On November 11, America honors its military veterans, past and present. From the American Revolution’s Minutemen to today’s modern soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, American men and women have dedicated themselves to the preservation of liberty and democracy. Those in uniform are the defenders of the American values that have made our nation strong.

There are more than 24 million U.S. veterans, but a new generation of veterans is coming as our country fights two wars – the war against terrorism with its genesis in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq. In the current environment, repeated deployments have become the norm for many service members, which places an enormous strain on our forces, as well as on their families.

As a nation, whose citizens benefit from the dedication and sacrifices or our service members, we have a responsibility to do more to show appreciation than simply offer our respects on Veterans Day. But for some reason, it seems like we are always struggling to make sure that our military and our veterans programs have the resources they need to take care of those to whom we owe so much. Over the last six years, the Administration has under-funded the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by at least $9 billion. The President’s budget submission this year reduced veterans’ funding by $10 billion over the next 5 years.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the aging of our World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, have increased demand for VA services. Health care waiting lines have increased, appointments and medical procedures have been delayed, more than 250,000 veterans have been turned away from entering the VA health care system, and disability and education claims backlogs have grown to unreasonable rates. Moreover, Congress has been forced to add billions of dollars in supplemental VA funding due to embarrassing funding shortfalls.

We absolutely must do a better job. Recently, I joined 200 of my House colleagues in writing to the President, urging him to provide adequate funding for veterans’ health care in his Fiscal Year 2008 budget proposal. The federal budget is a reflection of national policies and ultimately a reflection of our moral priorities. We must ensure that our service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and the heroes from our previous conflicts receive the care and benefits they have earned and deserve.

Providing for our military veterans and their families is a continuing cost of war and should be an important component of our national defense policy. President George Washington recognized this point, saying, “[t]he 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 nation.”

The men and women I know who wear the uniform serve in order to protect our country’s freedom and preserve our way of life. Our nation’s veterans deserve a government that is committed to the same values that they fought to preserve and a government that is willing to do whatever it takes to make this a country that is worthy of their sacrifices.

- 30 -