Showing posts with label VA budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VA budget. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

New VA budget the devil is in the details

The headline on Military.com is "VA Ramps Up Mental Health Funding After Rash of Parking Lot Suicides" but good time to remember the saying, "the devil is in the details" before you think this is a good thing.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing spending $682 million more next fiscal year on mental health issues, and ramping up funding for suicide prevention efforts by one-third, as it faces Congressional scrutiny over a series of tragic incidents on VA premises over the past year.

The VA's budget request for fiscal 2021, released Monday, totals $243.3 billion -- a dramatic 10% increase from 2020. In addition to resourcing mental health and suicide prevention, it would nearly double the amount of funding for a joint VA-Defense Department effort to create a merged electronic health records system and provide a 9% increase to the budget for women's health care.
Image used by the Army Substance Abuse Program to bring attention to Suicide Awareness Month. (US Army/Michele Wiencek)
And here is the catch
"Despite significant investments in mental health care for veterans -- a top priority for the President, this Committee and VA -- these funds direct resources outside VA into grant programs and the Prevents Task Force instead of being used to explicitly support veterans in crisis at VA," Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, said in a statement Monday.
Plus another one.
Another point of contention with Congress is the electronic health records system (EHR). Designed to combine a variety of health records programs across the VA while also giving the Pentagon a way to transfer in its health records, the roll out has been delayed several times.

The VA's proposed budget would give the EHR effort $2.6 billion - nearly doubling the amount from FY 2020.

How many more years...how much more money will be spent when the results are so terrible veterans have been committing suicide in VA Parking lots?



This is from Connecting Vets
The 10-year endeavor already meant VA had to continue to maintain costly existing programs dating back to the 1970s, and VA leaders told Congress last year they weren’t sure exactly how much it’s cost so far, though the Government Accountability Office said VA spent at least $2.3 billion maintaining the system in 2015-17.

Staff said VA informed them the delay is due to issues with VA’s private network of community healthcare providers “not being ready.”

But after Wilkie dismissed the deputy secretary last week, staff said he told them he did a “deep dive” review of EHR readiness, spoke with leaders at the pilot VA hospital and decided to delay the launch.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Homeless Veterans Faced Deeper Cuts Instead of Help

VA tried to reallocate $460 million earmarked for homeless veterans. Now it says that won’t happen.
The Washington Post
Emily Wax-Thibodeaux
December 6, 2017
“It’s just unconscionable to take this action without consulting HUD or the many mayors who have been working so hard on this. The former troops who used these vouchers are the most likely to die on American streets.”
Elisha Harig-Blaine 

Flags are hoisted at the Los Angeles encampment of homeless veteran Kendrick Bailey on Nov. 10, 2017. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)
The Department of Veterans Affairs appears to be backtracking on its divisive plan to reallocate nearly a half-billion dollars from a successful program to reduce homelessness among former military personnel, bowing to pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups who criticized the effort as cruel and counterproductive.
The about-face, announced in a statement Wednesday night from VA Secretary David Shulkin, followed a Washington Post inquiry about the Trump administration’s effort to divert the funding — totaling $460 million — instead to local VA hospitals for discretionary use. As Politico first reported, that money had been set aside specifically for a voucher program, run by VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, that provides long-term living accommodations for the country’s most vulnerable military veterans, many of whom suffer from mental illness.
read more here

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Scam of VA Budget Needs to be Castrated!

If we fail to honor the promise this country made the men and women who risked their lives, then we do not deserve to enjoy the freedom to whine about what offends us! 
"I will not be the guy to allow the administration to chip away at VA health care," said Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, pointing to a proposed VA budget that would give double-digit increases to outside care while funding for VA programs remains mostly flat. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., referring to proposed pilot programs that could lead to the closing of VA facilities, pledged to "fight them with everything I have."
This is not about Congress telling us they have no obligation to fix healthcare for our sake. It is not about Congress telling us that they have no intention of taking care of anything when the leaders are more interested in destroying everything the non-rich need to survive. 

This is about the men and women who loved this country so much, they were willing to die for it!

The same politicians telling us that the healthcare programs are terrible, want to send our veterans into that mess! Are they out of their fucking minds! Veterans are not civilians. They pre-paid for their benefits and it has been under the control of the House and Senate since 1946. Who the hell do they think they're fooling? Time to castrate this clusterfuck!

This President's budget is a cut to veterans and an increase into the pockets of private healthcare providers. What makes all of this even worse is the percentage of the compensation cut hitting senior veterans and families is going toward paying for what THEY ALREADY PAID FOR WHEN THEY SERVED! A VA that works for their sake. 

Looks like the only promise veterans can trust is that sooner or later, they'd be screwed by politicians! These are disabled veterans we're talking about!!!!

So when exactly does the rest of the country stand up and fight for our veterans? They are dying to know that one!


Saturday, June 3, 2017

Cutting VA Comp for Seniors is Dishonoring Their Service and Sacrifice

SECRETARY SHULKIN: I have such great admiration and respect for VSOs, and I understand their passion and I share their commitment that it is so important that this country honor its responsibility to our veterans. That doesn't mean that you don't go back and revisit programs that have been around for a long time and figure out different ways to use those resources, as long as they're directed to helping veterans and more veterans. Now, I understand there's not always going to be agreement. This is Washington, and we're always going to get passion over important topics. And I welcome comments from our veteran service organizations about how to do things better. And I know that since we share the same goal of helping veterans, that we'll get to the right answer.
Wrong! This is not about passion. This is about keeping a promise this country made our veterans the day they put their lives on the line for this country. We just had Memorial Day when every politician was giving speeches about honoring those who paid the price for our freedom. No one mentioned the fact that they were about to stop paying that debt.

That honor died the day that the President of this nation decided that he no longer needed to pay full compensation to our disabled veterans.

