[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29781]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      MINI-BUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  (Mr. SHUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call out to the American 
people to ask them to take notice of what's happening here on the 
floor. When the majority party took control in January, they promised a 
new direction. But the only direction they've received is to go 
backwards. Here it is November, and the President has not received one 
appropriations bill on his desk.
  The Congress has not moved this slowly in 20 years, and the reason is 
purely political. They want to drastically increase social spending, 
and they can't get a bill passed on social spending without coupling it 
and holding hostage our veterans bill.
  Our veterans deserve better. Our veterans deserve the funding that 
they need.
  I hope every veteran in America is listening to this debate today. I 
hope they realize that the veterans funding is being held hostage.
  The President will veto the social spending the Democrats propose and 
thus delay the funds needed to go to our veterans around this country.
  I urge the majority party to stop this charade, give the veterans a 
straight up-or-down vote, and it'll pass this House overwhelmingly.
  I thank the Congress for listening. I thank the American people for 
listening to me.

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