[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27373-27376]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  INADEQUATE TREATMENT OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS ARE RECEIVING FROM THE 
                             ADMINISTRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pearce). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) 
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to highlight the inadequate 
treatment our troops and our veterans are receiving from this 
administration.
  In all there are 1.4 million men and women serving in the United 
States Armed Forces. Tens of thousands of

[[Page 27374]]

these soldiers are serving overseas, 130,000 troops in Iraq, 8,500 
troops in Afghanistan, 37,000 in South Korea and the list goes on and 
on.
  Throughout their deployment, the men and women who serve in the 
United States Armed Forces have done so with honor and distinction. 
However, the Republican Congress and this administration often have not 
lived up to their part of the bargain.
  While the Congress has approved massive increases in funding for the 
Department of Defense, our soldiers are deployed to Iraq without life-
saving protective body armor, and many humvees were also poorly 
equipped, leaving our soldiers vulnerable to rocket-propelled grenades 
and other explosive devices. It was not until our soldiers began 
writing home asking their families to send them ceramic tiles so that 
they could make their own protective armor that the Pentagon finally 
woke up and said they would provide each soldier with Kevlar 
bulletproof vests.
  It should never have come to this. If we are going to send our troops 
into battle, we must ensure that they have all the equipment they need. 
Unfortunately, the Republicans' record is grossly inadequate when it 
comes to helping our soldiers when they return from the battlefield.
  While they have taken the long overdue step of providing funding in 
the emergency supplemental appropriations bill to cover the costs our 
soldiers have traveling home on rest and recuperation, they still leave 
many military families vulnerable by only extending the higher rates of 
imminent danger pay and family separation allowance for 1 year, no 
matter how long they serve. While the Republicans heeded the demands of 
Democrats and ended the shameful practice of requiring wounded soldiers 
to pay subsistence charges for each day they were in the hospital 
recovering from a combat injury, they continued to refuse to provide 
other essential relief to our veterans.
  The Republicans still refuse to end the disabled veterans tax which 
prevents thousands of disabled veterans from receiving full retirement 
and disabled benefits.
  In short, the Republicans believe that by waving the United States 
flag and making a few cosmetic changes, they can dress up a second rate 
record on issues that are important to our veterans and our troops.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to acknowledge the existence of a problem before 
we can fix it. One news organization reported earlier this week that 
soldiers are being housed in outdated barracks, some even without 
indoor toilets, and forced to wait days, weeks or even months for 
treatment of medical problems, including injuries suffered in Iraq. Yet 
this administration seems unable to acknowledge the existence of the 
problem.
  Mr. Speaker, the clearest illustration of the Republicans' poor 
record on veterans issue is when we examine the inadequate funding the 
Republicans have provided for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Every 
veteran has earned the health care, educational, disability and other 
benefits he or she was promised when they signed up for military 
service. However, they are rarely receiving these benefits in a timely 
manner.
  The statistics are dreadful. There are approximately 60,000 veterans 
waiting 6 months or more to see a doctor. Some veterans die from their 
conditions before they are able to see a doctor, and for the past 2 
years, an average of 14,000 disabled veterans have been waiting more 
than 15 months for their so-called expedited disability claims to be 
finalized.
  This log jam will only get worse as those troops currently serving 
overseas return home. Yet instead of providing the necessary funding to 
alleviate these backlogs and help those who need it most, the 
Republicans are passing massive tax cuts to benefit those who need it 
least.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republican record on veterans issues is not one that 
I would be happy to call my own. I am certainly grateful that I do not 
have to defend it.
  During the fiscal year 2004 budget debate, the Republicans attempted 
to cut funding over the next 10 years for medical care and other 
appropriated veterans programs by $14.2 billion below current service 
levels and cut funding for mandatory veterans programs by $14.2 billion 
over 10 years. Later, despite publicity promising to include $3.2 
billion for veterans health care, Republicans have only appropriated 
$1.4 billion for veterans health care, leaving a shortfall of $1.8 
billion and thousands of veterans without necessary health care.
  The Republicans have prevented Members from voting their conscience 
on the disabled veterans tax which unfairly taxes disabled veterans, $1 
in retirement benefits for every $1 they receive in disability 
benefits. The Republicans even propose to increase prescription drug 
copayments and impose enrollment fees on veterans seeking to access 
health care, and despite there being an estimated 299,321 veterans who 
are homeless on any given night, funding which helps provide housing 
and job training for veterans is woefully short.
  This record is in no way to repay the sacrifice our veterans have 
made on behalf of us.
  Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have another way. We have crafted a bill 
that will not only honor the men and women serving in the Armed Forces 
today but also provide the benefits that veterans have earned and 
deserve.
  H.R. 2569, the Democratic bill, would increase funding for VA health 
care by $10 billion over the next 10 years, expand access to health 
care for the National Guard and Reserves. It would completely and 
immediately end the disabled veterans tax. It would pay our veterans 
$500 a month when his or her disability claim has been left pending for 
longer than 6 months. For our troops currently fighting in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, our bill would give a $1,000 bonus for those soldiers 
returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Lastly, the Democrats would 
extend the child tax credit to the hundreds of thousands of military 
families left behind by the Bush tax cut.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2569 is a comprehensive bill that not only 
acknowledges the sacrifice our men and women in uniform make but also 
ensures that they are properly taken care of after they stop wearing 
the uniform.

