Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008--Conference Report

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008--CONFERENCE REPORT -- (Senate - November 07, 2007)

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I am prepared to use a couple minutes of my leader time.

We have before us a combination of two bills--the Labor, Health and Human Services bill and the Veterans bill. We know the President will sign the Veterans bill. He has been hoping to get it for the last couple of months. We know he will veto the Labor, Health and Human Services bill. So Senator Hutchison from Texas has made a point of order that the Veterans bill should not have been placed into the Labor-HHS bill in conference.

The principal reason for sustaining that point of order is to separate these bills and give us a chance to get a Veterans bill to the President by Veterans Day, which is next Monday. Today is the last day the House of Representatives could appoint conferees on this bill in order to get it to the President by next Monday, Veterans Day. So the only way we can get a signed Veterans bill by Veterans Day is for the point of order to be sustained, thereby separating these two bills and giving us a chance to get the job finished for our veterans, who richly deserve this important bill, by next Monday on Veterans Day.

I urge my colleagues to vote to sustain the point of order, to give us a chance to get these bills separated and get this much needed relief to our veterans by next Monday, Veterans Day.

I yield the floor.

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