March 8, 2005

Thank you so much for that welcome and for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today.

Thank you to National Commander John Furgess, Adjutant General John Senk, Jr., and Ladies Auxiliary President Mrs. Don McCune. I know that members of the Colorado VFW are here. I’d like to recognize a few, Bob Clements, Charles Watkins, Valerie Fowler, Robin Brown, James Lafferty, Ronald Lattin, James Mauck, James Mitchell, Warren Tellgren, and Ross Watkins. I look forward to sitting down with you tomorrow. Thanks, too, to the members of the Ladies’ Auxiliary who are here today.

I would like to thank the VFW and the Ladies Auxiliary for all the work you have been doing since 1899. Last year alone you donated 13 million hours of community service and $63 million toward community service projects. I saw one of those projects earlier this month in northwest Colorado, where veteran volunteers drive fellow veterans nearly 200 miles to the nearest VA clinic, in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The VFW also helps veterans manage the VA’s bureaucracy. You fight to improve the lives of our troops with care packages, phone cards and direct financial assistance. You have honored our greatest generation of veterans by raising the money to build the magnificent World War II memorial here in Washington.

You also give back to the community by offering services to families, promoting education and good citizenship. And at your Posts throughout this great country, like my dad's old VFW Post #4849, you are a symbol of the best America has to offer ... selfless heroes drawn from our towns, villages and cities to fight tyranny around the world.

One of the most important things the VFW and its members do is legislative work. Believe me, when the VFW talks, Congress listens. The VFW and 27 other Veterans Service Organizations have developed the Independent Budget. It is a blueprint for reform and extremely useful on a day-to-day basis. Thank you for this resource.

I understand that you originally had the Majority Leader scheduled on the program. I am honored to be here in his place.

It is quite a challenge being new to Washington. So far, the Washington Post and CNN have mistaken me for my brother, John, the new congressman from Colorado. And just last Thursday evening, I was rushing to the Senate floor to vote, when the Capitol Police stopped me. "Is this guy with you?" the officer asked my staffer. "Well, no, I am actually with him," my staffer said to the disbelieving officer, "and he's a senator. Really."

Today I have the honor of serving as your United States Senator because of the sacrifice and struggle of the twelve generations of Salazars who came before me. They founded the city of Santa Fe in 1598, have farmed the same place in what is now Southern Colorado for nearly a century and a half. My father and mother raised eight children in poor and humble circumstances without a telephone or electricity. Yet the promise of America created the opportunity for all of their eight children to become first generation college graduates.

As part of America’s greatest generation, my father was a soldier in World War II. During that same time, my mother worked here in Washington DC in the War Department. During that time, my uncle Leandro, my mother’s brother, was killed in Europe.

My parents knew firsthand about the ultimate sacrifice to protect our America. They taught us the fundamental values I hold dear – love of family, community, country and God.

My dad taught me something else. Almost four years ago now, my father died at the age of 85. Forever a proud veteran and lifetime member of the VFW, my father had instructed us to bury him in his World War II uniform. My dad knew -- as all of you know -- that there is no greater honor than to wear the uniform of this great country.

That's why, when I got to the Senate, I asked to serve on the Committee on Veterans Affairs. I want to fight for heroes like my father, uncle and brother.

Like millions of other veterans, who lived up to their word, it’s time the nation lived up to its word.

I am a freshman senator, and I come to the Veterans Committee with fresh eyes. I can see what is going well at the VA, and what challenges remain.

The quality of health care at the VA is the best in the nation. Independent studies say the system is better than Medicare and even the private sector. However, because of budget shortfalls, that care is being rationed to fewer and fewer veterans.

I am angry that thousands of veterans are being turned away from the VA. This represents a fundamental breach of trust with our fighting men and women. Since January 2003 when the VA announced suspension of enrollment of new Priority 8 veterans, 192,000 veterans across the country and 2,000 Colorado veterans have sought VA care and been turned away. The administration’s new budget hopes to kick 1.1 million more so-called “low-priority” veterans out of the system next year with draconian cuts in service and increased fees. The VA defends these cuts saying that it needs to focus on its “core” veterans ... and to let lower priority veterans fend for themselves.

