[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   SUPPORT FOR ADVOCATES FOR VETERANS

  (Mr. STRICKLAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, our good friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), had served on the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs for 24 years. He had been the chairman of that 
committee for 4 years.
  On January 5, representatives of 10 national veterans organizations 
wrote the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) asking him to keep 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) in that position. But he was 
removed. And a senior GOP aid referred to these veterans by saying, 
``If they think coming up here to argue for Chris Smith is going to 
help Chris Smith, they are crazy.''
  Well, the Republicans in this House may think the advocates for 
veterans are crazy, but we Democrats do not; and we will not stand by 
and let this administration or this House of Representatives decimate 
VA health care.

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