                              {time}  2215

  This recognition is long overdue. Democrats are committed to doing 
all that we can to pass H.R. 2569. We will continue to put a spotlight 
on the enormous gap between Republican words and deeds on veterans and 
troop-support issues. Our troops and our veterans deserve no less.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that it is not popular with this administration 
to talk about these issues. As a matter of fact, I am fully aware that 
the President of the United States basically tried to intimidate the 
news media by saying to them you are not reporting enough good news. 
And to prove that he was prepared to deal with them if they do not do 
it his way, he started to exclude the national media and go around them 
and deal with the regional media in order to teach them a lesson.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, this President and this administration may not 
like the fact that some of us talk about what is really happening in 
Iraq and Afghanistan. He may not like the fact that the news media is 
reporting the deaths of our soldiers, not only those deaths that are 
taking place in Iraq, but those deaths that are taking place in 
Afghanistan. And while there are those who do not want to have us talk 
about the fact that 15 of our soldiers were killed this past weekend, 
and in excess of 20 of them were wounded, and each day we continue to 
lose soldiers, one, two, three a day, they are being attacked and they 
are being picked off. Of course we are raising a lot of questions about 
the postwar planning, or lack thereof. We are asking this 
administration what were you thinking about.
  Our soldiers are now in a situation that they have not been trained 
for. They do not know anything about Shiites and Sunnis. They do not 
understand the ethnic warfare between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. They 
do not know the language; they do not understand the cultures. They 
were not

[[Page 27375]]