I want to take a minute and talk about this idea of lower-priority veterans. My dad told me a lot of stories about World War II, but I can’t remember one where his fellow soldiers were divided up into high and low priorities. All of you have served overseas. Did you ever think of yourselves as being high or low priority? One thing I can guarantee you is that the members of Third Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Carson, which just re-deployed for a second tour in Iraq, don’t worry about whether they are Priority 7s or Priority 8s.

And the reason why is that a soldier is a soldier. It’s always been that way. Whether you are on the front lines or in support, whether you are a general or a private. Everyone is valuable. The government made a promise to all soldiers, not only the ones with service connected disabilities who make less than $25,000 a year.

Now, the administration wants to establish a new $250 annual fee and $15 drug copayment for Priority 7s and 8s. These fees would affect 2.4 million vets across the country including 27,000 in Colorado. Congress has defeated these proposals twice in the last two years, but some leaders are considering them this year.

My priorities are clear. My priorities are your priorities.

I want to eliminate the ban on Priority 8 veterans. I want to stop the new enrollment fees and doubled copayments. And I want to make funding for the VA mandatory, so that veterans never have to worry about losing their health coverage, and the VA never has to ration care.

The administration’s budget also would kick thousands of veterans out of nursing homes. It would limit the VA’s per diem reimbursement to state VA nursing homes to priority ones, twos and threes. These heartless cuts could kick 80 percent of state nursing home residents out onto the street. Last week, I met with the administrator of a state nursing home in Walsenburg, Colorado. She told me that these cuts would force her to kick out 93 of her 100 residents. State administrators tell me that these cuts could force the entire system to go under. These are our most vulnerable veterans, who often have no place else to go.

Another problem is waiting periods. Administrative backlogs at the VA have been reduced, but there are still 321,000 veterans waiting for disability and pension claims to be processed. At the VA clinic in Grand Junction, there is a 400 person waiting list. That’s a four to five month wait. Just last week I asked Secretary Nicholson to explain to me why numerous Coloradans are waiting months to get their GI Bill benefits, forcing them to miss tuition deadlines.

Another problem we need to fix immediately is ending the disability tax. If you have earned a military retirement pension – it is yours, just like in the private sector. If you get disability payments, it is because you have suffered. You should not have to subtract what you’ve suffered from what you earned. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of legislation by Senator Harry Reid that will be introduced this month to allow immediate and total concurrent receipt of pensions and disability benefits.

Each of these problems can be resolved by making sure that we in the Congress remember our priorities. I am proud to serve with Larry Craig and Danny Akaka, the leaders of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Working together, Republicans and Democrats, I am confident we can find the resources necessary to make you all proud.

I am also very proud that last week I introduced my first three bills in Congress. One of those bills was a bill to honor military survivors. The bill eliminates the term “gratuity” from the assistance made available after a service member dies in the line of duty.

The VA uses the term “Death Gratuity” to describe the assistance that taxpayers make available to military survivors. My legislation would replace the term “Death Gratuity” with the more appropriate term “Fallen Hero Compensation.”

The idea underlying this bill is simple: words matter. Hearing the term ‘gratuity’ is a bitter pill for survivors who have just received the worst news of their lives. Not one of the widows, widowers, or children left behind think of that money as a gift. This is a simple change, but it better reflects the sacrifices military survivors have made and the gratitude and dignity we owe these families.

The challenge for anyone in the Senate is to never forget that gratitude. That fact dawned on me as I was sworn in earlier this year. Amidst all the pomp and circumstance of the Senate during swearing-in week, I went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to say thank you to the courageous men and women there who have given parts of themselves so that our country can remain strong.

And I would be remiss if I left today without saying the same to each of you: Thank you.

When duty called, and the world needed brave Americans to stop the spread of tyranny and oppression, you answered the call. From the shores of Normandy to the islands of the Pacific to the jungles of Southeast Asia to the Persian Gulf, you put your lives on the line for our safety and for our freedom. For that we owe you our gratitude and our lifelong support. I pledge that to you today.

Thank you.

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• Office and Contact Information

For Press Inquiries, contact:

Cody Wertz, Press Secretary
202-228-3630 (office)
202-674-7656 (mobile)
cody_wertz@salazar.senate.gov

Jen Clanahan, Deputy Press Secretary
303-455-5999 (office)
303-775-3539 (mobile)
jen_clanahan@salazar.senate.gov