If this does not bring dishonor and shame to the White House in your own mind, then consider this. They are disabled because they served. They had to fight for their claims to be honored and spent years in limbo with the assurance that once they proved their disability, they would receive medical care and compensation to live the rest of their lives without concern this country would default or decide the elderly were no longer worthy of that promise.


Wednesday, March 9, 2016

IT VA Contractors Get More Money For Same Thing?

Sometimes there is just no reason to add a lot to a news report. This is one of them Several area contractors to get a piece of VA's $22.3B IT upgrade
"The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded 21 contractors spots on a $22.3 billion IT modernization contract, the overwhelming majority of which are local companies."
Why not since it worked so well the last time,,,,,,NOT!
"This T4NG award is a follow-on from the previous five-year, $12 billion T4 contract that named 15 vendors in July 2011. Among those companies were a lot of the same names, including Booz, the former SRA (now CSRA) and CACI."

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Congress Underfund the VA By Nearly $1 billion, Again

Look up how many times this has happened in the past.

"If they can afford to pay for wars, they can afford to pay for the treatment after the wars," says Garry Augustine, with Disabled American Veterans. DAV and other private veterans' organizations draw up their own "independent budget" for the Department of Veterans Affairs every year. "We've been saying it every year for the last 10 years in our independent budget, that the funding is not sufficient to sustain the demand," Augustine says.
Tester, Daines disagree on Veterans Affairs funding bill
Independent Record
MARTIN KIDSTON
October 02, 2015

MISSOULA -- Montana’s two U.S. senators criticized a proposed Veterans Affairs funding bill this week, with Republican Steve Daines accusing Democrats of blocking the bill, while Democrat Jon Tester said the measure would underfund the VA by nearly $1 billion.

While both senators have worked to improve VA care for Montana veterans and have introduced needed reforms to the system, they have differing views on funding the agency -- a debate that's tied in part to budget caps proposed by the GOP leadership.

Daines said the latest legislation includes a record $163.8 billion in funding for the VA. He said the figure marks an increase of $4.6 billion.

“This legislation contains numerous important provisions to address Montana veterans’ long-standing concerns and it would be shameful to see these much-needed reforms fall victim to Democrats’ obstructionism,” Daines said.

Tester, however, has urged his colleagues to oppose the VA funding bill, saying it underfunds veteran care by nearly $1 billion and would undermine VA reforms passed by Congress a year ago.

Earlier this year, Tester offered an amendment to increase funding for the VA to a level that better reflected what department officials said was needed to carry out veteran care.

His amendment failed on a 16-14 party-line vote, with all 16 Republicans voting against it.
read more here

Monday, August 3, 2015

Did Congress Care About These Veterans?

Every other year there is a crisis for our Veterans and it just doesn't end up getting fixed. How many times do we have to read about yet another shortfall for the VA? How many more times are we willing to allow members of Congress to make campaign promises they always forget about as soon as they get our votes? They House Veterans Affairs Committee has had since 1946 to do the right thing for veterans. When do they have to explain why they haven't done it?
VA extends funds for vets on verge of losing care
Norfolk Daily News
Steve Liewer
World-Herald service
August 2, 2015

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System will continue to fund all skilled and nonskilled care services for veterans who already are receiving them through Sept. 30, VA officials announced Friday. But they also said it remains a question mark whether such care will continue when a new budget year begins Oct. 1.

In June, the local VA had begun terminating the reimbursement for some veterans who receive home care and adult daycare through outside organizations like Comfort Keepers and the Franciscan Centre in Omaha. Funding for the program had run out because of a shortfall in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care budget.

After angry public hearings with VA Secretary Robert McDonald, Congress passed legislation late this week giving authority to move money from another fund to plug the shortfall. Without that authority, McDonald had said, some VA medical facilities might have to close temporarily. The president signed the bill on Friday.

In Nebraska and western Iowa, reimbursement for home care and adult daycare services for up to 1,900 veterans had been scheduled to end Saturday. Friday’s 11th-hour announcement was a welcome reprieve. “They are faxing us renewals like crazy,” said Jennifer Dil, a business development consultant with Comfort Keepers in Omaha. “This is fabulous news.”
read more here

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

VA Budget Short $3 Million or Billion?

The headline was $3 Million but as you read the article, you see it was more like $3 Billion,


Department of Veterans Affairs reveals last minute $3 million budget shortfall
by Continuous News Desk
Posted: 07.28.2015
"The VA's not managed well I think, because they should have asked for that a long time ago," he said.

Congressman Jeff Miller who chairs the House Veteran's Affairs committee agrees.

"Unfortunately, the VA waited to the last minute to inform us before the August recess that they now have a $2.6 billion budget shortfall," says Miller.

But that isn't anything new. The claim about "last minute" isn't true either.

This was posted back in April
Last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee marked up the 2016 Veterans Affairs funding bill, and slashed more than $1.4 billion from the president’s requested budget for America’s Veterans. Today, VA Secretary Bob McDonald appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss that budget proposal.

This came out in June
Hearing on VA Budget Shortfall
June 26, 2015 - FRA
The House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) held a hearing to review how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could have a $2.6 billion budget shortfall for the current fiscal year (FY 2015). The VA claimed that the shortfall is mainly because of increased demand by veterans for health care, including new life-saving treatments for Hepatitis C.
Hmm,,,that was "last minute" before August recess?


VA Budget Shortfall Again No Big Shocker To Us takes a look at the shortfall going back to 1985. It is really odd how $3 billion number keeps popping up and heads of members of Congress claim to be so upset over it,,,,over and over again.

2008
Vietnam Veterans of America: President Bush's VA Budget is $3 Billion Short

February 13, 2008 - "The annual exercise of debating the merits of the President's proposed budget is flawed," said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America, before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "Medical Center directors should not be held in limbo as Congress adjusts this budget and misses, yet again, the start of the fiscal year.

"These public servants can be more effective and efficient managers if they are able to properly plan for the funding needed to care for their patients. We ask that you consider an immediate alternative to the broken system we currently have," Rowan said.

