Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education 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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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am very proud that this afternoon we are considering a very important bill that will fund not only the important investments in health, education, and the workforce but also historic increases in spending for our veterans and for their families.

Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Specter have put together a great Labor-HHS bill. I am very proud to support it. But this afternoon I want to take a little bit of time to speak directly to the importance of the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs portion of this package, because today it is in grave danger of being blocked by bipartisan gamesmanship.

Our servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan and from so many conflicts before have done absolutely everything we have asked of them. They have answered the President's call to war with the honor and sense of duty we have come to expect from our Nation's bravest men and women. They have performed under enormous pressure in the middle of a civil war. They have left loved ones behind who count on them. They continue to put their own lives on the line every single day.

Now, unfortunately here at home, this administration has not been committed to care for them when they come home. From poor conditions at VA facilities around the country to a lack of PTSD counselors, to a benefits claims backlog that keeps our veterans waiting for months and sometimes amazingly even years, this administration has failed to account for our Nation's veterans as a part of the cost of this war. It is unacceptable that servicemembers who return from fighting overseas are being forced to fight their own Government for the care and the services we have promised them.

Democrats today on this floor are working to reverse the Bush administration's failure to care for those heroes. We have produced a funding bill for our veterans that includes $3.6 billion more than the President asked. After years of Bush Republicans cutting corners on our veterans, we have, with this bill, offered an honest assessment of what these men and women need.

This bill takes into account the extra strains that have been put on our VA system from our simultaneous wars and the new battlefield realities that are present today. It includes nearly all of the ``independent budget,'' a recommendation that has been compiled by our veteran service organizations. It makes investments that will improve health care and expand mental health services and allow construction for vitally needed new facilities.

It is going to mean more qualified health care workers, better prosthetics, and more accessible veterans facilities. It is going to ensure our veterans get their earned benefits, see improved conditions at VA facilities, and get better treatment for PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and catastrophic injury.

Most of all, though, this bill means that after years of neglect, our Government, the United States of America, will again honor the sacrifice of our veterans with the care they deserve.

We are also making sure our troops are ready and that they receive the training they need. That is why I was so pleased about the military construction investment this bill makes across the country and especially in my home State. My home State of Washington's military facilities play an important role in our nation's security, from Fort Lewis in Tacoma, which is training the Stryker brigades--they are at the center of the fight in Iraq--to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, which plays a major role in our air defense; to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, which patrols our Pacific shores.

This bill ensures they are going to get funding they need, like all of our military facilities nationwide. In Washington State, it means more than $635 million in improvement for Washington's military installations.

One of the best things about this bill is it won such huge bipartisan support when it passed the Senate on a vote of 92 to 1--92 to 1 it passed the Senate. It does not get much better than that for a bipartisan, strongly supported piece of legislation.

Unfortunately, today Republicans seem to be willing to jeopardize all the good, critical, important matters that have been put into this bill which they said they supported, in order to play a procedural game that is designed to stop this important bill in its tracks. I think that is a shame.

Now they are going to say, and the President will echo them, that the bill before the Senate is too expensive. They will say we should have not joined the spending for veterans with spending for health care, education, and job training.

In the same breath, they are going to say this money for veterans is critically important and should be sent to the

President before Sunday. Well, I agree with my 91 colleagues who supported this bill the first time we voted on it, and I agree we need to get it signed into law as soon as possible, and we can do that very easily by voting for it today, along with this package. It will go to the President by dinnertime.

Most importantly, veterans would go to sleep tonight knowing that the vital projects in this bill are on the way. But I fear that is not going to happen. Instead, now we have Republicans who are going to make a cynical political move and block this money for our veterans because we have combined it with the Labor, Health and Education spending bill.

The President objects, apparently, to combining those bills. So I guess the Republicans are going to put their allegiances behind President Bush ahead of our veterans and say ``no'' to a bill that almost all of those Senators supported a few short weeks ago. I think that is wrong.

The Labor, Health and Education bill is a good one. It won the support of 75 Senators a few weeks ago here on the Senate floor. We are joining the two because both make critical investments in a broad range of urgent priorities. We need to stop playing political games with both of these bills and we need the President to sign them now. The Republicans and the President are complaining about this move today. But it is the American people and our veterans and their families, in particular, who will be hurt if this political move is made today to separate these bills. They will pay the price, those veterans and their families, for this roadblock.

Our goal is simple. We want to make up for something President Bush has failed to do while he has tried to build up our military. We want to be sure our veterans are getting the care they need.

As I told my friends before, George Washington was the one who famously observed that:

The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.

Today we want to reverse President Bush's failure and reaffirm this commitment. This bill keeps our military strong by honoring the sacrifices of our heroes and meeting their needs. When those men and women put on a uniform, they earn the right to a government that cares for them on their return. When we approve this bill, we will assure them they will get finally the care they need.

Veterans Day is just a few days away. I am confident every Senator on this floor will head home to acknowledge the veterans in their State, and rightfully tell them ``thank you'' for the tremendous service they have given to our country. I can think of no better time than this for us to forget the politics and do something positive for our veterans, for their families, and for our country.

I have listened to the other side and the President tell us time and again: We need to get the bills to the President. We need to get the appropriations bills to the President. That is what we are trying to do today, to get two of these critical bills to the President in a timely manner. I urge our colleagues to think twice about a procedural move that will not send to the President the critical funding we need for our veterans and our military facilities across this country. With one vote we can send those to the President, and by dinner tonight know we are doing our job for the country.

I yield the floor.

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