[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H613-H614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE KEEP OUR PROMISES TO AMERICA'S MILITARY RETIREES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue that is of 
great importance to me and I hope to my colleagues: The health and 
well-being of the brave men and women who

[[Page H614]]

dedicated their lives to the military service of our country.
  I am extremely proud of the overwhelming bipartisan support of H.R. 
3573, the Promises Act, that I had the honor of introducing with my 
friend from the other side of the aisle, the gentleman from Mississippi 
(Mr. Shows). I am confident that we will soon have over 300 cosponsors, 
because most of my colleagues realize that this is the right thing to 
do.
  However, Mr. Speaker, one thing that disturbs me greatly is the red 
herring that opponents of this bill keep throwing up with costs. How 
much will it cost? Where will the money come from? Will it break the 
caps? Well, that is not the point. The point is that we made a promise 
to these men and women and we have a moral obligation to keep that 
promise.
  We have our priorities backwards in this country sometimes. We should 
not be scrounging leftovers to find the money to fund health care for 
the men and women who dedicated their lives in the defense of this 
country. We should fund that first, then decide what to do with 
whatever is left over. That is the right and the honorable thing to do.
  That is what we should be doing as a Congress. However, Mr. Speaker, 
if my colleagues want offsets, I will give them offsets. Our own 
Committee on the Budget released a report saying that we waste $19 
billion annually on major government programs. Mr. Speaker, cut that in 
half and we could pay for all the health care we need for our military 
retirees, and then some.
  Furthermore, the projected surplus over the next 10 years may be $10 
trillion. This bill would cost less than 5 percent of that amount. Mr. 
Speaker, the money is out there; we just have to make a commitment to 
make it happen. Do not tell me it cannot be done. Of course it can be 
done. These men and women are dying at the rate of 1,000 per day, and 
it must be done and done soon.
  I urge the House and Senate leadership, the Committee on the Budget, 
the Committee on Ways and Means, Committee on Appropriations, Committee 
on Government Reform, and the Armed Services Committee to put their 
heads together and pass this bill this year.
  Mr. Speaker, during World War II the famous Big Red One had a motto: 
``The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes just a little 
longer.''
  We need some of that can-do attitude here and now in this Congress. 
We need to buckle down and do the right thing and keep our promises to 
the patriots of this country. We ask a lot from our veterans and our 
retirees. The least we can do is do for them what we told them we would 
do.

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