[Vision2020] War on Veterans

[Tom Hansen]

It has become grotesquely apparent that our veterans remain in "harm's way"
due primarily to the Bush administration as reflected in "War on Veterans"
by Arthur H. Wilson at http://www.dav.org.

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War on Veterans

By Arthur H. Wilson
National Adjutant/CEO
Disabled American Veterans


On Veterans Day, as our nation remains at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the
President and Members of Congress will call on America to support our troops
and talk about how much we owe our men and women in uniform. But instead of
honoring its commitment to those whose service and sacrifice have kept us
free and safe, our government has launched a devastating assault on benefits
for America's veterans. 

Federal funding for veterans programs over the years has not even kept pace
with inflation, let alone the increased demands on the Department of
Veterans Affairs for health care and other earned benefits. The
administration claims to have provided record increases for veterans, yet
thousands of them have been denied access to VA health care. Because of
budget shortfalls, VA facilities in every region of the country have
exhausted reserve funds to meet critical needs. Many have stopped hiring
doctors and nurses, while still others have cut back or even eliminated
medical services. It is a clear indication that the men and women who have
served and sacrificed for our country are not a national priority 

But inadequate funding for medical care isn't the only thing veterans are
concerned about. 

In recent years we have witnessed a systematic erosion of veterans benefits
even while our nation is engaged in a war that is adding to the ranks of
sick and disabled veterans who will need the VA for decades to come. 

As we entered March 2003, American troops had been fighting Taliban forces
and terrorists in Afghanistan for well over a year. The invasion of Iraq was
imminent. Yet the House of Representatives was considering a budget that
would have reduced spending for veterans programs by some $25 billion over
the next decade to help pay for the administration's massive tax cut
package. 

Then in September 2003, the House leadership sought a provision in the 2004
defense authorization bill that would have denied disability compensation
and priority for health care to veterans whose disabilities were not
directly related to performance of their official military duties. 

Amid growing criticism, however, that unconscionable scheme was quietly
abandoned. But as U.S. casualties continued to mount in Iraq and
Afghanistan, a compromise plan devised by the House Armed Services Committee
leadership set up a new commission to investigate the justification for the
disability benefits veterans receive. That was done without holding hearings
or even consulting the Veterans? Affairs Committee. 

A year later, Congress directed the Defense Department to study disability
benefits for current and past members of the military. The bill also
mandated a Government Accountability Office study of benefits payable under
federal, state and local laws to government employees for disabilities
incurred in the performance of their jobs. 

More recently, benefits for disabled veterans have come under renewed
attack. The government is reviewing the claims of some 72,000 veterans who
are rated by the VA as totally disabled and unemployable due to
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The review is focused on claims that
may have been improperly granted, yet there are no plans to examine claims
that may have been improperly denied. 

This ill-advised review will divert much-needed resources from the VA's
overload of disability compensation claims yet to be processed and comes at
a time when one in four of those returning from the war in Iraq are expected
to suffer from PTSD or other mental health problems. 

And as if to add insult to injury, House Veterans' Affairs Committee
Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) recently announced that veterans service
organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony
before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans? Affairs Committees.
For several decades now, these joint hearings have been held each year to
allow the leaders of veterans service organizations to discuss their group's
legislative agenda and foremost concerns with the lawmakers who have
jurisdiction over federal veterans programs. 

Eliminating these joint hearings is an affront to the men and women who have
fought and died to protect our Constitutional rights, including their right
to petition the government. 

Veterans shouldn't have to fight proposals to limit eligibility or means
test disability compensation. They shouldn't have to fight negative
stereotypes that veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental conditions
related to their military service are just ?gaming the system. They
shouldn't have to fight their own government after fighting America's
enemies. 

So, next time you see one of those "Support Our Troops" signs or car
magnets, remember the men and women who help keep us free and safe. But
let's make sure their service and sacrifice are not forgotten when they come
home. Support our veterans.

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Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
SFC, US Army (Retired)


"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
 
--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.