Rowan characterized as "inadequate" the FY'09 request for $2.34 billion more than the FY'08 appropriation. This "barely keeps up with inflation" and "will not allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue enhancing its physical and mental health care services for returning veterans, restore needed long-term care programs for aging veterans, or allow working-class veterans to return to their health care system."

2009
$3.6 billion hike urged for VA health care
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 6, 2009

Four leading veterans groups called Friday for a $4.5 billion increase in veterans programs, including $3.6 billion for health care.

This is an even bigger increase than the groups asked for a year ago, and puts added pressure on President Barack Obama to keep campaign promises for full funding of Veterans Affairs Department programs.

The increase, which would result in a $54.6 billion discretionary VA budget, comes in the so-called “independent budget” prepared each year by AmVets, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

VA Budget Shortfall Again No Big Shocker To Us

VA: Two agency officials retired ahead of in-house reprimand
VA also embarrassed by $2.5 billion cq budget shortfall as it tries to deliver healthcare to veterans
The Denver Post
By Mark K. Matthews
POSTED: 06/25/2015

WASHINGTON — Two top Veterans Affairs officials retired from the department this spring just as an investigative board was preparing to lambaste them for their role in the disastrous effort to build a VA hospital in Aurora, Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson said Thursday at a U.S. House hearing.

But now that attorney Phillipa Anderson and construction chief Glenn Haggstrom have left the Department of Veterans Affairs, it is unlikely they will face any punishment for their part in developing the over-budget medical complex. It's now estimated to cost $1.73 billion.

Gibson said the wrongdoing was not criminal in nature and that it's impossible to take administrative action — such as demotion or suspension — against people who no longer work at the VA.

"Once a person is resigned or retired, they are no longer an employee and we have no basis for taking any disciplinary action," Gibson said in an interview.

The admission did not sit well with members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, which organized the hearing to examine budget problems at the sprawling government agency.

"Years-late, bureaucratic knuckle-rapping will not suffice for accountability, especially when the two officials retired unscathed with their full pensions and bonuses," U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, said in a statement.
read more here

Sorry but I can't stop laughing at this part.
"Lawmakers were incredulous at both the size and the late notice of the shortfall — the federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30 — and they took the VA to task for its budget management."

1985
President Reagan's draft budget for the fiscal year 1987 would cut spending on veterans' health care benefits by reducing the number of people treated and, for the first time, by requiring insurance companies to help pay the costs.

Harry N. Walters, the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, warned that cutbacks in spending and staff could ''ultimately result in a reduced quality of medical care'' for veterans. He made the comment in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, which wrote the proposals.

The draft 1987 budget, to be submitted to Congress in early February, would require many veterans to show financial need to receive care. It would also provide no money for new nursing homes for veterans even as the number of older veterans is rising rapidly because of the large number of men who served in World War II.
U.S. HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS CUT IN BUDGET DRAFT, New York Times

1995
Veterans. The panel included $38.1 billion in budget authority for the VA, including $19.5 billion in mandatory spending, mainly for VA compensation and pension programs.

The biggest boost in the agency's discretionary spending was in the VA medical care account, which was to get $17 billion, an increase of $747 million. Veterans groups lobbied hard for the additional medical care appropriation, as did Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Stump, R-Ariz., and Gerald B. H. Solomon, R-N.Y., chairman of the Rules Committee and a former Marine.

But the subcommittee proposed deep cuts in funding for VA construction projects, recommending $183.5 million — about one-half the existing appropriation and slightly more than one-third of what the Clinton administration sought. It eliminated funding for planned hospitals in Travis, Calif., and Brevard County, Fla., and recommended building no new VA hospitals, preferring that the VA focus on outpatient clinics.

Funding Cuts Prompt Veto of Bill for Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Library of Congress
1999
With the Veterans Affairs Department getting no budget increase this year, Gutierrez said that in effect amounts to a $1.4 billion cutback because the agency's costs continue to rise. The savings, he said, would come from "unspecified management efficiency and savings" and a reduction of 6,900 employees. Chicago Tribune
2001
The restriction, which would have kept 320,000 veterans out of the health care system, was scheduled to take effect Saturday.

Principi had proposed the limitation to close part of a $400 million budget shortfall in the VA's health care system. Card told Principi the administration would find the money to cover the shortfall.

Principi then walked into the meeting with leaders of veterans organizations and delivered the good, rather than the bad, news. Those in the room, he recalled later, burst into applause. "It made my day," Principi said.
Veterans Get Reprieve on Health Care, Washington Post
2005
Just last week, the VA revealed that the rise in demand for VA health facilities had caused a $1 billion shortfall in operating funds for the current year. That would more than double in the coming year without congressional intervention.

Senate Republicans, embarrassed and angered over the revelations, yesterday announced plans to pass emergency legislation this morning to add $1.5 billion to the fiscal 2005 appropriation. The move is designed to appease angry veterans groups and preempt a Democratic proposal calling for $1.42 billion in increased VA spending.
VA Faces $2.6 Billion Shortfall in Medical Care, Washington Post
2007 Nicholson resigned
The agency has faced considerable criticism for its treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as they move from the military health-care system to VA's, and for its chronically slow processing of disability claims by injured or sick veterans from all eras. Critics complain about lost paperwork, a shortage of VA caseworkers, a caseload of 400,000 pending disability claims and long waits for initial appointments in the VA health-care system. VA Secretary Is Ending a Trying Tenure, Washington Post
Also in 2007
Veterans Affairs
By Joseph Shapiro
The president's budget requests nearly $87 billion in fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Most of the money would go to health care and disability compensation. The White House said that represents an increase of 77 percent over the VA's budget when Bush took office.

But some veterans groups said the increase is not as big as it looks — and not enough to care for troops returning from Iraq. The president asked for almost $3 billion more than last year to fund medical care for veterans. The White House proposes increasing the co-payment for medications from $8 to $15 per monthly prescription.

