[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      GOD BLESS AMERICA'S VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I have the privilege of 
representing the Third District of North Carolina. The Third District 
covers most of the eastern part of the State, including five military 
bases: Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, New River Marine Corps 
Air Station, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Elizabeth City Coast Guard 
Station, and Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.
  In eastern North Carolina we are also proud to be the home of 77,000 
thousand of our Nation's 25 million living veterans. Madam Speaker, 
these are the men and women who courageously served to protect this 
country and preserve the principles that it was founded upon.
  Out of respect and appreciation, we must ensure the sacrifice these 
brave soldiers made is something we never forget and that the vital 
role they play in this country's history remains as unmistakable as our 
commitment to their continued well-being.
  As President Abraham Lincoln said in his Second Inaugural Address: 
``Let us care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow 
and his orphan.''
  This statement is said to reveal the government's promise to provide 
lifetime health care for our veterans and their families, a promise 
that many of my colleagues in Congress and I continue fighting to 
fulfill.
  Madam Speaker, today I am here to share with my colleagues good news, 
to tell them of two successful efforts by the government to provide our 
Nation's veterans with the health care that they need and deserve.
  Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the dedication of a new 
community-based outpatient clinic in Jacksonville, North Carolina. For 
the veterans of Onslow County, this is a tremendous victory and the 
result of a great deal of work and determination.
  It has been a priority of mine for some time to find a way to see 
that a satellite facility was built in eastern North Carolina. For too 
long, many veterans were forced to travel to Fayetteville, North 
Carolina or Durham, North Carolina to reach the closest VA hospital.
  Madam Speaker, as my colleagues can see, we were in desperate need of 
health care services that were more accessible to the veterans of 
eastern North Carolina. The journey was long, but we now have two 
reasons to celebrate.
  The Jacksonville facility marks the second outpatient clinic in 
eastern North Carolina. It has just been joined by a third. Earlier 
this week, an additional VA clinic opened in Greenville, North 
Carolina. They both serve as tributes of the commitment to duty, God, 
and country that each of our soldiers accept.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud of the efforts of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs to reach out to veterans across this country, 
especially considering the drastic cuts they have suffered. Since the 
end of 1994, the Department of Veterans Affairs has cut 20,000 medical 
care employees, eliminated half of its acute-care hospital beds, and 
merged many neighboring hospitals. Following such extreme fiscal 
cutbacks, the Administration's budget request for Fiscal Year 2000 was 
worth little more than the paper it was printed on.
  Fortunately, I am proud to stand here today to report that a 
Republican Congress has increased the VA budget $1.7 billion over the 
President's recommendation. And I only wish that it could be more.
  Madam Speaker, today I came to the floor to reaffirm my commitment to 
the men and women who answered their call to duty and protected the 
freedom my colleagues and I enjoy today. I urge my colleagues to join 
me in fighting to make sure our Nation's veterans have access to 
quality, accessible health care, a promise made to them by the 
government they pledged to protect.
  Again, I want to quote Abraham Lincoln when he said it, and he said 
it best: ``Let us care for him who shall have borne the battle and for 
his widow and his orphan.''
  Madam Speaker, it is the least we can do to thank our Nation's 
heroes, our United States veterans. God bless America, and God bless 
those who have served and those who are serving America today.

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