[Vision2020] Veteran Health Care

[Art Deco]

Bush post-war domestic policy:

Use them, kill them, wound/disable them, and forget them.

W.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:26 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Veteran Health Care


> >From today's (April 13, 2005) Spokesman Review.
>
> Veteran health care is about to experience major budget cuts effecting to
> local VA hospitals (Spokane and Walla Walla) that are currently at
> "emergency" status.
>
> As President Bush pursues his "privatization of social security" agenda,
> thousands of veterans are being swept under the rug.
>
> But then, what do you expect from an alcoholic druggie that lied and 
> cheated
> his way out of his military obligation?
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Veteran health care proposal fails in Senate
> Murray says VA hospitals at 'emergency' status
> E. Katherine Underwood
> Staff writer
> April 13, 2005
>
> WASHINGTON - Sen. Patty Murray lost what she called "a last-ditch effort"
> Tuesday to get the federal government to spend another $2 billion on
> veterans' health care, including $525 million to help treat mental illness
> and post-traumatic stress disorder for those returning from Iraq and
> Afghanistan.
>
> The Washington state Democrat tried to amend an $80.6 billion emergency
> proposal for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate this
> week is debating the spending package, which also includes funding for
> tsunami relief and foreign aid programs. The bill offers slightly less
> funding than President Bush requested and passed the House last month.
>
> This is the third time this year Murray has lead a highly charged debate 
> on
> veterans' health care funding.
>
> All attempts failed on near party-line votes, with Arlen Specter of
> Pennsylvania the only Republican siding with Tuesday's amendment, which
> failed 54-46.
>
> The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, is already padded with
> member perks. Other senators have proposed amendments for "emergency"
> projects, some of which have nothing to do with the military.
>
> With the Senate debating what is and is not an emergency, Murray's 
> amendment
> faced criticism from Republicans who argued that the VA system did not 
> need
> any immediate health care funding. That argument left her "stunned," she
> said.
>
> Murray described VA hospital beds held together with duct tape, broken
> operating tables, poorly maintained medical equipment and budget 
> shortfalls
> in VA hospitals across the country, including in Washington state.
>
> "I am just appalled that this is what this argument has come down to on 
> this
> floor," she said during the debate. "If this is not an emergency, then I
> don't know what is."
>
> Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who led the debate against the Murray
> amendment, said an emergency request is unnecessary in this tight budget
> year. She presented a letter from Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson
> which said his department already has the money it needed for veterans'
> health care needs.
>
> Hutchison and other Republicans questioned Murray's attempt to appropriate
> money for soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan who are not yet
> part of the VA system. It could take months for these soldiers to enter 
> the
> VA system, and they instead receive medical treatment under a Department 
> of
> Defense plan.
>
> But Murray's spokeswoman Alex Glass said that 240,000 soldiers who served 
> in
> Iraq and Afghanistan had already left the service, and 50,000 of them were
> now receiving VA care.
>
> "We were trying to avoid an impending crisis that is going to happen," 
> Glass
> said. "We are about to see a train wreck in terms of what is about to 
> happen
> to our VA hospitals."
>
> Murray is running out of options to get money added, and it is unlikely
> she'll have another chance this year to make her case on the Senate floor.
>
> When the budget goes to a conference committee to reconcile differences 
> with
> the House, Glass said Murray may be able to convince them to add some 
> money.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It is time that somebody stepped up to the plate and spoke for our 
> veterans.
>
> Take care, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> PS - Vote YES on April 26th and tell your children you care.
>
>
> "What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that 
> they
> are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say
> about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."
>
> -- Robert F. Kennedy
>
>
>
>
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