcalf to 
reduce the funding for the Selective Service by $17 million in fiscal 
year 1996. This $17 million savings would then be transferred to the 
Veterans' Administration medical care account.
  Mr. Speaker, not only would this amendment save millions of dollars 
annually; it would also streamline Government, reduce paperwork, and 
reduce the regulatory burden on U.S. citizens. Indeed, if a national 
security threat to the United States were serious enough to require a 
draft, the Department of Defense would have a recruit pool of hundreds 
of thousands of young men and women from the Reserve component and 
delayed entry, as well as hundreds of thousands of patriotic 
volunteers.
  The savings that this important amendment will realize will instead 
by applied to the VA medical care account where the need is far 
greater. Our Nation's veterans have suffered greatly during the 104th 
Congress and this amendment addresses their most basic need: quality 
medical care.
  Mr. Speaker, throughout the history of our Republic, we have 
continually asked the men and women of our Armed Forces to make 
tremendous sacrifices on our behalf. It is critically important that we 
repay them for their sacrifice and uphold the promises we made to these 
veterans to care for them as they grow older.
  In the context of a $1.6 trillion Federal budget, the savings gained 
by this amendment may seem small. But they stand for the continued 
commitment we have toward caring for our veterans.
  My colleagues, the DeFazio-Rohrabacher-Stark amendment represents the 
realization that the cold war has ended and so too the need for draft 
registration activities. More importantly, it signals our continued 
budgetary commitment to the medical care account at the VA and to our 
veterans.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``Yes'' on this amendment.
  

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