[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              EVERYONE MUST BEAR THE COST OF OUR MILITARY

  (Mr. O'ROURKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, those who have truly borne the cost of the 
wars that we have waged since 9/11 have been the men and women who wear 
the uniform and their families--fewer than 1 percent of the people in 
this country. For the rest of us, we have deferred our obligations and 
our payments to future generations.
  Harvard's Linda Bilmes estimates that the wars that we are waging 
since 9/11 will cost this country nearly $1 trillion in healthcare 
costs and support costs for the veterans who have fought those wars. 
That is why I am asking my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to 
join me in sponsoring the Veterans Health Care Trust Fund Act, which 
would create a surtax on each and every American who has not served to 
ensure that we pay for our wars as we wage them and have the resources 
to take care of the veterans who fight them. It is going to ensure 
transparency in the cost of these wars; it is going to ensure that 
everyone bears their fair share of the burden; and it is going to 
ensure that we always have the resources to always take care of the 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that everyone join me in this important effort.

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