[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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