mr. chairman , i want to congratulate you on this budget . 
i think the american people are smart enough to recognize truth and demagoguery . 
that is what you hear on this house floor is demagoguery , and that is completely unfortunate . 
i believe that ensuring that the disabled , the injured , the low-income and special needs veterans are given the highest attention . 
that is the priority of our nation . 
in establishing priorities of care for veterans health care , this congress also believes that the same military values that guided servicemembers on active duty should define how services and assistance are provided to them as veterans . 
it is why we established the priorities of care , one , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight . 
this budget takes into consideration the present budgetary constraints , the aging veteran population , as well as the influx of veterans into the system as the nation continues to fight the war on terror throughout the world . 
as chairman of the committee on veterans ' affairs , i seek an increase in $ 12.6 million for the medical and prosthetic research projects above the president 's budget request . 
we also increased by $ 293 million for state nursing home partnership . 
we increase about $ 300 million discretionary funding for veterans health care , despite the demagoguery you will hear from some members on this floor . 
to ensure that our national cemeteries are maintained as the shrines that they are , my subcommittee chairman , the gentleman from florida ( mr. miller ) xz4002762 , and i recommended an additional $ 45.6 million in construction to begin a 5-year $ 300 million national shrine commitment project to repair and restore the existing national cemeteries . 
but while our greatest attention should be focused on those who have served us and can no longer fend for themselves , there is another group of veterans that needs our help : our soldiers , sailors , airmen and marines who need assistance in returning to the workforce or entering the workforce for the first time after serving their country . 
this budget will also ensure that the va benefits take care of the young solder coming home , as well as the older soldier who may already have a family . 
we need to make sure that the va is flexible and personal in its delivery of health care and benefits , such as training and education . 
this is a wise investment , harnessing the same spirit and drive that has won our nation 's battles , to contribute to our nation 's workforce and to sustain our national competitive edge . 
to facilitate this investment , i created a new subcommittee solely devoted to this effort chaired by the gentleman from arkansas ( mr. boozman ) xz4000400 . 
the gentleman from iowa ( mr. nussle ) xz4002980 , as chairman of the committee on the budget , has done an outstanding job . 
he has led congress through some challenging budgetary times as chairman . 
some may forget the meaning of the attacks upon our country on september 11 . 
it was an attack upon our freedom , upon our way of life . 
it was devastating to our economy . 
that economic growth has returned , but we also now need to manage that economic growth smartly . 
there is a lot of rhetoric , but let me return to some facts . 
under this president , spending for veterans has increased by 47 percent in 5 years versus 32 percent in the 8 years under the clinton administration . 
if i turn to the chart to my left , as the chart shows , over the last 7 years discretionary spending has grown 39.5 percent under the va-hud appropriations bill . 
that is a 4.9 percent average increase for every year from 1998 all the way to present . 
so despite all the rhetoric that america and my colleagues will hear , the reality is this chart . 
the spending on veterans continues to increase , maintaining our commitment to veterans in america . 
i also would like to turn to a second chart i think is very interesting . 
on this chart it shows what happened under the democrat control of congress . 
congressional spending per veteran was flat . 
for 10 years a meager $ 400 increase for 10 years from 1984 to 1994 . 
can everybody see this ? 
it was flat . 
to my colleagues on this side of the aisle , do you see this ? 
it was flat for 10 years . 
you did not hear demagoguery on the house floor . 
what you had at the time were individuals on both sides of the aisle working together in a bipartisan fashion with regard to how we deal with veterans . 
so what we have under the republican control the last 10 years is from 1995 to 2005 congress increased spending by $ 1 , 400 per veteran , that is from $ 1 , 368 to $ 2 , 773 per veteran . 
i think this chart is very clear . 
what has occurred under democrat control is flat-lined budget for veterans . 
i am not going to demagogue . 
it is just a reality . 
now with regard to what has happened under republican control , the increase and the maintaining of our commitment to veterans programs and causes across the board . 
this is the reality . 
i want to say to the budget chairman , i want to thank him . 
he has given me a task , and the task is that with regard to all of these programs in discretionary and mandatory , are there savings out there ? 
are these systems being run smartly and effectively and efficiently ? 
he has challenged those of us who serve on the committee on veterans ' affairs . 
and you know what ? 
we will accept the challenge , and we will go and work together in a bipartisan fashion and see if we can find those savings . 
he has not dictated to us . 
he has challenged us and we accept the challenge . 
