America's veterans fought for our freedom overseas. They shouldn't have to fight the government to get the benefits they deserve. But the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system is perennially under funded. Democrats believe that our troops should be taken care of when we send them into battle and that they should be given the respect they have earned when we bring them home.

The Democratic "Salute to Veterans and the Armed Forces" legislation would protect veterans' pensions and healthcare. Some of its provisions include:

Ensuring that veterans can immediately access the health care they were promised. Right now, more than 30,000 veterans are waiting six months or more for an appointment at VA hospitals. It is no secret the White House vastly underestimated the number of wounded servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. As a resulty, a series of emergency supplemental appropriation requests have been necessary just to keep the VA afloat. But for 2007, the Administration has again budgeted far less for veterans' health care than is necessary. With administrative costs growing and the cost of medical care going up, House Democrats believe the Administration's budget falls at least $4.5 billion less than what is needed. 

Blocking the Republican plan to increase prescription drug co-payments and impose new premiums for veterans. Last year, Democrats successfully fought to block a Republican proposal to increase premiums and prescription drug co-payments for veterans seeking to access health care. These new cost sharing requirements would have forced hundreds of thousands of veterans out of the health care system entirely. Unfortunately, the President has proposed these increases again this year in his budget, demanding that veterans pay enrollment fees to access the health care they were promised.