[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 27 (Tuesday, March 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 APPLAUDING VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 2002

  Mr. JEFF MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the 
Veterans Affairs Committee for their recommended increase over the 
Administration's request in the Fiscal Year 2003 Budget Resolution for 
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  We on the Committee constantly speak of a needs-based budget that 
fulfills our duty and our obligation to those who have given so much to 
this nation.
  The Committee has been extremely effective under the expert 
leadership of Chairman Smith, and all of us on the Committee know much 
work remains. In fact, the Department of Veterans Affairs projects that 
nearly 700,000 additional veterans will seek VA healthcare in 2003. 
While we should be proud of the quality and the breadth of care that 
the VA provides, VA healthcare struggles because appropriated funding 
is not keeping pace with growth in enrollment and the increased demands 
for service. Additionally, there is a need for additional clinics and 
primary care facilities, and much of VA's physical infrastructure is in 
immediate need of hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs 
restorations and upgrades. The result of under-funding and inaction in 
this area could be crippling to the system, and in the end the losers 
are the ones who have sacrificed the most for this nation--our 
veterans.
  In addition to providing adequate funding for veteran programs, the 
time has come for Congress to act to resolve inequities in current law, 
including the prohibition on concurrent receipt as provided for by H.R. 
303; and an increase in premiums for the Survivor Benefit Plan as 
provided for in H.R. 548.
  Mr. Speaker, we must fulfill our obligations to care for those who 
place their lives on the line to defend our nation, our people, and our 
principles; and to do so we must be willing to provide the needed 
resources, no matter the cost. The time has come to enact a VA budget 
that is worthy of this great nation and worthy of our veterans' 
sacrifice.
  May God Bless our nation's veterans, and may God continue to bless 
these United States of America.

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