SKILMATIC said:
Good advice mabe you should use it sometime. Let me ask you this then since you are a professional in areas you never had any direct experience from. What is lacking in veteran benefits?
2006 Won’t Be First Year Bush Cuts Support for Veterans
May 28, 2004, 01:48 PM
Yesterday’s Washington Post revealed a preliminary budget framework for the Bush Administration’s second term in 2006 includes $910 million in cuts for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is not the first time George W. Bush will cut veteran’s programs. While handing out billions in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and corporate campaign contributors, throughout his presidency George W. Bush has steadily cut support for our nation’s veterans, under funding the programs by $4 billion. For example, a survey during the Bush Administration indicates more than 310,000 veterans had to wait as much as six months for medical appointments and there is currently a lag in for veterans receiving disability compensation that runs anywhere from six months to two years. [Source: National Priorities Project, 5/04]
Bush ignores vets; attempts to slash pay to frontline troops
Bush ignores veterans in his 2004 State of the Union. “We were disappointed…that in your State of the Union address you offered no recognition of the contributions of America’s veterans nor of the nation’s solemn obligation to care for those who have borne our battles.” [Source: Letter to the President from Congressional military veterans, 1/26/04]
From the Army Times editorial, 7/2/03:
Bush sought to cap pay raises. “The chintz even extends to basic pay. While Bush’s proposed 2004 defense budget would continue higher targeted raises for some ranks, he also proposed capping raises for E-1s, E-2s and O-1s at 2 percent, well below the average raise of 4.1 percent.” [Source: Army Times, editorial, 7/2/03]
Bush White House complained about plan to double death benefit. “For example, the White House griped that various pay-and-benefits incentives added to the 2004 defense budget by Congress are wasteful and unnecessary — including a modest proposal to double the $6,000 gratuity paid to families of troops who die on active duty. This comes at a time when Americans continue to die in Iraq at a rate of about one a day.” [Source: Army Times, editorial, 7/2/03]
Bush tried to roll back monthly pay increases for soldiers in combat. “Similarly, the administration announced that on Oct. 1 it wants to roll back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for troops getting shot at in combat zones.” [Source: Army Times, editorial, 7/2/03]
No tax relief for military families. “Then there’s military tax relief — or the lack thereof. As Bush and Republican leaders in Congress preach the mantra of tax cuts, they can’t seem to find time to make progress on minor tax provisions that would be a boon to military homeowners, reservists who travel long distances for training and parents deployed to combat zones, among others.” [Source: Army Times, editorial, 7/2/03]
Bush flips on military pay cut. “The White House quickly backpedaled Thursday on Pentagon plans to cut the combat pay of the 157,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan after disclosure of the idea quickly became a political embarrassment.” [Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 8/15/03]
Bush war in Iraq creating new injured vets fast
18,000 Iraq vets seek care. “Nearly 18,000 soldiers who have returned from Iraq have sought care at VA health facilities, officials reported at the end of March. A separate report in mid-April said 4,000 troops from the war in Afghanistan sought care, although there is some overlap from those who served in both conflicts.” [Source: AP, 5/17/04]
Most are reservists. “About 60 percent of the Iraq veterans and 84 percent of those from Afghanistan who sought VA care came from the National Guard and Reserves. The most common problems affected joints and back, teeth and the digestive system.” [Source: AP, 5/17/04]
Wait averages 171 days for care. “To address the backlog of cases that delayed disability pay for veterans, the VA has hired 1,500 workers and formed special teams to reduce the March, 2002 peak of 233 days for an initial disability ruling. Today, the wait averages 171 days.” [Source: AP, 5/17/04]
Bush FY 2005 Veterans Budget “grossly inadequate;” VFW says vets not a priority for Bush
Bush 05 Budget nearly 4 billion short. “The Bush Administration’s proposed spending on discretionary veterans benefits for fiscal year 2005 amounts to $29.8 billion, well below the $33.6 billion recommended by leading veterans’ organizations.” [Source: National Priorities Project, 5/25/04]
