Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined. We have faced hard decisions about peace and war, rising competition in the world economy, and the health and welfare of our citizens. These issues call for vigorous debate, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve answered that call. Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government.

All of us were sent to Washington to carry out the people’s business. That is the purpose of this body. It is the meaning of our oath. And it remains our charge to keep.

The actions of the 110th Congress will affect the security and prosperity of our Nation long after this session has ended. In this election year, let us show our fellow Americans that we recognize our responsibilities and are determined to meet them. And let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time.

From expanding opportunity to protecting our country, we have made good progress. Yet we have unfinished business before us, and the American people expect us to get it done.

This system has become so brutal and vicious and cruel that it needs to start wars and profit from the destruction around the world in order to survive as a world power.
- Zack De La Rocha

…Not only is our Warmonger in Chief leaving us desperately short on military resources here at home, but his administration has shown what seems to be a near-malicious contempt for the very soldiers he’s relying on to clean up his mess. 1.8 million American soldiers have been through Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. One third of all those soldiers are going to experience some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, and readjusting is going to be an incredibly difficult process for most troops coming home. So far, this administration has denied medical benefits to 22,000 veterans suffering from post traumatic stress by discharging them for having enlisted with “pre-existing personality disorders.”

Between 8 and 10 percent of the nearly 12,000 U.S. soldiers treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had “psychiatric or behavioral health issues,” according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.

The longest-serving National Guard unit in Iraq was sent home after 729 days of combat - just one day shy of the 730 days that the soldiers needed to qualify for education benefits. Incredibly, there have also been reports that soldiers discharged early because of battlefield injuries have had to repay their enlistment bonuses.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, a system that thousands of troops will need to rely on, is badly underfunded and has been totally neglected under the Bush administration. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that at this very moment, about 195,000 veterans are homeless. At this very moment, according to Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, there are at least 1,500 homeless veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. His organization is in touch with them every day, but without proper funding there’s very little that can be done to help these rejected heroes.
How are these things possible? It takes nothing less than deliberate effort to ignore these problems.