[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 159 (Thursday, November 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2373]]
             OPEN LETTER IN HONOR OF OUR NATION'S VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 10, 1999

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, on Veterans Day, America honors those men 
and women who have served to keep this nation free and bring the world 
peace. Not only have these generations of veterans waged war and 
destroyed totalitarian threats, but they have engaged in the 
peacekeeping missions that strengthen democracy worldwide.
  As I pay tribute to these worthy citizens tomorrow, Veterans Day, I 
am deeply troubled by the irresponsible across-the-board 1 percent cut 
in discretionary spending recently proposed by the House Republican 
leadership. A 1 percent cut from the total FY2000 Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) appropriation would reduce available funding for 
veterans programs, including veterans health care services. The adverse 
impact this reduction would have on the health and lives of our 
nation's veterans is significant.
  For the past three years, the VA has endured straight-line funding 
which was left the agency struggling to meet the increasing costs of 
medical care for the growing number of enrolled veterans it treats. As 
such, veterans and veterans service organizations called on Congress to 
appropriate up to $3 billion more in health care funding than the 
Administration's original budget and have denounced these Republican 
cuts. I, along with my Democratic Colleagues, have strongly supported 
proposals throughout the year that would have actually added from $2 to 
$3 billion to the President's initial proposal for veterans' medical 
care. On October 20, the President signed into law a $1.7 billion 
increase.
  Now, the Republican leadership claims that their 1 percent reduction 
in funding would have no effect on health care to veterans because the 
VA could save millions by eliminating overhead in capital assets and 
other ``government waste.'' What the Republican leadership fails to 
acknowledge are the tremendous changes the VA has already made, such as 
closing thousands of beds, eliminating thousands of staff positions, 
and strengthening auditing systems. Moreover, whether savings of this 
magnitude could be realized in the immediate future without 
significantly uprooting current VA programs is highly questionable. 
Even without cuts, currently approved funding is less than required to 
fulfill our nation's duty to adequately care for veterans.
  I believe that providing a $1.7 billion increase for veterans health 
care and then turning around a few weeks later and taking dollars away 
is Republican budget gimmickry. The bottom line is clear. Our nation's 
veterans have sacrificed life and limb in protection of our 
constitutional rights to ``life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness.'' I submit to my Republican colleagues in Congress that, in 
turn, our veterans deserve our commitment to fund veterans programs and 
services to ensure that they are themselves able to enjoy these same 
rights.

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