[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 161 (Friday, November 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN SUPPORT OF OUR NATION'S VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 7, 2003

  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of our 
nation's veterans. These brave men and women risked their lives for 
their country--for our country. We owe it to them to live up to all of 
the promises that we made when they entered the military.
  I go home every weekend, and I hear from the veterans in my 
community. These veterans don't have a multi-specialty clinic; they 
don't have a hospital, and they don't have a long term care facility. 
But southern Nevada does have one of the fastest growing veterans 
populations in the nation.
  Because of this growth, the VA predicts that the number of annual 
visits by veterans in the Las Vegas Valley to their primary health care 
clinic will rise from 200,000 now to more than half-a-million by the 
end of the decade. And the number of hospital beds needed to serve the 
veterans in my community will increase by over 50 percent.
  The VA is already struggling to address and meet the current demands 
on the VA health care structure in the Las Vegas Valley, and these 
demands will only continue to grow.
  Last year, 1500 southern Nevada veterans were sent to neighboring 
states because we could not provide the needed services locally. This 
is an unfair burden on these veterans and their families. They should 
not have to travel hundreds of miles for care.
  To make matters worse, the VA evacuated the Guy Clinic--the Las Vegas 
Valley's only ambulatory care clinic after only 5 years of service--
forcing veterans to rely on a string of temporary clinics scattered 
across the community.
  Imagine what it is like for an 80-year-old veteran waiting in the 
desert heat to be shuttled from clinic to clinic to receive the health 
care he needs. For example, a veteran may have to shuttle from a 
temporary site for a CT scan, then to another site to obtain a 
prescription for a controlled narcotic, and then to a third site for 
mental health services.
  And female veterans who need mammograms will have to shuttle to a 
different clinic just for that service.
  As one 81-year old World War II veteran described the situation, 
``You're going from one place to another and it gets confusing.'' Don't 
our veterans deserve a permanent facility to meet their health care 
needs?
  In short, southern Nevada is facing a veterans health care crisis and 
my community is not alone. But here in Washington, Republicans have 
refused to provide an additional $1.8 billion for veterans health care 
this year.
  As a nation, we promised our veterans that we would meet their health 
care needs, but we have not. We promised to provide them with 
affordable housing and access to a college education, but we have 
fallen far short. We have broken one promise after another to those who 
have put their lives on the line to serve their country. Consider the 
Disabled Veterans Tax. Under this unfair tax, disabled veterans who 
retire from the military lose one dollar from their military retirement 
pay for every dollar they receive for a service connected disability.
  When a retired Marine Corps major from Nevada was diagnosed with Lou 
Gehrig's disease, he lost more than $2,000 in monthly retirement pay 
because of the Disabled Veterans Tax. To make up for that loss of 
income, his wife had to work overtime just to make ends meet at home.
  I support the Democratic plan that gives our veterans full payment of 
both retirement pay and disability pay. It is unconscionable that 
Republicans, who say they support our country's veterans, still have 
not allowed Members of this body to vote on ending the Disabled 
Veterans Tax.
  Instead they have offered a plan that will take 10 years to enact and 
penalizes those veterans with a 40 percent or less disability rating. 
But it isn't just honoring the commitments to our men and women who 
fought for this country, it is also about their families. Whether it is 
income lost because of the Disabled Veterans Tax or the financial 
burden a family faces when they lose their loved one.
  That is why I introduced legislation that would increase the benefits 
to cover veterans' burial costs. Since 1973, when burial benefits were 
enacted, these benefits have seriously eroded due to inflation. For 
example, in 1973, the burial allowance for veterans with service 
connected injury covered 72 percent of funeral costs. Now, the benefit 
covers only 39 percent of the funeral costs.
  Our veterans' families are forced to make up the costs. And for a 
widow or widower struggling with the loss of a loved one, this 
financial strain can take a tremendous emotional toll.
  Our veterans not only deserve better, they deserve the best we have 
to offer. It is time for all Members of Congress to honor the 
commitments we made to those who fought and are currently fighting 
around the world for our nation. Support for our veterans is more than 
rousing rhetoric on Veterans' Day, it is doing what is fair and moral 
to fulfill our duties and promises to them.

                          ____________________