I am so pleased to greet you all this afternoon. NOVA is a tremendous organization -- not just for what the organization does -- but because of who you are: nurses caring for veterans. I have a hard time thinking of a mission more noble.

The work you will do here in DC, as advocates for NOVA, becomes all the more urgent because of the bleak VA budget. With more than half of the fiscal year to go, VA hospitals and clinics are suffering under severe funding shortages. And I don't have to tell you what that means for the workforce -- overtime hours and overburdened nurses.

Let me tell you what you are up against. Just last week, Senator Murray and I offered an amendment to the Iraq Supplemental for nearly $2 billion for VA health care. The FY05 Emergency Supplemental provides more than $80 billion for the ongoing war, yet not one dime has been included for VA care.

So, we set out to add funding. We made the case that emergency funds are necessary this year to improve care at VA hospitals. Yet, only one Senator from the other side of the aisle -- the former Chairman of the VA Committee -- voted for our amendment.

I cannot understand this.

We told our colleagues here in the Senate that 20 percent of returning servicemembers are now seeking care at VA. We need to provide care for those who are just now returning, without displacing those veterans currently using the system.

And we told our colleagues that right now VA hospitals are running deficits of about $40 million per each health care network. Clinics and hospitals have stopped seeing even the poorest of patients -- sending them hundreds of miles away to other facilities. We know that facilities are operating millions of dollars in the red, that old medical equipment cannot be updated, and that nursing home beds are being closed.

It will be impossible for VA to care for returning veterans in the midst of this kind of situation.

I tell you this not to discourage you but to energize you. I know that your voices are strong. And you -- better than most -- can tell the story about what kind of resources are needed for VA health care. Members are eager to hear from you.

Our quest to increase funding for VA health care now moves to the Appropriations process. VA absolutely needs more resources. And we are absolutely working to get veterans the care they deserve. But we need your help.

Again, I thank you for your service and hope that NOVA's Annual Meeting will be a productive one for you.