trained to be involved in guerrilla warfare. We have to continue to 
talk about this because we have to force the protection that is needed.
  I am not going to talk about Afghanistan; they just killed two of our 
CIA agents there. The poppy fields are flowing; the warlords are in 
control. Mr. Karzai, who we hand picked and sat down in Kabul, is not 
running anything. It is a joke, and we are paying a terrible price for 
the way we have not done our homework and done our planning in these 
two places alone.
  Hopefully, even those wounded will return home. Hopefully, this 
administration will get its act together and they will provide the 
protection and do the strategic planning; they will do what they did 
not do, even when the President posted the sign ``Mission 
Accomplished.''
  It is time for the untruths and the distortions to stop. I was 
shocked when the President, whom we saw under the banner of mission 
impossible when asked by the press denied that the White House had 
anything to do with it. Certainly the White House planned the entire 
event, but that is typical of the kind of untruths and misinformation 
coming out of this administration.
  What is going to happen to those soldiers returning home, those 
soldiers who are wounded, those soldiers who have been separated from 
their families, those soldiers and reservists who will return without 
employment? Some will not even have homes to live in. We are talking 
about not only what is going on in Afghanistan and Iraq at this time, 
but we want to let you know, and hopefully they will be veterans 
returning to their respective towns and their cities, what will be 
there for them? Will they, too, have to wait in long lines to get the 
health care that they need? Many of them will need follow-up health 
care as a result of the wounds that they are receiving now in Iraq. 
What is going to happen to them when they discover that they will not 
get the retirement benefits they thought were coming to them because of 
the way this administration refused to fund it?
  Well, we raise these questions no matter how unpopular they are. It 
is our duty and our responsibility as representatives elected to 
represent all of the people to be in the forefront of the issues for 
our veterans. If we cannot stand up for our veterans, we cannot stand 
up for anybody or anything.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Majette) as 
she continues our discussion in support of our veterans.
  Ms. MAJETTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  As we approach Veterans' Day, we pause to recall the noble service 
and the high sacrifices of those who have worn the uniform of our 
Nation. On this day of remembrance, we will rededicate ourselves to 
those who have dedicated themselves to us. I thank each and every man 
and woman who has served in every branch of our military. I thank you 
soldiers for your courage, your character, your strength, and the 
enduring power of your example.
  Threatened by terrorists who seek to destroy our way of life, 
Americans are appreciating anew the blessings of liberty we cherish as 
well as the heroes who fight, and often die, so we can live in freedom.
  None have paid a higher price and sacrifice more for our freedom than 
have our veterans. It is time for us in Congress to learn from them. We 
must now stand in solidarity like our brave protectors and act to end 
the lamentable neglect that is our crisis in veterans health care. 
Every American owes them a debt of gratitude that words cannot repay. 
And yet our veterans have received more good words than good deeds from 
this administration.
  In January, our President stated that the medical care received by 
our troops is comforting to him. He stated that our troops deserve only 
the best care, and yet that same day the administration announced that 
it was cutting off health care access for approximately 164,000 
veterans.
  The President has said that he wants only the best housing for our 
military families, yet this administration's 2004 budget proposes a 
$1.5 billion reduction in funds for military housing, a 14 percent cut 
that affects family housing, barracks, child care centers, schools, 
hangars, and office buildings.
  The President vowed to pass fair, balanced historic tax relief for 
the American people. Instead, the administration's tax cut denies child 
tax credits for 1 million children in military and veteran families. 
According to the Children's Defense Fund, more than 260,000 of these 
children have parents on active military duty.
  House Republicans promised increased veterans funding for 2004. We 
have now passed all 13 appropriations bills in the House, and the 
actual funding provided for veterans programs in the House-passed 
appropriations bills is $28.1 billion, the same level contained in the 
President's budget. So far the House Republicans have not delivered one 
dime of the $1.8 billion increase above the President's budget that 
they called for in their budget resolution.
  In a time of war, as we take care of those who defend our country 
today, we must fulfill our debt to those who have defended us in the 
past. In my State of Georgia alone, we have over 752,000 veterans who 
have sacrificed for our State and country. I refuse to merely say I 
appreciate their sacrifice. Congress must back up our words with deeds. 
It is our obligation.
  The politicians will be eager on Veterans' Day to stand on podiums 
with decorated soldiers, veterans who have given of themselves for our 
Nation, and they will give honor to those soldiers. These public 
figures will declare solidarity with them and speak of the great 
appreciation for their willingness to sacrifice for the freedom of 
others. But on those other days, on those days that are not Veterans' 
Day, what will happen then?
  As a Nation, we have a sacred pact with all of those who served in 
uniform. Veterans and their families have taken care of us. In return, 
we must take care of them.
  They understand that freedom is not free. And so, Mr. Speaker, must 
we.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for taking time from 
her schedule and being here at this hour to talk about her commitment 
for our veterans and the way that all Americans should feel about our 
veterans. Certainly the manner in which she has spoken really should 
give those on the opposite side of the aisle cause to revisit the way 
in which they can represent our veterans.
  I would like to take a moment and reiterate, H.R. 2569, the 
Democratic bill, would increase funding for VA health care by $10 
billion over the next 10 years, expand access to health care for the 
National Guard and Reserves. It would completely and immediately end 
the disabled veterans tax; it would pay a veteran $500 a month when his 
or her disability claim has been left pending for longer than 6 months. 
For our troops currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, our bill 
would give a $1,000 bonus for those soldiers returning home from Iraq 
and Afghanistan. Lastly, the Democrats would extend the child tax 
credit to the hundreds of thousands of military families left behind by 
the Bush tax cut. I repeat that because I think it is important for the 
American people to know there is an alternative. No one can say that 
they did not have something that they could vote for to correct the 
inadequacies of the funding for our veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, this past weekend when 15 soldiers were killed and over 
20 were wounded, I watched as Mr. Rumsfeld and others attempted to 
respond to the press's questions about what had happened and what did 
they plan to do. I sat in horror as I watched Mr. Rumsfeld say, I am 
sorry about what happened; I think this is a critical time for our 
American families who have soldiers who have been killed, but this is 
war and we should expect that people are going to lose their lives in 
war. We are going to be in Iraq for a long time, and I am paraphrasing 
what he said, and we are not going to cut and run. These are the words 
that Mr. Rumsfeld and the President of the United States were using: we 
are not going to cut and run.
  Mr. Speaker, it is easy to talk about making sacrifices when it is 
somebody

