Maxine Waters

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, on the point of order again, I make the point that the chairman has on other occasions this evening waived the rules, and certainly this would not be a precedent. He could do it if he had the will to do it. Again, I think just as on my other two amendments, he has failed to give an opportunity to have some very serious issues heard. He is doing it, again, not because there should not be room for this kind of amendment, but simply because in this case he wants to protect the administration and allow them to continue to divvy up the spoils and give contracts to cronies.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to first of all thank my colleague on the opposite side of the aisle for his generosity in granting me the opportunity to address the House prior to the hour that he has reserved for himself. I would also like to thank all of the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus for being here this evening to help highlight the problems with our budget. I think that the case has been made. I think that the Members who came to the floor this evening were able to point out all of the devastating cuts in the President's budget that are going to wreak havoc on America. I think they have been able to make a very, very clear picture about what is happening in education, what is happening in housing, what is happening in health care. So I do not need to revisit all of that, but I would like to take time to talk about an action that I tried to take just earlier this evening. Earlier this evening I went to what is known as our Committee on Rules. I went to the Committee on Rules because this is the committee that will decide whether or not we can amend the supplemental appropriations legislation that the President has asked us to pass in this House. The President has asked for supplemental appropriations legislation because the president needs to have more money to fund the war in Iraq. We understand, whether one agrees with the war or not, that once we deploy our soldiers it costs an awful lot of money. They have to be fed, their clothing, all of the supplies and the equipment, and I think every Member of this House is prepared to support our soldiers and the funding that is needed. But, Mr. Speaker, as we examine the supplemental appropriations, one can readily see that there is something else going on in that appropriations bill. It is not simply a bill that is designed to support our soldiers and that war in Iraq. What it appears is we are literally paying some people off. We are rewarding some folks, maybe because they voted with us in the U.N., maybe because we want them to vote with us; certainly, Turkey is in the bill for $1 billion. But in addition to Turkey, what I discovered in the bill was money for Afghanistan, for Israel, for Jordan, for Bahrain, for Oman and Pakistan, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Djibouti, the Philippines, Colombia, and on and on and on. Now, I went to that committee because I decided that if they can fund all of these countries for whatever reasons, billions of dollars, and, in addition to that, Mr. Speaker, in this bill we will find a very generous allocation for educational needs for not only Afghanistan, but also for Iraq where we are talking about rehabilitating schools and providing building and rehabilitating buildings, and building new schools. We are also talking about providing health care. As a matter of fact, it is the universal health care system that we wish for in America that we will be providing to Iraq. I am not jealous of the fact that we have torn up the countries and we need to in fact do something about funding them. So I went and I asked that we appropriate $5 billion for our rural and poor communities that need health care clinics and transportation systems to get people to the hospital, and that we fund urban communities so we can get rid of buildings that are burned out and that are boarded up and that have been standing for 35 and 40 years on land that we can have people investing in for growing these communities, if we could but clear them and package it so that we can do some economic development. Of course it is not going to be made in order. But, in addition to a president's budget that is cutting and slashing domestic programs, now we have a supplemental appropriation that is asking for more money for all of these countries, I guess because they voted for us in the U.N. Mr. Speaker, it is not right, and the people are going to want to know why we are doing this. We come to this floor tonight to do some educating.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson).

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her comments, and I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), who has been spending every waking moment trying to get these cuts restored to veterans of his district. And the State of Ohio can be very proud of him; he helped to organize this time on the floor last week and tonight.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record a communication from New Directions, signed by Mr. John Keaveney, who is head of this New Directions organization, a fine organization rehabilitating veterans in the greater Los Angeles area; a communication from Mr. Dwight Radcliff from United States Veterans Initiative, another organization providing drug rehabilitation services, providing job training services for our veterans from the Vietnam era and from the Persian Gulf; and a communication from the National Veterans Foundation that is signed by Shad Meshad. United States Veterans Initiative, Inc., Inglewood, CA, March 27, 2003. Maxine Waters, Member of Congress, 35th Congressional District, California. Dear Congresswoman Waters: I have reviewed the findings of Congressman Lane Evans, ranking Democratic member of the House Veterans' Affairs committee regarding the budget adopted by the house budget committee which results in drastic reductions in funding for veterans benefits and services. As the director of the largest veterans-specific program in the country, I am appalled that this administration would consider decreasing the amount of funding available to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the special programs and services provided by community based organizations such as ours. United States Veterans Initiative provides outreach, housing, employment assistance, case management, counseling, legal assistance, and food services to over 2500 homeless veterans per year at our Inglewood site. At our other sites across the country, we provide services to an additional 3000 veterans annually. The majority of the veterans that we serve are Vietnam Veterans. Today, over thirty years after the war in Vietnam, the men and women who fought for this country are still struggling to obtain the benefits and services to which they are entitled. In being proactive, it is imperative that during this time of war, we begin to prepare to address the needs of those who are currently in service as well as the forgotten heroes who still sleep in the streets of this country each night. It is extremely unfair to tell those who have waited so long and also those who will return shortly that their effort for this country was unappreciated. This is our time to fight for them. As our congressional representative I am requesting that you strongly oppose any effort to cut funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Without this crucial funding, those veterans that are in desperate need of benefits and assistance will not be able to access the needed resources such as medical, psychiatric, housing, and employment. Sincerely, Dwight Radcliff, Los Angeles Services Director, United States Veterans Initiative.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) to close.

