[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VETERANS BUDGET CUTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ose). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my 
colleagues who yesterday were announcing so passionately their love of 
the flag and all it represents, how 75 short days ago in this same room 
we stood in the People's House and stripped the veterans budget by 
almost $30 billion.
  I have heard my colleagues on the other side accuse those who oppose 
the flag amendment as being unpatriotic. No, Mr. Speaker, what is 
disgracefully unpatriotic and a flagrant dishonor to the hundreds of 
thousands of Americans who died defending this country, and to those 
who even now are still in harm's way overseas, are the reverse Robin 
Hoods that walk these halls of Congress, the ones who find it so easy 
to sneak money to their country club buddies for their tax breaks while 
stripping the benefits and services from those who fought to defend the 
very freedoms that our flag represents. To all of those who are so 
quick to question their opponents' patriotism, where was your 
patriotism when you cut almost 20,000 VA nurses? Where was your 
patriotism when you voted for the loss of 6.6 million outpatient 
visits? Were you waving your flag as you voted to drop over 160,000 
veterans from the VA health care system? I missed the rendition of the 
Star Spangled Banner when you voted to reach into the pockets of our 
Nation's service-connected veterans and rob them and their survivors, 
their widows and children, of a portion of their promised compensation.
  And the list goes on. Just today these same hypocrites, calling 
themselves patriots, fought to take away women's constitutionally 
protected rights. This administration laughs in the face of our Bill of 
Rights as it holds thousands of people in jail without any due process 
under the guise of national security. At this very moment there are 
Haitians being held illegally in prison even after a judge ruled in 
their favor. They offer no threat to this country, but Attorney General 
Ashcroft is arbitrarily taking their rights. Not only is this 
administration arresting adults but they are arresting children. These 
are the actions of a dictator. And worst of all, the administration has 
lied time and time again to the American people when trying to invent 
reasons to preemptively invade Iraq. I cannot find a shred of 
patriotism in any of this.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my so-called patriots here who proclaim so 
loudly their love of the flag to put their money where their mouth is. 
Everybody can talk the talk. It takes a real patriot to walk the walk. 
I stand in protest of this House being derelict in its duties and 
leaving our veterans behind. Wake up, America.

                          ____________________