And there would be a new enrollment fee: It would cost $250-$750 a year to get care in the VA system. That enrollment fee would apply only to those whose disability is not a result of military service.

It's not the first time the Bush administration has proposed such a fee, which is unpopular with veterans. Such fees have been rejected in the past by Republican-controlled Congresses, and the Democratic Congress is expected to do the same.

Veterans groups say that even with the fees, the VA would be about $2 billion short of what it needs to provide current levels of health care to veterans.
Bush Budget Calls for Big Boost in Defense Spending, NPR

Do politicians think we're dumb enough to forget how long all of this has been going on or are they too dumb to remember?

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Where was all the outrage 7 years ago before 56,210 veteran suicides?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 25, 2014

Memorial Day is the day we are supposed to honor those who gave their lives for this country. What about those who died because of this country? The lives lost because they served but were not taken care of afterwards deserved so much more than we were prepared to pay.

Wounded Times started 7 years ago so that news reports would not go silently into the archives, allowing history to be forgotten like the men and women risking their lives and military families standing by their sides.

It is an attempt to remove politics keeping a promise to a Marine serving in Iraq bothered by politics as much as he was bothered by what was happening. After all, politicians are supposed to be taking care of them when they deploy and other politicians are supposed to take care of them afterwards, but they don't. They get elected, get the power and then do what they have to do to stay in office. Some care enough but the bills they right do little to solve the issues veterans face simply because the politician does not understand the problems or the mistakes others have already made.

Today there is a huge outrage about veterans suffering and dying waiting for appointments. Rightful indignation however totally misguided considering we've all been down their road before. We let it all happen.

The links to what veterans are suffering thru today go back generations. There is nothing new coming out except the real headline of the people in charge knew and did basically, nothing to fix any of it. Most of the links you'll read are long gone but the links to news reports coming out today show that had we been outraged when reports first came out, lives would have been saved, spared from the agony they have suffered for over the last 7 years.

Where was the outrage when there were less VA Service Reps working for the VA with two wars producing more veterans? "Between 600,000 and 800,000 claims (depending on who you believe) are trapped in a huge backlog of cases and there are less Service Reps now than before the invasion of Iraq?

Four years after the invasion of Iraq and they have less to deal with the wounded they claim are so important to them?

Six years after the invasion of Afghanistan and that occupation now producing more wounded along with more dead, and they didn't increase service reps?

Suicide rates on the rise every year and they have less service reps?

Families falling apart and they have less service reps?

Veterans come back from combat wounded, unable to work, ending up homeless and they have less service reps?

WTF are they out of their minds?"
Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003. (IPS Aaron Glantz October 19, 2007)

Where was the outrage before thousands more suffered the same fate?
Bennington, Vt. - The high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers returning from Iraq is one of the many "inconvenient truths" of this war. Inconvenient largely because it is costly: The most effective and humane means of treating PTSD are time-intensive and long-term.

The military, however, has changed the terms and given many thousands of enlisted men and women a new diagnosis: "personality disorder." While the government would be obliged to care for veterans suffering from combat-related trauma, a personality disorder – defined as an ingrained, maladaptive way of orienting oneself to the world – predates a soldier's tour of duty (read: preexisting condition). This absolves Uncle Sam of any responsibility for the person's mental suffering.

The new diagnostic label sends the message: This suffering is your fault, not a result of the war. On one level, it's hard not to see this as another example of the government falling short on its care for Iraq war veterans. Yet there's another, more insidious, bit of sophistry at work. The implication is that a healthy person would be resistant to the psychological pressures of war. Someone who succumbs to the flashbacks, panic, and anger that haunt many former soldiers must have something inherently wrong with him. It's the psychological side of warrior macho: If you're tough, you can take it. Of course, we know this is not true. Wars forever change the lives of those who fight them and can leave deep scars.
(CS Monitor, Judith Schwartz August 20, 2007)

"Thousands of U.S. soldiers in Iraq - as many as 10 a day - are being discharged by the military for mental health reasons. But the Pentagon isn't blaming the war. It says the soldiers had "pre-existing" conditions that disqualify them for treatment by the government." according to another report from St Louis Dispatch on September 29, 2007. In the same report this came out,
Working behind the scenes, Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., have written and inserted into the defense authorization bill a provision that would make it harder for the Pentagon to discharge thousands of troops. The Post-Dispatch has learned that the measure has been accepted into the Senate defense bill and will probably become part of the Senate-House bill to be voted on this week.
When those reports came out, the Army discharged 5,600. In 2013 the Army discharged 11,000. The Navy discharged 3,700. Air Force discharged 2,900. The Marines discharged a little over 3,000. (Associated Press Lolita C Baldor February 14, 2014)

Where was the outrage when the VA was no where near being able to take care of PTSD veterans?
Eventually, (Byron) Hancock came home, bringing with him an emotional burden that would haunt him and his family in the months to come. He began having flashbacks and nightmare images of slitting throats - events that never happened. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, an illness once denied by the government but one that continues to haunt many veterans of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and, increasingly, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Doctors still struggle to learn all its ramifications, but treatment is available, although success rates vary with the individual.

The real problem is that the Veterans Administration is unable to handle the growing number of current and former service members needing assistance. Hancock learned that when he tried to get help for his illness from the VA. Amazingly, he was put on a waiting list for the post-traumatic stress disorder program at the Temple Veterans Administration Hospital.

The VA says between 12 percent and 20 percent of Iraq war veterans suffer from the disorder, although a study cited by a Department of Defense task force puts that number at 38 percent for Army soldiers and 31 percent for Marines. Alarmingly, the study found that 49 percent of its respondents in the National Guard reported problems.
(Veterans Deserve Needed Care for Life The Eagle, September 2, 2007)

Where was the outrage when the percentage of veterans suffering PTSD began to rise?
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004, 86 percent of soldiers in Iraq reported knowing someone who was seriously injured or killed there. Some 77 percent reported shooting at the enemy; 75 percent reported seeing women or children in imminent peril and being unable to help. Fifty-one percent reported handling or uncovering human remains; 28 percent were responsible for the death of a noncombatant. One in five Iraq veterans returns home seriously impaired by post-traumatic stress disorder. (Veterans for America, Ex SSG Michael Goss September 10, 2007)

Where was the outrage when wounded were coming home and started to lose everything?
Hinkle was diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, as a result of the IED explosion. He suffers from sudden seizures. He tires quickly. He doesn't think clearly, and he cannot be left alone.

