[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21318-21319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND 
             INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. CORRINE BROWN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2684) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
     Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent 
     agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for other 
     purposes:


[[Page 21319]]

  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, the Veterans Equitable Resources 
Allocation (VERA) is an excellent system for directing veterans health 
care dollars to the states where our veterans receive their care. Since 
its inception in 1997 the VERA program has helped to more properly and 
equally distribute the scarce dollars we provide for our veterans 
healthcare.
  My state of Florida has the second largest and oldest veterans 
population in the nation, and continues to suffer from lack of funding 
for its veterans programs. We recently had a veterans nursing home that 
was built and ready to care for our elderly veterans but could not open 
because there were no operating costs. We have a great state and we 
welcome all our new residents with open arms, but we must have the 
funds to provide for these new residents.
  The VERA program was developed to more equally distribute needed 
funds to our veterans. The program is working and should be allowed to 
continue to work for our veterans. We've already shortchanged our 
veterans in this VA-HUD Appropriations. Let's not do it again. I ask my 
colleagues to vote no on this amendment.

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