Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 - Conference Report - Continued
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--CONFERENCE REPORT--Continued -- (Senate - July 29, 2005)
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator, the ranking member, and chairman of the Interior appropriations bill for their accommodation on this.
The Senate has done the right thing now for American veterans. I stand in support of this bill because it does represent a step in the right direction for our veterans. Today when we pass the Interior appropriations bill, it will include my amendment to fix the VA's funding shortfall by providing $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2005. This victory is long overdue and I thank Senator Craig, Senator Hutchison, Senator Akaka, Senator Feinstein, Senator Burns, and Senator Dorgan for their work on this critical issue within this bill.
I want to make sure, however, that the VA uses this money in the way Congress intended. As the author of this amendment, I can tell you these dollars have to go to helping our veterans. They cannot be used for budget shell games to make the VA look solvent and they should not be used for red tape or accounting tricks and they should not be used as a rainy day fund. The money we have put in this bill is there to help veterans get the medical care they need. It should be used to end the hiring freeze, to provide mental health services for our veterans, and expand the VA's outpatient clinic initiative.
I want my colleagues to know I am going to be watching to make sure this money is used in the way we have all voted for it to be used. Now that we have taken care of the shortfall for fiscal year 2005, we have to turn our attention to fiscal year 2006. I want to make sure we do not make the same mistakes that left our veterans so vulnerable this year.
I have to say I am very troubled by what I hear coming out of the administration so far. With all of our new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan every day, this problem is only going to get more severe. Veterans funding has not kept up with medical costs. When adjusted for inflation, the VA is spending 25 percent less per patient than it did in fiscal 2000. That is having a huge impact on our patients and on VA health care personnel. In my home State of Washington, at the VA's American Lake facility, you can only get an appointment now if you are 50 percent or more service-connected disabled. In Puget Sound, as of January there was an $11 million deficit, forcing our VA hospital to leave positions vacant. The VA has dedicated, highly professional employees and they work very hard every day to help our veterans. We have to make sure the VA system helps them do that and not get in their way.
Now as we look toward fiscal year 2006, I want to be clear that veterans need real funding, not budget games. Congress cannot accept gimmicks such as forcing higher fees and copayments on our veterans and calling that new revenue. Any plan that increases the burden on our veterans is a nonstarter in my book.
What is needed now is for us to step up and meet our responsibility to our men and women in uniform and that requires an infusion of cash to stop the bleeding at the VA, and a real investment toward assisting our veterans. Now is the time we have to come together and provide the needed dollars so our veterans have the quality accessible care they need and they deserve.
The security and integrity of our Nation depends on our willingness to keep our promise to our veterans. We have all heard of the military reports that recruiting is not meeting its goal, and each day we limit veterans' access to care, we are sending the wrong message to the troops of tomorrow.
As I have done before, I want to quote President George Washington, who knew that helping veterans helps America's security when he said:
The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.
I call on my colleagues to support this bill and work with me to keep the full $1.977 billion in emergency supplemental funding for the Veterans' Administration for fiscal year 2006. We have to do everything to assist the VA with this funding now so we do not face future shortfalls. I hope everyone will continue to support that funding in the coming year as well.
I yield the floor.
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