Hinkle was honored for his service in November when Vice President Dick Cheney pinned a Purple Heart to his desert fatigues, but his family feels otherwise deserted by the Army.

The U.S. Army failed to provide all the benefits and support for which the family is entitled. Now the Hinkles are tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and they may lose their ranch. Ron's wife, Reece, gave up her lucrative income as a corporate accountant to take care of him.

Reece now finds herself as more of a caretaker than wife, and she laments that Ron has lost the ability to be a father, a son and a husband because "he is living his life being injured."

"Just trying to just figure out how to deal with that is enough," Reece said. "What people don't realize is it's not the injury that destroys families. It's the aftermath. It's how you reconstruct your life, how you physically regroup, emotionally, financially. It will never be the same."
(Wounded Soldier's Family Feels Forgotten by Army NPR All Things Considered Howard Berkes September 12, 2007)

In fiscal year 2006, the reports show, some of the VA's specialized PTSD units spent a fraction of what the average unit did. Five medical centers — in California, Iowa, Louisiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin — spent about $100,000 on their PTSD clinical teams, less than one-fifth the national average.

The documents also show that while the VA's treatment for PTSD is generally effective, nearly a third of the agency's inpatient and other intensive PTSD units failed to meet at least one of the quality goals monitored by a VA health-research organization. The VA medical center in Lexington, Ky., failed to meet four of six quality goals, according to the internal reports. A top VA mental-health official dismissed the reports' significance, saying veterans receive adequate care, either in specialized PTSD units or from general mental-health providers. In addition, he said, some of the spending differences aren't as extreme as the documents indicate, and the department is working to increase its resources for mental health treatment. VA studies: PTSD care inconsistent, McClatchy News September 16, 2007)
934,925 Veterans being treated by VA for PTSD in 2007. We forgot all about that news along with the fact that VA did not meet the challenge. Imagine how many would still be alive.

With at least 22 veterans a day committing suicide after war, that is 8.030. That means during the last 7 years we have lost over 56,210. That number does not include the number of suicides that happened during military service which have remained in the hundreds every year despite billions a year on efforts to reduce them. The military claimed that for 2013 the numbers went down however when you consider how many were discharged with "bad conduct" knowing most had been connected to "mental health" issues it is easy to see that they never had what they needed to heal. The military kicked them out and we sent them to the abyss.

Yet with all of this, the worst part was what was going on in Washington. American Legion Commander: ‘I Blame Bush And Congress’ For Veterans Cuts MARCH 6, 2007
A look at the facts back up Morin’s claims about Bush’s short-changing of veterans: Bush plans to cut veterans health care after 2008. “The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans’ health care two years from now — even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system. … Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly — by more than 10 percent in many years — White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.”

Bush raises health care costs for veterans. For the fifth year in a row, Bush’s budget has attempted to raise health care costs on 1.3 million veterans, calling for “new enrollment fees and higher drug co-payments for some veterans.”

Bush administration has claimed veterans benefits are “hurtful” to national security. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal noted the growing cost of veterans benefits due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon’s response was to complain that it would “rather use [the funds] to help troops fighting today.” “The amounts have gotten to the point where they are hurtful. They are taking away from the nation’s ability to defend itself,” says David Chu, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness.

There are more reports on Bush's Veteran's Day Challenge with veto pen in hand but again, all was forgotten. Why bother to remember the men and women risking their lives when we can forget them so easily? We get to be outraged and pretend that we are doing something about it so we can feel good about ourselves but as you can see, we do nothing meaningful at all.

There are over 21,000 posts on Wounded Times to remind folks about how bad it has been and for how long but as this latests outrage wears off, it will only be replaced by more suffering and more gone by next Memorial Day because we forgot all about them the rest of the time.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Brief history lesson on VA Budget

Brief history lesson on VA Budget
Left over from the Clinton Administration we had this
Before Afghanistan and Iraq we had Gulf War veterans not being taken care of as well as Vietnam veterans. The American Legion was fighting for the Gulf War veterans.

The Legion has also been fighting for increased funding for so-called “undiagnosed illnesses,” such as “Gulf War Syndrome” and other unexplained sicknesses that plague military veterans.
There were 9,000 Gulf War veterans suffering.

Later on in 2005 with Afghanistan and Iraq producing more wounded veterans, we had this report.
THE IMPACT OF PRESIDENT BUSH’S BUDGET ON VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE just for an idea of how bad it was.

CNN Reported this.

Democrats slam budget cuts for veterans' services
Pa. governor: Bush budget cuts for critical programs 'unconscionable'

Saturday, March 19, 2005

(CNN) -- The governor of Pennsylvania on Saturday said the federal government must do a better job helping America's war veterans and criticized proposed budget cuts affecting them.

"During this time of war, it is absolutely the wrong time for our federal government to step back from any of its commitments to our veterans. To do so would be penny wise but pound foolish," said Gov. Ed Rendell in the weekly Democratic radio address.

"In today's parlance, the cost of health care for these vets may be half a billion dollars but their sacrifice for our nation, priceless," he said.

His remarks followed the weekly radio address of President Bush, who defended the Iraqi invasion and operation and marked its second anniversary. Rendell said that Pennsylvania and other states have programs helping veterans and their families.

"While we the governors do all we can for our vets and our returning soldiers, our federal government still has the primary responsibility for meeting the needs of our veterans. And that's why I find the president's budget cuts for critical veteran services to be unconscionable."

