[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 126 (Friday, September 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1957-E1958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    H.R. 2684, VA-HUD APPROPRIATIONS

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                            HON. MAX SANDLIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 24, 1999

  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, it is our duty to fulfill our promises to 
our nation's veterans, the men and women who have put themselves in 
harm's way in service to their country. It is our duty to care for our 
veterans, and if we pass this legislation, we will fail miserably.
  We are faced today with a bill that fails to deliver to our veterans 
the funding they so desperately need. If we pass this bill, we will 
only be perpetuating the failure of the President's severely lacking 
budget. Even though this bill would provide $1.7 billion more than the 
President's request, it is still not nearly enough. Two wrongs do not 
make a right, and if we pass this legislation our veterans will be 
wronged yet again, by Congress as well as the Administration.
  The Republican leadership would have you believe that the Independent 
Budget submitted by the veterans themselves is bloated and overstates 
the funding needs for veterans programs. I reject this assertion 
completely and am horrified that the Republicans are alleging double-
counting and padding of budget estimates by respected veterans' groups 
such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, 
AMVETS, and Paralyzed Veterans of America.
  As if these allegations were not enough, the Republican leadership is 
now touting this anemic bill as a cause for celebration and criticizing 
veterans for ``complaining'' when they fail to celebrate over a bill 
that is lacking over one billion in critically needed funds. The 
Republicans have resorted to these tactics against veterans who fought 
to preserve the prosperity of this country--the prosperity in which 
veterans will not share if this bill is passed. These accusations are a 
slap in the face to our veterans and add insult to injury.
  As a strong supporter of our nation's veterans, I am forced today to 
vote against this bill due to its severe lack of funding for veterans' 
programs. Veterans groups agree that this bill falls short by at least 
$1.1 billion. In light of projected budget surpluses and an 
irresponsible trillion dollar tax cut, it is especially disappointing 
to see the men and women who have served this country overlooked by 
those who would rather squander the surplus recklessly than use it to 
secure the future of critical programs such as veterans benefits and 
Social Security and reduction of our growing national debt.
  Our veterans are aging, and their medical needs are growing as a 
result. This bill, however, does not address those needs. The number of 
VA medical facilities has decreased

[[Page E1958]]

almost 35% in the last ten years, but this bill fails to address the 
growing demand for VA services as a result of the increasing number of 
veterans over the age of 65. According to the Congressional Research 
Service, 36% of all veterans are over the age of 65, and that number is 
expected to increase exponentially over the next eight years. An aging 
veterans population will undoubtedly put a strain on our nation's 
Veterans Health Services. At the current pace of construction, we will 
not have the necessary facilities to meet veterans' extended care 
needs.
  Faced with this reality, I am unable to vote for a bill that will 
short-change veterans by over a billion dollars while Republicans 
insist on robbing Social Security and sacrificing veterans' healthcare, 
in favor of squandering the surplus on fiscally irresponsible tax cuts.

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