[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRESERVING THE DIGNITY OF OUR NATION'S VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I know there is a hard and fast 
rule that we cannot refer to someone in the other body, but since this 
person is no longer a Member of the United States Senate, let me 
dedicate my remarks to the Honorable Max Cleland, who became a triple 
amputee in the Vietnam War and who is no longer in service in the 
United States Senate.
  I rise today to speak about the dignity of our Nation's veterans. 
Last week, Mr. Speaker, we offered and passed a resolution asking for 
the country to pray and to fast. I did not realize that at that time, 
according to what I am told, many of our troops in harm's way were down 
to one meal a day. I did not realize at the time that it was them that 
we were asking to fast.
  As General Omar Bradley once stated, ``We are dealing with veterans, 
not with procedures. We are dealing with their problems, and not 
ours.''
  I have a constituent who served his country in Vietnam, Mr. Bob 
Creasy. He was exposed to Agent Orange, the defoliant used to fight the 
war. Mr. Creasy did not realize at the time how deadly and poisonous 
the chemical was. Actually, none of us did. Many years later he 
experienced symptoms and illnesses that can now be validated and linked 
to his exposure to Agent Orange.
  The Department of Veterans' Affairs claims that Bob is not eligible 
for compensation because he did not come forward when the symptoms 
first occurred. The symptoms, however, were not recognized as being 
caused by Agent Orange until very recently.
  Why can we not validate the disability and compensate accordingly at 
this time? Is it that the Veterans' Administration is very restricted 
and limited in resources and will escape obligations any way and 
however they can?
  What of our brave women and men who served in the first Gulf War? 
What of the Gulf War Syndrome? We are sending hundreds of thousands of 
young women and men into harm's way at this very moment, and at the 
same time we are cutting benefits for those who served in previous 
wars.
  My observation, Mr. Speaker, is not extracted from a comic book. My 
name is Julia Carson, married to Sam Carson, a veteran of the Korean 
conflict, United States Marine Corps, who is now 100 percent service-
connected disabled. My son, Sam Carson, United States Marine, served 
his country well, fortunately during peacetime.
  It is not that I do not understand the plight of veterans, Mr. 
Speaker; I know the plight of veterans. There are over 25 million 
veterans in this great Nation of ours, and in Indiana alone there are 
562,000. Are we supposed to tell them after serving in the military, 
defending our country, preserving our freedom, that the services that 
they need are unavailable in order to pay for a tax cut?
  I heard another rumor emanating from the administration about 
``shared sacrifices.'' I suppose those ``shared sacrifices'' are 
relegated to the have-nots and the have-even-less. To pass a budget 
that cuts mandatory spending from the President's budget by $15 billion 
is unconscionable. Even that budget was $3 billion too low to fully 
fund the needs of those who have served this country so ably.
  As our distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) recently stated, ``Our 
Nation must not require those who serve in uniform to bear the 
financial costs of their service-connected disabilities.''
  Give me a break. A tax break for those who need no tax break, who 
earned their wealth off of the United States of America, and now we are 
asking them to take more; and we give less to the people who are 
responsible for our well-being, for the most part, the veterans of this 
Nation?
  There is no excuse to delay the needed medical care for our veterans. 
We need to show them with deeds and not with words that, regardless of 
their mission, we support their dedication to their jobs and that we 
are for them in their time of need.
  Last week, Mr. Speaker, I recited the words of the first President of 
the United States, George Washington, whose words are worth repeating 
at this time:
  ``The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in 
any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to 
how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and 
appreciated by their country.''
  Mr. Speaker, we must not fail our veterans.

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