He maintained that budget cuts include "a $350 million reduction in veterans home funding, which wipes out at least 5,000 veterans' nursing home beds."

"If the president's proposed budget cuts are enacted, nearly 60 percent of the 1,600 veterans will lose their daily stipend that allows them to stay in our state's nursing homes, literally forcing them out into the cold."
read more here
Do you think we can finally cut the crap out of our conversations about how bad it is for our veterans by finally acknowledging we've heard it all before and it has gotten worse?

Maybe congress will finally get serious about fixing the VA once and for all the right way so we don't repeat all the mistakes of the past all over again.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Today's VA news reports tied to past sins

Reporters forget about how we got into this mess in the first place with VA claims. But that isn't anything new. I was going over my older blog looking for reports to counter another report that is wrong but no one is challenging when I came across this. It goes back to 2006 and has contributed to the suffering of too many veterans because sending men and women into combat never seems to include them getting wounded or becoming veterans in need of care.
VA Budget Request 2007: The 'Good, the Bad and the Foggy,' Says the American Legion
Ramona E. Joyce, Joe March
American Legion
U.S. Newswire (press release)
Feb 08, 2006

President Bush's VA budget request for 2007 has been hailed for adding nearly $3 billion in real appropriations for veterans health care, compared to 2006. "That," said American Legion National Commander Thomas L. Bock, "is the good."

However, he added, it's a budget request built on charging new annual enrollment fees for VA care, nearly doubling drug co- payments and driving 1.2 million veterans out of the system created specifically for them.

"That," Bock explained, "is the bad."

Bock added that the budget request still relies on $1.1 billion in cost-saving "efficiencies" -- the subject of a Government Accountability Office report released last week that criticized past VA health-care projections from the president's Office of Management and Budget -- and also how realistic it is for the president to expect dramatic improvements in VA's ability to collect payments from insurance companies, especially since VA is prohibited by Congress to bill Medicare.

"Those are some of the foggy parts," Bock said.

Overall, Bock said the 2007 budget request from the White House appears to be an improvement over previous years when VA health care suffered due to inaccurate patient-demand projections, faulty assumptions, budgets offset by nebulous "management efficiencies" and unattainable third-party collections.

"This budget request indeed has glitter," Bock said. "But I am not yet sure how much of it is gold. It is a budget request that appears to table long-needed construction dollars, particularly in the area of grants for state veterans homes and leaves CARES (Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services) under-funded again. It takes a $13 million bite out of VA research. It also fails to provide sufficient funds for staffing and training in the Veterans Benefits Administration to address a claims backlog fast approaching one million."

Bock said he sees the estimate of 109,000 new VA patients in 2007 from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as a step toward better forecasting. "The under-estimated number of VA patients from the ongoing war contributed mightily to the $1.5 billion budget shortfall for VA health care in 2005," Bock said. "This appears to address that." He also applauded a requested increase in mental-health-care funding, from $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion.

The commander reiterated that he cannot accept a budget that deliberately aims to send more than one million veterans out of the VA system in search of health care elsewhere. A chart in the president's budget request anticipates approximately 1.2 million fewer veterans in Priority Groups 7 and 8 in 2007. Those groups are forced in this budget request to pay new $250 enrollment fees and nearly double in pharmaceutical co-payments.

"I know many, many veterans in Groups 7 and 8 who have five, seven, 10 or more prescriptions," Bock said.

"Doubling their co-payments, while they are trying to get by on fixed incomes or small pensions, is enough to break them. I cannot abide by a policy that pits veterans against veterans where the government decides who shall have care and who shall be denied."

Bock said the 2.7 million-member American Legion stands firm in its position that the only way VA health care can avoid annual shortages and broken promises is by changing the funding formula. "Assured or mandatory funding would keep all the veterans who earned VA care in the system," Bock said. "VA health care must be funded on a dollars-per-veteran basis, indexed annually for inflation, with the ability to bill Medicare for reimbursement."

The president's request also weighs in with what Bock calls a "highly ambitious" increase in third-party collections from insurance companies. "VA's estimate for third-party collections in 2006 was ambitious at just over $2 billion," Bock said. "This budget request envisions almost $800 million more than that."

Even House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer, R- Ind., would consider the collection of nearly $3 billion from insurance companies an ambitious goal. Buyer noted in early 2005 that VA's collection assumptions were "proven to be in error. The VA has $3 billion in uncollected debts." "Veterans should not be targeted," Bock said. "I call on Chairman Buyer in this week's hearings to give VA health care a funding formula that cuts through the fog and assures veterans the health-care system they deserve."
As you can see we didn't get into this mess overnight and that is the biggest problem of all.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Congress complaining about the VA is not new news

I was reading "Watchdog: Skeptical House panel quizzes VA head on budget" on Washington Examiner written by Mark Flatten when this part jumped out at me.
"I'm concerned that we're not really seeing the results for the money Congress has provided to VA over the last years," Miller said. "VA has missed its own performance goal every single year and I think most committee members here are really very tired of the excuses that we keep hearing."

Toward the bottom there was this.
In 2009, it took an average of 161 days to rate a disability claim. Today, it takes about 286 days, according to the VA's most recent figures.


Considering the Congress has not even passed a budget in years, they are really in no position to complain that much.

This is from THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, my new book being published on Amazon appropriately enough, on April 15, tax day. Notice what was happening and then notice the date.
Senator Obama went on to say, "When we learn that the VA health care budget is more than $1 billion short, we shouldn't tell our veterans that there isn't a crisis, we should tell them that we will do what it takes to make sure that they get the health care services they earned" said Obama. "That is why I once again am joining my colleagues in an effort to provide the VA with the funding it needs to fully meet the health needs of our veterans. Senator Murray's emergency supplemental funding bill is necessary to avoid what is clearly an on-coming crisis in the VA health system." (Obama Says $1 Billion Shortfall in VA Health Care Budget Requires Emergency Funding By: Barack Obama II Date: June 28, 2005 Location: Washington, DC)

This does not even address the fact Vietnam veterans are over 40% of the backlog of claims now because no one paid attention to them before when they had their claims turned down. Does not address how two wars were started but Congress didn't seem to care they had not planned for the wounded by body or mind.

