Veterans Budget Shortfall

VETERANS BUDGET SHORTFALL -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 22, 2005)

SPEECH OF HON. CORRINE BROWN OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2005

* Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to comment on the inadequate Supplemental request that President Bush has sent to the Congress for its approval.

* The President has sent up a new supplemental request, this time for Fiscal Year 2006. While the amount of $1.977 billion sounds like a lot, the devil is in the details.

* Of this amount, $300 million is the additional money for Fiscal Year 2005 that the original supplemental did not include.

* Also, the President continues to insist that veterans have not done enough to protect the freedom of this country. He is continuing to insist that a $250 user fee and an increase in the prescription co-pay be included in the budget.

* This House of Representatives, in fact this Congress, has spoken many times against these provisions. They do not want to pass these costs onto the backs of veterans.

* Yet again and again, President Bush ignores the wishes of the public and this Congress by submitting a supplemental that includes these legislative policies of his.

* I am trying to understand this series of events.

* The House passed $27.8 billion for FY05. The request for the VA in FY06 was the same $27.8 billion. There was no accounting for inflation, the rapid increase of health care costs in general or the fact that a war was ongoing. Soldiers were to return from Iraq and Afghanistan and would need to be integrated into the system.

* George Bush underestimated the problem to the detriment of veterans health.

* A first year accounting student could understand that adding more people and services into an already overwhelmed system would cost more.

* Except in the George Bush land of make-believe.

* Then Bush comes to us with a ``make-believe'' $975 million supplemental to cover the shortfall. However, that turns out not to be enough and that you actually need $300 million more.

* As I said earlier, the Fiscal Year 2006 supplemental of $1.977 does not include funding for the ``legislative policies'' of George Bush by charging veterans for their service to this country.

* This supplemental request is short by another $1.2 billion.

* In reality, this request of $1.977 should read at least $2.977 if you use George Bush's estimate of what these ``legislative policies'' will cost. Most likely it will cost much more.

* Support the higher amounts advocated by the Senate: $1.5 billion in emergency supplemental funding for FY05 and $3.2 billion in emergency supplemental funding for FY06.

* I am not looking forward to whatever budget fiction George Bush is planning to lay on the veterans for Fiscal Year 2007.

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