Madam Speaker, the irony could not be thicker or, for that matter, sweeter. Today, the day before Veterans Day, the Republican leadership failed to gather the necessary votes to pass a shameful budget reconciliation bill that will, among other things, decrease funding for veterans. Somewhere Mr. DeLay should be left to wonder how the callously efficient arm-twisting regime that he installed in the House has crumbled so quickly.

The sheer audacity of trying to pass a budget reconciliation bill that provides more tax breaks to the wealthy at the expense of important social-net programs for the poor is unbelievable. The programs slated to be cut include health care for veterans, Medicaid, student loans, and child support enforcement.

The idea that America's Republican leaders would slash funding for veterans the day before they should be honoring them would be even more appalling than it already is if it were not so commonplace. In fact, this pattern has repeated itself throughout President Bush's tenure in office.

The U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003 coincided with the sharp decrease in veterans health care and other benefits for those who have bravely served in our Nation's military. The backlog at veterans hospitals had never been greater than when the United States went to war in Iraq. Now, with more than half a million soldiers having served in Iraq, the burden on the VA will only increase.

And while the U.S. has spent over $200 billion for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq over the past 2 years, during this same time period the Bush administration and the Republican Congress have repeatedly refused to provide veterans with the benefits they have earned and the benefits they deserve.

Our Nation's so-called leaders have continually refused to fix the system called ``concurrent receipt,'' whereby veterans health benefits are deducted from their retirement benefits. This veterans tax is wrong, and it needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress are too busy trying to pass bills that would make the rich even richer, instead of fixing real inequities in our system.

Mr. Speaker, veterans deserve our respect not only on November 11, Veterans Day, but all throughout the year. They deserve our respect, they deserve our support, and they deserve all of the benefits our government has promised them without scrimping, without exception, without escape clauses. They certainly did not offer any excuses when they enlisted in our military.

Six weeks ago, I traveled to Iraq with a small congressional delegation to learn more about the mission and the heroic Americans carrying it out. Nothing I saw changed my mind about the wrongness of our Iraq policy. But one thing did move me: I came away from the trip absolutely awed by our soldiers. They were even more committed, more dedicated, and more courageous than I had ever imagined.

Having met and talked with them, it pains me to the core that their fate rests in the hands of leaders who have failed them time and time again. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve so much more. They deserve civilian leaders who will put their safety before their own political interests. They deserve leaders who would not send them to Iraq on false pretenses on a poorly defined mission without all the tools they need and without a plan to get them out of there; and they deserve leaders who will give them adequate medical and financial support when they come home.

For all the reasons I have mentioned today, it is time to bring our troops home from Iraq. We need to focus on healing the wounds incurred over the last 2 1/2 years of war and administering to America's domestic priorities. If we want to truly honor our veterans on Veterans Day, the best thing we can do is prevent more veterans from being created. We could do this tomorrow, if we wanted to, by ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home. That would be the best gift of all.