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue that some of us started to talk about last week. Mr. Speaker, last week 11 Members came to the floor to speak about the deep cuts in the President's budget. After we made our presentations on the floor, we were inundated with calls by veterans from all over America. They called us, they wrote us, and they are asking Members to join us. They want us to make a special appeal to our Republican friends, to the President, not to cut veterans services. We are back here tonight. I have more Democratic Members who have joined me. They have come to the floor this evening to appeal to our Republican colleagues and to the President not to cut the veterans budget. The budget is supposed to outline the Federal Government's priorities for the next year. Apparently, some of our colleagues have decided that their priorities are massive deficits, huge tax cuts that benefit only the most privileged, and drastic cuts to government programs that millions of people depend on. While the Republican budget did not include a dime in funding for the war in Iraq, it did cut the Department of Veterans Affairs by $25 billion. Mr. Speaker, on the same day that the President of the United States sent our soldiers into war, the Republicans in Congress pushed through a budget that slashed the very programs that our soldiers will count on when they return from their mission. This is unacceptable. I believe that we must live up to our duty and support the men and women who fought throughout our Nation's history to protect our freedom. However, it seems that many of our colleagues have forgotten the promises we made to our veterans when we sent them to war. This budget, the President's budget, has slashed government spending so that veterans are being impacted in the most unusual and negative way. The cuts that the veterans are being forced to take are simply unkind and unfair. For example, in January of 2003, Mr. Bush cut off access to the VA health care system for approximately 174,000 veterans. Specifically, the President announced that new VA care would no longer be available to so-called ``Priority 8'' veterans who are not already enrolled in the VA system; that simply means veterans who earn about $24,000. It is ironic that the President announced this cut on the same day he did a photo op at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, touting veterans care for vets of the Afghanistan conflict. It is also ironic that the President was touting care for the veterans of the Afghanistan conflict when we are still, in our districts on a daily basis, responding to the cries of veterans who served in the Vietnam-era War and who served in the Persian Gulf War, veterans who still are not able to access their benefits. We are still dealing with veterans who have been inflicted with all of the diseases that come from the exposure to Agent Orange and other kinds of exposures. In July of 2002, the President had the Veterans Affairs Department direct all VA regional directors to stop, stop, all marketing activities to enroll new vets in the VA system. This was an effort to curb VA expenditures by not letting the public know about available services. According to several major veterans groups, the President's budget last year fell $1.5 billion short of the inadequate funding that was exhibited in that budget. this year's budget So it should not come as a surprise when our President or his party short-changes our veterans, yet again. History has shown that they will. But Republicans decided that what they have done over the past couple of years was not enough. So when they drew up the Fiscal Year 2004 budget they called for even greater cuts to the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The budget will cut $844 million from health programs next year. In addition, the budget called for increased co-payments for pharmaceutical drugs and primary care that veterans need--something that used to be provided for free. And mandatory spending would be cut by 463 million--this year alone. This means that the Montgomery GI Bill education benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and subsidies for VA home loans will be cut. The Republicans even cut funding for headstones, markers and flag for deceased veterans. Nor does the Republican's budget provide additional funding for the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act which is a comprehensive effort to eliminate chronic homelessness among veterans within a decade. I would like to share with you two quotes that I think highlight the anger that many veterans felt after they saw the Republican Veterans' budget. The first is from John Keaveney of New Directions, Inc, a veterans group located in Los Angeles. He says: ``To propose cuts in VA nurses, doctors, hospitals and other important services to veterans at a time of war feels to many veterans like an act of treason. . . . It seems inexcusable at a time like this to virtually tear up the agreement America has had with veterans for more than 100 years which is to care for those who have borne the brunt of battle.'' And the other is from Dwight Radcliff of US Vets also located in Los Angeles. He said: ``. . . the men and women who fought for this country are still struggling to obtain the benefits and services to which they are entitled. In being pro-active, it is imperative that during this time of war, we begin to prepare to address the needs of those who are currently in service as well as the forgotten heroes who still sleep in the streets. It is extremely unfair to tell those who have waited so long and also those who will return shortly that their effort for this country was unappreciated.'' Mr. Speaker, I call on the President and the Republican leadership to restore the funding to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and to restore our veterans' confidence in their government which they so bravely defended. Mr. Speaker, I am going to call on some of my colleagues who are here to make their presentations this evening. I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay).

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca). (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas, and I now yield to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. I now yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio for all of the work he is doing on this issue, and I now yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner).

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my special order.

Ms. WATERS

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson). I call on the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner). I call on the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy).

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Dakota. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner), and I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda). Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of this special order.

Ms. WATERS. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.