[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 184 (Saturday, November 18, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17421-S17422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    JESSE BROWN WILL NOT BE SILENCED

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, yesterday morning there was an article 
in the Washington Post. It dealt with some of the debate that is now 
taking place about the budget and veterans. We can agree to disagree, 
but there was one piece in this article that really captured my 
attention, as a Senator from Minnesota. This was:

       The conferees sent what they called a ``strong message'' of 
     displeasure to Veterans Affairs Secretary Jesse Brown, in the 
     form of sharp cuts in his office's staff and travel budget.

  Mr. President, I would like to talk a little bit about Jesse Brown, 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Jesse Brown is one of our Nation's most 
able and outspoken veterans advocates. He is a man who is a Marine 
combat veteran, a Marine combat hero who served our country with honor 
and distinction. Mr. President, he is a disabled veteran who, long 
before he became Secretary of what he calls ``For Veterans Affairs,'' 
was one of the most important voices and strongest voices for veterans, 
especially disabled veterans in the United States of America.
  I would like to make it very clear, as a Senator from Minnesota, that 
I do not believe these kinds of attacks, petty attacks on his personal 
office travel budget, will silence Jesse Brown. My colleagues are sadly 
mistaken, they are profoundly mistaken, if they believe any form of 
retaliation will silence this Secretary, who is such a powerful 
advocate for veterans, based upon his own personal life, based upon his 
service for this country, and based upon his position.
  Since taking office in 1993, let me just list a few of the impressive 
accomplishments of Secretary Jesse Brown, ``Secretary for Veterans.''
  Agent orange--in 1993, a VA-sponsored review conducted by the 
National Academy of Sciences found that certain cancers and illnesses 
could be caused by agent orange exposure. The VA promptly responded by 
presuming service-connection for these diseases--long overdue.
  Mr. President, homeless veterans convened the first National Summit 
on Homelessness Among Veterans. It is a scandal that such a large 
percentage of our street people and homeless people are veterans. This 
Secretary, Jesse Brown, will not be silenced.
  Persian Gulf veterans fought hard to make sure Persian Gulf veterans 
were not forgotten, to compensate certain Persian Gulf veterans with 

[[Page S 17422]]
undiagnosed illnesses. Mr. President, Secretary Jesse Brown will not be 
silenced.
  Streamline and make the VA more responsive, a plan to decentralize 
the VA national health care system, which is now being implemented. Mr. 
President, Secretary Jesse Brown will not be silenced.
  Women veterans: He implemented a series of health care initiatives 
for women, established eight women veterans Comprehensive Health Care 
Centers. Mr. President, Secretary Jesse Brown will not be silenced.
  There are many more accomplishments that I could list, but I want to 
just end with one personal story, which I think tells a very large 
story about Secretary Jesse Brown.
  Tim Gilmore fought for our country in the Vietnam war. He suffered 
from agent orange exposure, and he died of cancer. Toward the end of 
his life, Tim Gilmore was tormented by one fact. He knew he would not 
have long to live, but he had not received any compensation. By the 
rules that we operate under, if he did not receive any compensation 
before he passed away, there was a very real question whether his 
family would ever receive any compensation. He was tormented by this.
  When Secretary Jesse Brown came to my State, this family made a 
personal appeal to him, the veterans community made a personal appeal 
to him to somehow, please, cut through the bureaucracy and please have 
some compassion and please be an advocate for Tim Gilmore and his 
family.
  Mr. President, I made the same appeal. Time went by, Tim Gilmore 
became weaker, and it was very clear he was going to pass away soon. A 
very short period of time before Tim Gilmore passed away, Secretary 
Jesse Brown made sure that he received compensation, made sure that his 
family would receive that compensation.
  That family has never forgotten that. To Tim Gilmore, a Vietnam vet 
who died from agent orange exposure, that was one of the most important 
things before he passed away. I will be indebted, as a Senator from 
Minnesota, to Secretary Jesse Brown forever, for his compassion and his 
strength and commitment to people.
  I will say to my colleagues, you can do whatever you want to his 
travel budget or personal budget, but you are not going to silence him. 
He is going to continue to talk about this budget and how it affects 
veterans.
  I will mention one point I have been focused on, as a U.S. Senator, 
and I will be pleased to debate this with anyone. I think what we are 
doing here in the health care field puts way too many veterans in very 
serious jeopardy for the following reason: Our veterans population is 
also becoming an aging population. We all know that.
  If you have reductions in Medicare--and we continue to go through 
this debate about whether it is lessening the rate of increase or a 
cut. I do not even want to get into the semantics. I want to tell you, 
there is only one way you look at it. Look at the year 2002; ask how 
many people are going to be 65 years of age or over, how many of them 
are going to be 85 years of age or over; you ask what kind of services 
they are going to require, and you ask whether or not you are investing 
the resources to make sure they get them. We are not.
  If you have those reductions in Medicare and reductions in medical 
assistance, you are going to have more of the elderly people coming to 
the veterans health care system for health care. Then, if you have the 
reduction in the VA health care system as well, it becomes a triple 
whammy.
  Secretary Jesse Brown is going to continue to be a strong advocate 
for veterans. I will say to my colleagues, he is going to continue to 
challenge your budget and he is going to continue to say, ``Why don't 
you ask the oil companies to sacrifice a little bit, or the coal 
companies, or the tobacco companies, or the pharmaceutical companies? 
And how come you give all this money to military contractors, above and 
beyond what the Pentagon asked for? And how come you have all these 
rapid depreciation allowances and cuts in capital gains?''
  I listened to my colleague from Mississippi speak with considerable 
intelligence the other day about this. He is a very able Senator. But 
this Secretary of Veterans Affairs is going to continue to challenge 
these priorities. He should.
  We do not need any hate, I think all of us agree. But we will have 
the debate. It will be an important debate for this country. I believe 
Secretary Jesse Brown will be a very powerful voice in that debate. I 
come to the floor of the Senate to speak in his behalf today.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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