[[Page 27376]]

else's child. I guess it is pretty easy to talk about we should expect 
that people are going to die. I am never comfortable with that kind of 
talk. I am never comfortable with the fact that any leader would try 
and sanitize the trauma of the death of our soldiers and speak about it 
in such a way.
  Mr. Speaker, we are aware that we do not see our soldiers' bodies 
being brought home. There are those who are saying that we do not see 
the bodies coming in because there is a plot and a plan by this 
administration to keep it out of public view, to not have the body bags 
returning in a way that Americans will focus on it.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. Speaker, I am here to say that this administration can attempt to 
hide or to deny, to not allow the ceremonies to take place in honor of 
our soldiers as we have done in the past, but that is only going to 
anger the American public. Americans will not take kindly to dismissing 
the deaths of our soldiers. They will not take kindly to any attempts 
to change the protocol that we had gotten used to when we could, for a 
moment, stop and focus on the fact that lives had been lost and provide 
a ceremony in honor of them for all of the American public to see.
  Mr. Speaker, while I am here talking about veterans, and I am trying 
to make the connection between how we can do better by those in Iraq 
than we are doing by those who have already served long before them, 
whether it was in the Vietnam War, whether it was in Desert Storm, 
whether it was in World War II, I am anxious to send a message this 
evening, and that message is that the people of this country want to 
see this administration and the Members of this Congress do better by 
our soldiers and our veterans. I am hopeful that we will not have to 
see our American people become so angry that they embarrass this 
administration and this President by demanding that we get the truth, 
that we understand exactly what is happening, that our soldiers are 
taken care of, that they are brought back in the traditional ceremonies 
that we have gotten used to. I want Mr. Rumsfeld and the President of 
the United States to look the press in the eye and show that they are 
truly sorry for the deaths that are being caused. I do not wish our 
leaders, whether it is the President or Mr. Rumsfeld, to just say in so 
many words: Get used to it. The sacrifices have to be made, that this 
is what war is all about and this is what we are going to be 
experiencing for some time to come.
  Again, these are not the kind of words that people want to hear. This 
is not the kind of truth that the administration would like to 
confront. But as a Member of Congress, elected by the people to 
represent, I take this time leading up to Veterans Day to not only talk 
about our soldiers in Iraq but to say over and over again, we can do 
better by our veterans. We must do better by our veterans. Again, as it 
was said by the gentlewoman from Georgia, on Veterans Day, Members of 
Congress and leaders all across this country will be going to 
ceremonies. They will be at the veterans hospitals. They will be at the 
various VFW posts. They will be in places where veterans are. And they 
will talk about how they honor the sacrifices that our veterans have 
made. But what they will not talk about is what are we going to do to 
get the homeless veterans off the street? What are we going to do to 
create more cemetery space for our veterans? What are we going to do to 
reduce the long waiting times and the long waiting periods that our 
veterans are experiencing at our VA hospitals?
  But, Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful because of the Democrats, because of 
our bill, because we are saying what is possible, and we have laid it 
out in a very clear and concise way, that the veterans themselves in 
the middle of these ceremonies will look the Members of Congress and 
others in the eye and instead of allowing them to get away with the 
ceremonial side of this, will ask about the substantive side of the 
public policy issues and say: What are you doing to protect us or to 
