[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15287-15288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VETERANS HEALTH CARE

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to talk about the Veterans' 
Administration issue that we dealt with this week in the Senate. I want 
to bring us up to date, where we are, to try to fix some of the 
problems that Secretary Jim Nicholson has brought to our attention. We 
were hoping that the Veterans' Administration would not have financial 
difficulties this year. But I have to say that Jim Nicholson stepped 
right up to the plate when he saw that, in fact, we would have a 
shortfall this year, and we would need to borrow from capital funds and 
maintenance funds in order to make ends meet by the end of this fiscal 
year, September 30. He came straight to Congress. He didn't try to hide 
it. He didn't go and try to Band-Aid the Veterans' Administration. He 
came absolutely public, to the Congress, and said: We have a problem. 
Even though he did not anticipate it, even as late as a month ago.
  But, in fact, models that have been used for 20 years in the 
Veterans' Administration have had to change because we do have veterans 
now coming out of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are more 
injuries and fewer deaths in this kind of conflict, and I think we are 
proud there are fewer deaths and we are proud these soldiers who are 
injured are going to be taken care of.
  The Senate voted unanimously this week to amend the appropriations 
bill that was on the floor with an emergency supplemental of $1.5 
billion. This was the initial estimate Secretary Nicholson gave to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs about what they would need to get 
through the 2005 fiscal year and take them into 2006 with their 
preliminary estimates.
  Last night, the House of Representatives passed a bill for $975 
billion as an emergency supplemental, just taking care of the year 
2005. That now is resting in the Senate.
  I have talked to Secretary Nicholson today. I talked to Josh Bolton 
at the Office of Management and Budget today. I have asked them to come 
back to the Senate the week of July 11, and tell what they project 
their needs to be for 2006. As chairman of the Veterans Affairs 
Appropriations Committee, along with my colleague Senator Feinstein, 
who is the ranking member, we want to have all of the information 
before we mark up our 2006 budget for the Veterans' Administration 
which will occur July 21. I asked Secretary Nicholson and the Office of 
Management and Budget director to determine what is going to be needed 
in 2006, and if they can give us that number and assure the money will 
be transferred into the budget for 2006, then the Senate would pass the 
House bill and send it to the President so that 2005 would be taken 
care of. We did not want to pass that bill until we know the 2006 
number is finite so we can assure we will take care of the 2006 deficit 
in projections. We must try to do this in July to get our 
appropriations bills going.
  We are going to come back July 11 or 12. Hopefully, we will have 
numbers next week that will allow us either to pass the House bill that 
will take care of 2005, knowing exactly what we will

[[Page 15288]]

need to take care of 2006, or send the $1.5 billion that has already 
passed the Senate over to the House to take care of 2005 and take us 
into 2006 with a cushion if the Veterans' Administration says they 
cannot make good estimates for the rest of 2006 at this time. That is 
where we stand.
  Here is the point I make: The Veterans' Administration, the President 
of the United States, the Office of Management and Budget Director--the 
Office of Management and Budget being responsible for being the steward 
of the President's budget--the Democrats on the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, the Republicans on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, all 
working together along with the House of Representatives, are going to 
do what is right for veterans. We will not make this a partisan issue. 
We will not make it some test between any function of Government. We 
are going to do what is right for the veterans who have served our 
country, who are protecting freedom for our children. The money will be 
there. There will not be one iota of service not given to a veteran 
today or next week or next year. That is our commitment to them. It is 
part of the war on terrorism.
  Democrats and Republicans are going to work together. The President 
is going to assure we do. The Veterans' Administration and the Office 
of Management and Budget are going to do the right thing. And Secretary 
Nicholson has already done the right thing by coming forward in a 
public way, being criticized by some for having made these mistakes, 
but saying, I am not going to let this pass for one more day. We are 
going to do the right thing.
  Everyone is working together. We will do the right thing by the 
veterans. We will have a supplemental appropriation. We will get a bill 
to the President in very short order to make sure not one stone is left 
unturned to give our veterans the best care possible for the great 
service they have performed for our country.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

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