[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 24]
[House]
[Pages 32295-32296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          FUNDING OUR VETERANS

  (Mrs. DRAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, this is day 67. That's 67 days since the 
start of the new fiscal year and our veterans still do not have access 
to the increased funding provided in a bill that passed the House and 
Senate months ago and the President is waiting to sign.
  The House-passed bill includes increased funding to improve access to 
medical services for all veterans, new initiatives for mental health 
and PTSD, increased funds for improved medical facilities and increased 
funding to assist homeless veterans, to name a few.
  If the Democrats are acting in good faith and in the best interest of 
our Nation's veterans, why continue to delay this crucial funding?

[[Page 32296]]

  The Democrats have failed in their earlier effort to use funding for 
our veterans as a bargaining chip for billions in unrelated spending. 
Why continue to delay this bill?
  There are few things more important than ensuring that this Congress 
provides all possible benefits and health care for our veterans. I'm 
calling on the Speaker to move this bill forward, and I call on all 
Americans to contact their Representatives and tell the Democratic 
leadership to send a clean veterans appropriations bill to the 
President now.

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