provide services for us, to make sure that you respect the investments 
that we have made.
  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, when the Nation observes 
Veterans' Day, our collective purpose is to thank the men and women who 
have faithfully worn the uniform of the country's armed services for 
the service and sacrifice that has kept us strong and free.
  But I think we should thank veterans for something else, as well.
  In addition to their service in the military, we should also express 
the Nation's gratitude for the unshakeable foundation of patriotic 
citizenship that veterans have always provided in civilian life--and 
that the country cannot do without, especially during times of peril 
such as these.
  Veterans never stop fighting for a free and secure country.
  They have fought for a strong defense and strong foreign policy. They 
have fought for integrity and responsibility in government. They have 
fought to protect the U.S. flag and all it represents, including the 
respect we owe to those who have paid the price for freedom. They have 
fought for the benefits veterans have earned and deserve, including 
disability benefits for those who have suffered permanent injuries in 
military service. They have fought for the American ideal of freedom 
and justice for all.
  Those of us who serve in Congress should thank veterans not only by 
making speeches, but also by rolling up our sleeves and addressing the 
critical unmet needs of our veterans' population.
  We need to act on long-pending ``concurrent receipt'' legislation so 
that we no longer deny disability payments to military retirees. Last 
year, Congress provided some new benefits to disabled retirees in lieu 
of concurrent receipt. But many disabled veterans still do not believe 
equity has been achieved. There is nothing that justifies a denial of 
these benefits to any eligible veteran, and Congress should correct 
this wrong right now.
  We need to improve the veterans' health care system so that we no 
longer have a backlog of more than 100,000 veterans who are waiting six 
months or more to receive the care they need. Some veterans are waiting 
up to a year or more. This means many are getting sicker while they 
wait, and I fear some are not making it. This is intolerable.
  We need the most cost-effective system possible, and I have no 
quarrel with the concept of the Veterans' Administration's Capital 
Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services program. But we need to make 
sure that any reorganization does not end up downsizing or eliminating 
facilities that veterans need, thereby reducing access even more.
  We need a VA budget that meets the needs--not one that falls below 
the new fiscal year's authorization by $1.8 billion and barely keeps 
pace with inflation. I believe we need to cut taxes to stimulate the 
economy and provide relief to middle and lower income working 
Americans, but we do not need to provide an average tax cut of $88,326 
to Americans earnings more than $1 million a year when we could trim 
that amount by just a few thousand dollars and save enough revenue to 
take care of some of our critical needs.
  We need to fulfill the country's promise to our fellow Americans who 
have devoted a substantial part of their lives in defense of the 
country, many putting their lives on the line.
  We live in difficult and dangerous times.
  But we should be confident about the country'a ability to meet the 
grave challenges we face.
  As long as we have people in our country who stand ready to make 
whatever effort and sacrifice is necessary, we should be confident that 
our Nation has what it takes to defeat the forces that would do us harm 
and that we will succeed in advancing the cause of freedom for our 
generation and for generations to come.
  As our veterans demonstrate every day, patriotism is alive and well.
  And that should give us all hope for the future.
  As we celebrate Veterans' Day, 2003, let us say to all of the 
Nation's 25.1 million veterans: ``We thank you, we support you, we need 
you, and may God bless you for keeping the country free and strong.''

                          ____________________