[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FUND VETERANS HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, first, I want to salute coach the gentleman 
from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and express my appreciation to him on his 
leadership on the Rural Veterans Access to Health Care legislation.
  A concern that I have with veterans health care is the lack of access 
rural veterans experience in seeking treatment at a VA facility. I 
represent a largely rural area of Virginia in which over 60,000 
veterans reside. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, over 96,000 veterans 
were treated last year at a VA facility. There are only three VA 
medical centers located in Virginia to serve these deserving and 
eligible veterans. The VA has worked hard to expand their services, and 
they have opened three community-based outpatient clinics, four vet 
centers, and six mental health satellite clinics throughout the State. 
Unfortunately, more is needed.
  The Salem, Virginia VA Medical Center, serving southwest Virginia has 
identified the lack of access to care for rural veterans as a big 
challenge that it faces. They provide services for at least 11,000 
enrollees in my district alone each year. It is essential that more 
community-based outpatient clinics be established to accommodate our 
Nation's veterans living in rural and outlying communities.
  I am very concerned that the proposed increase for veterans health 
care in the fiscal year 2005 budget is only $1.2 billion over the 
amount enacted in 2004. It is proposed that we allow $29.7 billion to 
meet the medical care needs of the over 4.2 million people treated in 
VA health care facilities each year across the country.
  I believe that we need to take care of our veterans' needs first 
before we send our money overseas to help foreign countries. Veterans 
deserve the benefit of full funding of their health care system. I 
believe, along with a number of my colleagues, that we need to reduce 
the amount for international affairs in the concurrent budget 
resolution and increase the funding for veterans benefits and services 
by at least $3 billion so that we can improve veterans' health care. I 
repeat, decrease foreign aid by at least $3 billion and increase 
veterans health care by at least $3 billion.
  In fact, I would gladly support increasing VA health care by $4 
billion or $5 billion. I have had a great deal of contact with many of 
our veterans over the last few months, and the sentiment among them is 
that their health care is being shortchanged. Over the years, we have 
supplied billions in foreign aid to countries like Peru and Iraq. We 
gave them millions upon millions of dollars. Also Ethiopia, South 
Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, to name only a few.
  In fiscal year 2005, the proposed budget for international affairs 
will increase discretionary spending to $31.5 billion, a 7.5 percent 
increase from fiscal year 2004, and approximately two-thirds of that 
goes to foreign aid.
  I believe that we must carefully evaluate and prioritize our funds. 
We have a responsibility to support our veterans and to provide them 
with the best possible health care and to ensure that veterans have 
access to that care. We need to start prioritizing our needs as a 
Nation above those of foreign countries which have not always stood by 
us. The veterans have stood by us. They have carried the fight for us. 
They have made America great. We need to fund them.
  Mr. Speaker, we do not need to fund the foreign countries that have 
not stood by us. I will not read the whole list, but there is a long 
list of recipients of foreign aid, and they have not been at our side 
recently, and have often not been at our side in the past. Let us fund 
veterans and not fund foreign countries who have not helped us.

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