Sessions Calls On House Democrats To Send Clean Veterans Spending Bill To President Bush By Veterans Day

Press Release

Sessions Calls On House Democrats To Send Clean Veterans Spending Bill To President Bush By Veterans Day

U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) released the following statement in response to Senate Republicans successfully separating the much-needed Veterans and Military Construction spending bill from the pork-laden Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill:

"Last night, House Democrats failed in their cynical attempt to play politics with veterans funding.

"For 145 days, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Majority Leadership have held hostage critical funding for veterans benefits and military construction, preferring instead to push a public relations campaign for increased domestic spending and to ignore the pleas of The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars to complete the bill.

"House Republicans have already named conferees for the Veteran and Military Spending bill, and we stand ready to deliver the benefits that our veterans deserve. For every day that House Democrats allow the Veterans' funding bill to languish without conferees for their own political advantage, our nation's veterans lose $18.5 million—money that could be used for Veterans' housing, Veterans' Health Care, and other important Veterans' Support activities.

"I call upon the Democrat Majority Leadership to send to the President by Veterans Day a clean veterans spending bill that honors the sacrifice of our nation's veterans and funds the benefits they have valiantly earned. The days of using veterans as pawns for an irresponsible spending spree must come to an end. Our veterans deserve far better."

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