mr. speaker , i rise today to comment on the republicans ' priorities .  many of them talk about protecting veterans and making sure that veterans have the support they need when they return from protecting this country 's freedom in iraq .  today the house passed h.r. 8 to make permanent the repeal of the estate tax .  this bill will cost the american taxpayers $ 295 billion over the next 10 years .  the cost on the first 2 years could go as high as $ 1 trillion .  this bill gives a tax break to the wealthiest three-tenths of 1 percent of estates , while imposing a new capital gains tax on most of us , including small business owners and farmers .  at the same time , the republicans passed a budget that calls for $ 800 million in cuts to the va over the next 5 years .  clearly , the republicans are attempting to balance the budget on the backs of the veterans .  tomorrow , this same house will vote on bankruptcy legislation that does not protect our veterans .  many of our servicemembers , especially the citizen soldiers of the guard and the reserve forces , face terrible financial problems because they do not qualify for a narrow protection of debt incurred while on duty if s. 256 becomes law .  since 9/11 , approximately half a million reservists and guardsmen have been called to active duty , some more than once .  hundreds of thousands of reservists and national guardsmen are currently activated in support of the ongoing military operations .  according to the national guard , four out of 10 members of the national guard and reservist forces lose income when they leave their civilian jobs for active duty .  the people of this country need to see what policies the republicans actually vote for .  they talk the talk very well , but they do not walk the walk or roll the roll for our veterans who have sacrificed their bodies for this nation .  today , the gentleman from illinois ( mr. evans )  , our ranking member , filed a bill for mental health for our veterans .  it is clear that they are slipping through the cracks , and we need to focus our attention on how to assist veterans returning from the war , whether it is economic , whether it is health care , or whether it is to make sure that they have their jobs and have a seamless transition .  we need to do more than talk the talk .  we need to make sure that our money follows all of this rhetoric we have on the floor constantly about how we support the veterans .  it should not be just talk , but it should be our actions .  