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Veterans
Affairs
February 9, 2005
Thank you Rep. Strickland.
It is a privilege to be here to speak about this important issue.
As a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee – and on behalf of thousands
of veterans in South Dakota - I rise this evening with serious concerns
about what the President’s budget means for our nation’s veterans.
As Rep. Strickland and other of my colleagues have expressed, this is
a moral issue. It is an outrage that the men and women who have served
and who currently serve are not receiving the benefits they deserve
and were promised. It is immoral to put them at the bottom of the priority
list, as they are with this budget.
We have made a commitment to take care of our nation’s soldiers – while
they are serving, and when they return home. These commitments – these
moral promises we make to those who lay their lives on the line – should
be sacred and untouchable. They should be viewed as an ongoing cost
of protecting our nation. It is shameful that each and every year, veterans
must again request what is due them – only to receive scraps from the
table.
Yes, this is a time of tough budgets. However, the money is there if
we choose our priorities correctly. And veterans should be at the top
of our list not at the bottom. Veterans are not a special interest and
should not be treated as one. These are the men and women who have fought
for our freedoms and they deserve to be treated fairly.
This is why I am proud to be an original cosponsor of Rep. Evans’ Assured
Funding bill. We should take this funding out of annual budget fights
as a top priority for our nation. At a time in our nation’s history
when we are asking young men and women for tremendous service and sacrifice,
we must send a clear message with mandatory funding that we will take
care of veterans when they return. With this new generation of veterans
returning by the thousands, now is the time we should be proving that
a promise made is a promise kept.
This weekend, as I return to South Dakota, I am honored to take part
in a homecoming ceremony for the 147th artillery unit from the northeast
part of the state. As I meet these brave men and women, I will thank
them for their service and exchange handshakes and hugs with them and
their family members. What my wish is, is that in the future I can,
and every member of Congress, tell troops when they return, with certainty,
that they will be taken care of. It is the right thing to do. It is
a moral issue. And we will continue to fight for those who have served.
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