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Rep. Bilirakis: Veterans Funding Should Be a Priority |
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WASHINGTON (7 Nov.) --
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.), a member of the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, was not pleased with House Democrat
attempts to combine a popular Military Construction and Veterans
Affairs appropriations bill with a widely controversial Labor, Health
and Human Services and Education spending measure.
Despite his
objections, Bilirakis did vote for final passage of the Conference
Report. The bill, which passed the House just short of the two-thirds
veto-proof margin, has been assured a swift veto by the President.
"While
I supported both bills individually when they originally came before
the House, I do not believe that veterans funding should be held
hostage by the inclusion of a more controversial measure," said
Bilirakis. "Even though I am not pleased with the way in which this
bill has been presented to the House by the Majority, I am fully
committed to our nation's veterans and will not vote to stand in the
way of them getting the important funding this bill provides."
For
weeks, Congressman Bilirakis has been pressing Democrat House and
Senate leaders for action on the veterans' bill to no avail. On Sept.
17th and Nov. 7th, Bilirakis signed letters to House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi urging her in the strongest possible terms to move veterans
funding as a stand alone measure. In a similar letter on Oct. 4th, to
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Bilirakis joined his colleagues in
imploring the Senate to also act.
"The Majority has waited
long enough to get this bill moving, and we must work together despite
the circumstances of this vote, to get a veterans' funding bill to the
President for his signature and not his veto," said Bilirakis. "A
certain veto by the President will only further delay veterans
funding. Every day this legislation is delayed, our veterans are
losing $18.5 million and this is absolutely unacceptable."
The
Conference Report included language, at the request of Bilirakis,
calling for a feasibility study for placing a Community-Based
Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Brandon, Fla. This study furthers the
possibility of having a CBOC based in the Brandon area to provide
health services for local veterans.
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