The courage of their convictions

There are many kinds of courage. We all admire the courage it takes to face the dark unknown of battle, especially now when our troops are fighting tyranny in Iraq and in a global war on terror.

But often overlooked are the ordinary acts of courage, like standing up for principle, especially when taking a stand could have serious consequences.

We witnessed such a show of courage recently in the House of Representatives during the debate on the federal budget. The House leadership exerted intense pressure on lawmakers to endorse across-the-board spending cuts and to approve huge tax reductions called for in the President's budget. But despite the political arm-twisting, a handful of Republican lawmakers withheld their support for the budget resolution and forced concessions from House leaders oil spending for veterans programs.

Those votes proved crucial as the House passed the measure by a three-vote margin, 215-212.

The small band of GOP holdouts, led by House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey, Included Michael Bilirakis of Florida, Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, Charles W. Pickering, Jr., of Mississippi, Rick Renzi of Arizona, and Rob Simmons of Connecticut. They won assurances from Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle that the House would agree in conference negotiations to accept at least the Senate's levels of spending for the VA.

For the VA, the House budget resolution called for some $28 billion in spending reductions for health care, disability compensation, and other benefits for our veterans, which were not included in the Senate version.

The bargain Chairman Nussle made with the Republican holdouts would equate to at least $1.8 billion more than the President's $28.1 billion request for veterans health care and other discretionary spending for the VA, if Congress appropriates the funds called for in the budget agreement. It would also restore cuts in disability compensation and other mandatory spending proposed by the House Budget Committee.

Chairman Smith's fight against spending cuts in veterans programs put him at odds with the House Republican leadership, which admonished him for not toeing the GOP line on the budget. He has faced political bullying on a number of other occasions because of his steadfast advocacy for veterans, as well.

Of course, that small band of Republicans weren't alone in standing up for veterans during the budget debate. Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle made impassioned speeches against mindless cuts in veterans health care and disability compensation. The Budget Committee's ranking Democrat John Spratt of South Carolina, fellow Committee member Chet Edwards of Texas, and others were able to take our case to the floor of the House during the budget debate.

The tremendous grassroots effort by our members urging their Representatives to stand up for veterans really carried the day. If lawmakers had not heard from their constituents demanding them to hold the line against cuts in veterans programs, they might have slipped through under the radar while everyone's attention was focused on the war in Iraq.

America's veterans are grateful to those members of Congress who opposed cutting veterans benefits, particularly in this time of war. Especially Chairman Smith and others who worked tirelessly to exempt veterans benefits from across-the-board cuts that were lit the Budget Committee's resolution. They are to be commended for the courage of their convictions.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Disabled American Veterans
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