Am I happy about what is going on? Absolutely not! But I haven't been happy about any of this for a very, very long time.

UPDATE
I knew something didn't seem right on the article from "Watchdog" so I searched my achieves.
VA Claim backlog hit 915,000 on May 4, 2009
Crisis at the VA as Benefits Claims Backlog Nearly Tops One Million
Monday, 01 June 2009
By Jason Leopold

During the past four months, the Department of Veterans Affairs backlog of unfinished disability claims from grew by more than 100,000, adding to an already mountainous backlog that is now close to topping one million.

The VA's claims backlog, which includes all benefits claims and all appeals at the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Board of Veterans Appeals at VA, was 803,000 on Jan. 5, 2009. The backlog hit 915,000 on May 4, 2009, a staggering 14 percent increase in four months.

The issue has become so dire that veterans now wait an average of six months to receive disability benefits and as long as four years for their appeals to be heard in cases where their benefits were denied.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said during a hearing in March that the VA is “almost criminally behind in processing claims.”
This was on Morning Joe and you need to hear what they are claiming now as if any of this is new!
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Friday, April 5, 2013

White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014

UPDATE
VA budget has $63.5B for care, benefits
OK, I read the article again this morning and it looks like I was not seeing things last night.

This is the part I can't believe.
Currently, the backlog hovers around 600,000 cases, up dramatically from around 80,000 just four years ago. The average wait for completion of a claim is almost nine months.

This was in a report from April 2, 2012 and addresses what the claims looked like in 2009. Shinseki noted the monumental challenge VA has been up against. During 2009, VA produced 900,000 claims decisions, but also received 1 million new claims. The next year, VA increased its claims decisions to 1 million, but received 1.2 million new claims. “Last year, we produced another 1 million claims decisions and got 1.3 million claims in,” Shinseki said. “So the backlog isn’t static. The backlog is a bigger number than we would like, but it is not the same number as three years ago.”
I am getting really tired of correcting what reporters get wrong and beginning to wonder if they all have an agenda that is not in the best interests of our veterans. For Heaven's sake they should be important enough to get the story straight.

Researching THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, has opened the door to a whole new world the press has not dared to enter into. All these years I thought they were getting the story straight and letting the public know what was going on. WOW! I was wrong to trust them because the searches are all available for anyone to find if they take the time and actually care beyond getting today's story out.

VA Claims as of December 31, 2012

Post-9/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) claims make up 21% of the total inventory and 22% of the backlog

Gulf War (definition) claims make up 23% of the total inventory and 21% of the backlog Peacetime (period between end of Vietnam and Gulf War) claims make up 11% of the total inventory and 11% of the backlog

Vietnam claims make up 37% of the total inventory and 38% of the backlog

Korean War claims make 4% of the total inventory and 4% of the backlog

World War II claims make up 3% of the total inventory and 3% of the backlog

Other era claims make up 1% of the total inventory and 1% of the backlog

Original vs. Supplemental Claims

40% were first time claims and 60% were Supplemental as of March 29, 2013

VA’s current Inventory of compensation claims contains both "original" claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who are claiming disability compensation from VA for the first time, and “supplemental” claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who have previously filed for disability compensation with VA. Below is a breakout of the original and supplemental claims in the current VA inventory:

60% of pending claims are supplemental, 40% are original.

77% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are receiving some level of monetary benefit from VA.

11% of Veterans filing supplemental claims already have a 100% disability rating (receive $2800 or more per month) or qualify for Individual Unemployability (compensated at the 100% disabled rate).

40% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are already rated at 50% disability or higher.

43% of supplemental claims are from Vietnam-era Veterans; 19% are from Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Considering it is almost 10:00 and I've been working since 7:00 this morning, my brain is tired. Check back tomorrow morning on this because I can't believe what I am reading in the rest of the report so I really think I need to go to bed because I must be delusional or the rest of this report it totally out of whack.
White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 5, 2013

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs would receive a 4 percent funding increase for its fiscal 2014 discretionary budget and a $2.5 billion infusion to battle the growing claims backlog under White House budget plans to be announced next week.

The funding boost comes as most government departments face steep cuts as the president and lawmakers search for ways to rein in the national debt. It still must be approved by Congress before it becomes law.

But White House and VA officials said the extra money for veterans programs shows President Barack Obama’s commitment to help servicemembers returning from combat with their transition to civilian life, and to make sure the lifelong war wounds aren’t forgotten.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the budget emphasizes “the president’s commitment to our veterans and their families” but also acknowledged that more money doesn’t promise immediate results for veterans impatient with the VA bureaucracy.

“At the end of the day, it’s not the inputs or investments, but the outputs: questions being answered, tax credits being utilized, jobs being created,” he said. “That’s going to prove to people whether the system is working.”
read more here

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

What was hiding in President Obama's 2012 VA Budget?

In 2005 it was a budget of $76 billion with 222,000 full-time employees 5.4 million "patients" but the 2012 request was for 8.3 million veterans.  So how is it that with a budget almost double what it was in 2005 has escaped the reporting done on the "issues" we read about everyday? I didn't find these figures in news reports. I found them from the VA itself. Who knew all this was there all along and didn't tell reporters? At least this is what he requested, but when Congress is the branch writing Bills and funding everything, we see where all this went.

Providing Health Care for Veterans

The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.3 million Veterans each year.

President Obama's VA’s budget request for 2013

“The President’s vision for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to transform VA into a 21st Century organization that is Veteran-centric, results-driven, and forward-looking. VA has established management systems that ensure accountability, maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and eliminate waste while improving the delivery of high quality and timely benefits and services to Veterans.

