mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i would like to thank the gentleman for his kind remarks . 
mr. chairman , i yielded to myself to clarify what is in the budget proposal we are proposing versus the budget resolution reported by the committee and sponsored by the republicans . 
our budget , let me make this clear , matches dollar for dollar their budget on national defense and international affairs , there is not a dime 's worth of difference over a 5-year period of time . 
but our budget does single out veterans as one group deserving of more spending , more than just a current services budget , because the demands are clearly there . 
so our budget provides $ 1.6 billion more than theirs , than the republican resolution , for veterans health care in 2006 . 
and between 2006 and 2010 we provide $ 17 billion more for veterans health care . 
our budget resolution contains no reconciliation instructions to the committee on veterans ' affairs . 
what does that mean ? 
their resolution calls upon the committee on veterans ' affairs to report savings out of mandatory programs that will save $ 798 million . 
there are only two places those savings can come from : either cutting disability benefits or raising the fees that veterans must pay to use veterans facilities . 
our budget resolution contains special provisions for our troops to make sure that the increases in life insurance to $ 400 , 000 for combat fatalities voted up in the supplemental for 1 year will be extended for future years , and that the death gratuity raised to $ 100 , 000 will also be continued for future years . 
and we will provide more funding for family separation centers , for deployed troops , and more community-based health care for returning troops and their families , two things that have been critically noted . 
our resolution recommends that the funds be taken from the missile defense agency and advanced satellite programs to pay for these personnel benefits . 
we think it is a good trade-off . 
our resolution also contains more in the four functions that fund homeland security and make special provisions for increasing the budget for cooperative threat reduction , so-called nonproliferation , by $ 200 million . 
so in summary , for our veterans , for our troops and for the emerging threats facing us , terrorists armed with wmds , our budget is not only better funded , but better focused than theirs . 
mr. chairman , i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from texas ( mr. edwards ) xz4001180 for a response . 
