Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Maybe I'm missing something...
It's always possible. I never claimed to be the wisest person on the planet. I got this in one of those annoying emails today...
"HAYS DAILY NEWS by R. W. Yeager Norton, KS We need to show more sympathy for these people. They travel miles in the heat, they risk their lives crossing a border, they don't get paid enough wages, they do jobs that others won't do or are afraid to do, they live in crowded conditions among a people who speak a different language, they rarely see their families, and they face adversity all day every day. I'm not talking about illegal Mexicans, I'm talking about our troops.Doesn't it seem strange that the Democrats are willing to lavish all kinds of social benefits on illegals, but don't support our troops and are now threatening to defund them? Please pass this on, this is worth the short time it takes to read it."
See, I wouldn't mind this kind of thing if they didn't bring "parties" into it. Cause ALL the politicians are screwing the military in one way or another. And I'm unclear how wanting to get them the hell out of there is defunding them, but I'm kinda stupid like that I guess.
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GOP Infighting Blamed for VA Funding Woes by John Ydstie Morning Edition, March 16, 2007 ·
Veterans' advocates and some members of Congress say the federal government has systematically underfunded health-care budgets for military veterans for years. Some point to political maneuvering during Republicans' time in control of Congress.
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Republican Stinginess on VA Spending Angers Veterans...Again During congressional hearings last week, Jonathan B. Perlin, the Veterans’ Administration undersecretary for health, admitted that the VA is short $1 billion and may not be able to cover current needs this year.
Perlin’s announcement came just after congressional Republicans and the Bush administration blocked two Democratic efforts to raise the VA’s funding. In addition, Republicans in both houses have so far thwarted a Democratic initiative that would have fully funded veterans’ health care programs and prevented them from being subject to budget cuts.
In April, Jim Nicholson, the Bush-appointed Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, urged the Senate to vote down an amendment sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee covering veterans affairs, that would have added $1.9 billion to the VA budget.
Nicholson, in a letter to the Senate, had claimed, "I can assure you that VA does not need emergency supplemental funds in FY2005 to continue to provide timely, quality service that is always our goal."
Aides close to Murray say that Nicholson may not have been forthright about his claim. The VA has known of the shortfall since at least April, when Nicholson made the claim. The Republican-controlled Senate took his advice.
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President Bush Leads Republican Effort to Slash Veterans' Health Programs; Democrats Fight Back "Unfortunately, without urgent changes in health care funding, our new veterans will soon discover their battles are not over. They will be forced to fight for the life of a health-care system that was designed specifically for their unique needs. Just as the veterans of the 20th century did, they will be forced into a long-standing battle to fulfill America's promise to make that system available to all veterans."
- This We Believe, a joint statement by the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (June 2002)
"The current funding amount is a betrayal of the assurances we were given. Either the funding amount for veterans' health care must be increased by $1.8 billion, or the VA-HUD appropriations bill must be defeated."
- Letter to Members of the House of Representatives by Robert Wallace, Executive Director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (July 24, 2003)
The Bush Administration's budget for veterans' health falls far short of needs. Despite the current crisis in veterans' health care - some 130,000 are waiting six months or more for an appointments at VA hospitals and clinics - President Bush submitted a Fiscal Year 2004 budget request for VA health that is $1.8 billion below the Independent Budget produced by AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Despite promises by House Republican leaders to increase the VA budget by $3.4 billion, the House Appropriations Committee provided only a $1.4 billion increase. The Senate Appropriations Committee has added $1.57 billion to the President's request, and Democrats will fight to ensure that this funding - which gets around Republican budget constraints by requiring the President to declare an emergency - is protected and will push to increase funding to levels recommended in the Independent Budget.
posted by Kimber
at 5:58 PM ::
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