VFW says Vets not a priority for Bush. “The president ignored veterans in the State of the Union Address and with today’s release of his 2005 budget, it is further evident that veterans are no longer a priority with this administration,” said the leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., expressing dismay at the disgraceful 1.8% increase in veterans’ medical care funding. “We look to Congress to reject the president’s inadequate proposal and to provide a budget that fully acknowledges the debt our nation owes its veterans.” [Source: VFW, 2/2/04]
Bush budget proposes lowest veterans budget in nearly a decade. “Yesterday, the Administration released its Budget Request for FY 2005 providing grossly inadequate funding of health care for our Nation’s sick and disabled veterans for yet another year. The request includes only $310 million more than the FY 2004 appropriation which was only just passed two weeks ago, nearly four months late. This is the lowest appropriation request for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care made by any Administration in nearly a decade.” [Source: Paralyzed Veterans of America, release, 2/3/04]
Bush veterans budget relies on “gimmicks.” “The VA Under Secretary for Health testified last year that it requires an average yearly medical care increase of 12% to 14% to meet the cost of inflation and mandated salary increases. However, $310 million is only 1.2% more than the FY 2004 appropriation. The Administration’s budget proposal relies far too heavily on budget gimmicks, major cuts in long term care programs, higher out-of-pocket costs for veterans, and not enough on appropriated dollars.” [Source: Paralyzed Veterans of America, release, 2/3/04]
Bush’s budget fails to keep pace with rising costs. Contrary to Mr. Bush’s claims, “the annual percentage increase it requested for veterans’ health care is 5.4 percent—hardly a windfall considering that the consumer price index for medical care was 13 percent during fiscal year 2002. VA officials have testified that it would take a 13 to 14 percent hike in the VA’s health care budget just to maintain the status quo.” [Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL) Op-Ed, The Hill, 9/17/03]
VA head says he did not get funds he asked for. “In a rare move by a Cabinet member, Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi told a House committee he had sought $1.2 billion more than President Bush was willing to put in his budget… “I asked OMB for $1.2 billion more than I received,” Principi said, referring to the White House Office of Management and Budget.” [Source: AP, 2/5/04]
Bush child tax credit fails 200,000 military families. “The 2003 Bush tax cut for the rich, for example, failed to extend a child tax credit to nearly 200,000 military personnel.” [Source: The Progressive, 4/2004]
Bush 05 budget doubles prescription drug copay for vets. “Under [Bush’s FY 2005] budget, some veterans would have to pay $250 a year to use the VA health care system; their co-payments for a 30-day supply of a prescription drug would also more than double, from $7 to $15. The proposed changes would affect only the veterans with no service-related health problems whose relative high income places them in the two lowest priority classifications.” [Source: Washington Post, 3/3/04]
Bush FY 2004 Budget
Bush 04 Budget cuts education aid to military families. “President Bush’s fiscal year 2004 budget plan proposes to cut Impact Aid funding by a total of $206 million below current year levels. In addition, the Administration is proposing that the entire reduction be taken from the portion of the Impact Aid program designed to support the education of military children.” [Source: Minority Staff, House Appropriations Committee, 6/03]
Bush 04 Budget does not keep pace with rising costs. “While quick to point out that it requested for fiscal year 2004 a “record” increase for veterans’ health care, the administration is less anxious to draw attention to the fact that the annual percentage increase it requested for veterans’ health care is 5.4 percent - hardly a windfall considering that the consumer price index for medical care was 13 percent during fiscal year 2002. VA officials have testified that it would take a 13 to 14 percent hike in the VA’s health care budget just to maintain the status quo. Meanwhile, the growth in veteran patients continues to climb - from 2.9 million in fiscal year 1996 to more than 5 million projected in 2003, a 71 percent increase.” [Source: The Hill, op-ed, Rep. Lane Evans, 9-17-04]
