mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman from north carolina ( mr. watt ) xz4004240 and the gentleman from virginia ( mr. scott ) xz4003641 . 
their budget and our budget really is the compassionate budget that is fiscally responsible . 
i have comments from the american legion , from the national legislative director of amvets , from the national legislative director of the disabled american veterans , from the veterans of foreign wars . 
i just want to paraphrase what they said : we think cutting veterans benefits , talking about the majority budget , is , and i paraphrase , unacceptable , especially at a time when american soldiers , sons and daughters , are being wounded and killed every day in iraq . 
in addition , it appears that this pattern of shortchanging veterans medical care continues in the 109th congress . 
american veterans and their families deserve better . 
let me just give a few examples of how we strengthen one national defense . 
i will put all of it in the record ; but clearly in this house , in closing , only the big dogs eat in this house . 
i rise strongly to support the congressional black caucus budget . 
we are truly the conscience of this congress . 
this budget represents true compassion with fiscal responsibility . 
it includes increases in programs that the american people believe in and that the republicans just give lip service to . 
our budget includes increased funding for : education programs , school construction , job creation programs , child nutrition programs , community health centers , and amtrak , which 800 , 000 american 's use to get to work , and whose budget got zeroed out by this foolish administration . 
and unlike the republican 's , it does n't balance the budget on the backs of the veterans , the homeless , seniors , and the poor . 
in the republican 's house , the big dogs eat first , and everyone else has to get in line . 
do the right thing for the american people . 
support the congressional black caucus budget . 
i would like to thank mr. watt and mr. scott for their hard work on putting the cbc alternative budget together . 
if we do not take care of our veterans now , we will not have the boots on the ground in the future to respond to any attack against us or our allies . 
this budget straightens our priorities to include both defending our country and the freedom it cherishes and giving our veterans the chance they need to succeed once they leave the service . 
all of the funds reduced from ballistic missile defense are reallocated within various functions to provide for additional support for the troops in iraq and other defense items necessary to maintain our military strength and jobs ( $ 1.1 billion ) , homeland security needs ( $ 2.05 billion ) , and veterans programs and benefits ( $ 4.65 billion ) . 
all calculations are for changes above/below proposed fiscal year 2006 levels included in the republican budget . 
the american legion , washington , dc , march 17 , 2005 . 
dear mr . 
chairman : the american legion is deeply troubled with and can not support your committee 's proposed budget resolution , h. con . 
res. 95 , with regard to funding for the department of veterans affairs ( va ) , especially the reconciliation instructions targeted at earned veterans ' benefits . 
reducing mandatory appropriations for veterans ' disability compensation , pensions , and educational benefits at a time of war is inconsistent with the thanks of a grateful nation . 
the american legion believes va 's own admission that the cost of doing business increases annually about 13-14 percent because of federal pay increases and inflation in the health care arena . 
the president 's budget request is `` scrubbed '' by the office of management and budget , so va 's true fiscal requirements to meet the health care needs of america 's veterans are somewhat skewed . 
during the 108th congress , former va secretary principi reported to your colleagues that the fy 2005 proposed budget was $ 1.2 billion short of what he had actually requested . 
it appears this pattern of shortchanging va medical care continues in the 109th congress . 
america 's veterans and their families deserve better . 
the american legion recognizes and appreciates the bradley amendment adopted by the committee , but believes it falls well short of the total funding needed in va medical care . 
unfortunately , the committee rejected the edwards amendment that would have provided va with adequate resources to maintain current services . 
the american legion would encourage adoption of one of the amendments to be offered by representatives spratt or obey with regard to increasing va funding . 
clearly , both of these amendments are in the best interest of veterans and their families . 
without adoption of one of these two amendments , the american legion can not support this budget resolution . 
the american legion appreciates your leadership and the hard work of your colleagues on behalf of america 's veterans and their families . 
sincerely , thomas p. cadmus , the independent budget , march 17 , 2005 . 
dear representative nussle : as you know , the president 's fiscal year 2006 budget would provide an appropriation for veterans ' medical care that is less than one-half of one percent above the fy 2005 appropriation . 
because this amount would not begin to cover employee wage increases and other inflationary costs , it amounts to a substantial cut in funding and thus would unavoidably result in a reduction of critical medical care services for our nation 's sick and disabled veterans . 
although we appreciate the adoption of the bradley amendment which added $ 229 million to the president 's recommendation for veterans ' medical care , this is still grossly inadequate . 
in addition , we understand that h. con . 
res. 95 includes instructions to cut spending on mandatory veterans ' programs , such as disability compensation , by $ 798 million . 
we think cutting veterans ' benefit programs is unconscionable , especially at a time when america 's son and daughters are being wounded and killed every day in iraq . 
the four major veterans organizations of the independent budget , amvets , disabled american veterans , paralyzed veterans of america , and veterans of foreign wars of the united states , therefore strongly urge support for amendments offered by representatives spratt and obey to increase funding for veterans ' programs . 
passage of these amendments is crucial if the va is to maintain an adequate level of health care and other services . 
sincerely , & lt ; center & gt ; rick jones , & lt ; /center & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; national legislative director , amvets. & lt ; /em & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; richard b. fuller , & lt ; /center & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; national legislative director , paralyzed veterans of america. & lt ; /em & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; joseph a. violante , & lt ; /center & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; national legislative director , disabled american veterans. & lt ; /em & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; dennis cullinan , & lt ; /center & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; national legislative director , veterans of foreign wars of the united states. & lt ; /em & gt ; 