Thank you Mr. Chairman.

I appreciate you holding a hearing to discuss the President’s Budget Proposal for FY-09.

Since this Congress convened last January we have made veterans’ affairs a top priority. Unfortunately, this budget undermines all of our hard work.

Last year, we passed a VA appropriations bill which made the single-largest investment in veterans’ health care in the 77-year history of the agency.

We passed the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act.

And we passed important Wounded Warrior Legislation, which would not have been possible without your leadership and the work of this Committee.

These are all important first steps… but years of neglect and lack of oversight at the VA has left much more to be done.

A year ago The Washington Post broke their investigative story about the poor quality of care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  As Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, I was especially upset and appalled.

Our nation’s veterans have served honorably to protect us and our country.  We have an obligation to treat them the dignity and respect they have earned.

The first line of defense against waste, fraud, and abuse is the independent and nonpartisan Office of Inspector General.  The IG is one of the best ways of ensuring accountability at the VA during a time of war.

Unfortunately, the President proposes we reduce the IG’s budget to $77 million for FY 2009, a five percent decrease from last year.  It is absolutely irresponsible to make deep cuts to the VA’s watchdog when hundreds of thousands of veterans need the VA to make improvements.

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hear from VA officials next week to find out how we can afford this cut at a time when we need serious accountability.

I am also stunned by the President’s irresponsible proposal to slash the Medical and Prosthetic Research budget to $442 million for FY 2009, an 8 percent cut, and the proposed reduction in veterans’ rehabilitation research by more than 7 percent.

I simply can’t believe the President wants to deny our war-wounded veterans the option of having cutting-edge prosthetics.

Our wounded warriors have unique injuries and require unique prosthetics.  It is our responsibility to make sure they have the tools they need to lead healthy and productive lives following their injuries.

Last year, we were able to look past the President’s irresponsible VA proposals and win strong bipartisan support for appropriate funding levels.  I know we can do the same this year.

I am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today, and I yield back.