[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         NEVER PLAY POLITICS WITH FUNDING FOR VETERANS SERVICES

  (Mr. SALI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SALI. Madam Speaker, as we approach Veterans Day, it would seem 
that the funding for the men and women who have served our country 
faithfully should be a no-brainer; yet, under a new majority of this 
Congress, the President has yet to send a single appropriations bill, 
including funding for our veterans.
  We shouldn't be on our floor asking that the funds for our veterans 
be considered on their own merits. That should just be the way that 
it's done. It is inexcusable to tie funding for our veterans with a 
Labor-HHS appropriations bill which can best be described as wasteful.
  This Congress has drifted far from the priorities of the American 
people. We should never play politics with funding for veterans 
services. On Veterans Day, it is fitting that we remember the 
sacrifices of the brave men and women in uniform and their families and 
their loved ones.
  Our country was founded by courageous patriots. It is sustained by 
the same kind of people today. Our veterans have done their duty to 
their country, and it's time that we do ours by providing them with the 
benefits they are owed.

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