VA’s budget request for 2013 provides the resources critical to achieving the President’s vision and will help ensure that Veterans-our clients-receive timely access to the highest quality benefits and services we can provide and which they earned through their sacrifice and service to our Nation. The Department’s resource request for 2013 is $140.3 billion. This includes almost $64 billion in discretionary resources and nearly $76.4 billion in mandatory funding.

Our discretionary budget request represents an increase of $2.7 billion, or nearly 4.5 percent, over the 2012 enacted level.”

Stewardship of Resources
Supports management systems that ensure accountability, maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and eliminate waste while improving the delivery of high quality and timely benefits and services to Veterans.

Medical Care
Secures timely, predictable funding for health care through 2014 with advance appropriations
$1.352 billion (up $333 million) to further VA’s integrated plan to end Veteran homelessness, including $235 million for the Homeless Grants and Per Diem program to aid community organizations
$6.2 billion (up $312 million) to expand inpatient, residential, and outpatient mental health programs
$7.2 billion (up $550 million) to expand institutional and non-institutional long-term care services.
$335 million (up $9 million) is for tele-home health to improve access to care
$403 million (up $60 million) for the needs of women Veterans
$3.3 billion (up $510 million) to meet the needs ofover 610,000 Veterans returning from U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Job Corps
A Presidential initiative of $1 billion over the next five years to establish a conservation program impacting up to 20,000 veterans to protect and rebuild America’s land and resources.
Benefits Claims Processing
$2.164 billion (up $145 million over 2012) to support improved benefits processing through increased staff, improved business processes, and information technology enhancements
Supports the completion of 1.4 million disability compensation and pension claims, a 36% increase over 2011
Provides funding to complete 4 million education claims, a 19% increase over 2011
National Cemetery Administration
$258 million for operations and maintenance to ensure VA’s cemeteries are maintained as national shrines
The budget provides funding to expand access to burial options for rural Veterans.
Information Technology
80% of 2013 IT Budget supports direct delivery of medical care and benefits to Veterans Over $3.3 billion for a reliable and accessible IT infrastructure, a high-performing workforce, and modernized information systems for Veteran services and benefits
$53 million for development and implementation of the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) initiative
$169 million for integrated Electronic Healthcare Record (iEHR), a joint effort with DoD to share health information
$128 million for paperless claims processing system VBMS
Construction
Supports four major medical facility projects already underway.
Entitlement Benefits
$76.3 billion for mandatory benefits, including compensation for Agent Orange presumptive conditions and Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits

Sunday, November 11, 2012

15,000 who would have died on the battlefield, lived

When I hear a politician say that they need to cut what we do for veterans, you may think in these times, everyone has to make some sacrifices. If you do then you are not thinking these men and women paid in advance for what they need from us in return for their service, sacrifice, wounds and spending the rest of their lives as veterans everyday and not just today.

If you need to have a bit more information think of this. As we count the number of men and women laid to rest, there are the obvious numbers the Department of Defense releases all the time. Then there are the numbers they were forced to release. Military suicides. So while we talk about what we owe them, taking care of them must be a part of the conversation. The fact that 15,000 more would have been added to the price of war, we should thank God they are still here and not betray that gratefulness with budget cuts instead of doing what it takes to keep them alive as well as possible.

Eric Shinseki, VA Chief, Charts Solid Gains For Veterans
Huffington Post
David Wood
Posted: 11/11/2012

WASHINGTON -- After Eric Shinseki took over a sleepy Department of Veterans Affairs four years ago, he decided some change was due. For one thing, those 154,000 homeless veterans living as beggars on the streets.

After some study, Shinseki, a decorated Vietnam veteran wounded twice in battle, ordered that the VA would not just reduce veteran homelessness -- it would end it. And end it by 2015.

The bureaucrats of the VA, a sprawling $140 billion empire that operates the nation's largest integrated health care system, sends veterans to college, insures their lives, guarantees their home mortgages and manages their burials, weren’t used to having someone over their heads barking orders. They certainly weren’t used to publicly announced deadlines.

This new generation is posing an additional challenge for the VA: the 50,000 wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with those bearing the common wounds of war are the more severely injured, including roughly 15,000 who would have died on the battlefield in past wars, who are now being saved because of advanced and speedy medical intervention. Many of them are double or triple amputees or severely burned patients who will require intensive and lifelong care.

The younger generation of vets is also more diverse: The proportion of women veterans will double from about 6 percent of veterans in 2000 to 14.5 percent by 2035, the VA projects, requiring new expertise in dealing with women's health and sexual trauma issues.

More than 2.5 million young Americans have served in the past decade of wars, and apart from the normal flow of troops retiring from active duty into the veteran population, the military ranks will be thinned by about 88,000 additional military personnel because of projected budget cuts over the next decade. All this will put new demands on the VA.
read more here

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Vets Seek Specifics On How Candidates Would Help

It is one thing for a person running for election to say they care or claim they "know how to fix something" but it all comes down to what they actually did.

Vets Seek Specifics On How Candidates Would Help
NPR
by Quil Lawrence
Oct 16, 2012
Morning Edition

Military veterans across the country have a whole range of concerns this election season, from the high rate of suicide to special challenges for female vets. But like everyone else, they're especially concerned with health care and jobs.

Military veterans across the country have a whole range of concerns this election season, from the high rate of suicide to special challenges for female vets. But like everyone else, they're especially concerned with health care and jobs.

The nation's obligations to some 2 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan pose a challenge for the next commander in chief. Unemployment for post-Sept. 11 vets is about 2 percentage points worse than the national average, and veterans want solutions.

In Orange Park, Fla., south of Jacksonville, a town built around Navy and Air Force bases, the VFW hall is smoky and loud with conversation among veterans from many different wars.

"I was with the Air Force Reserves," says Elisa Rosemond, "and my question is how you're going to help the troops coming home, active and reserve, find a job that they can support their families with?"
read more here


I am originally from Massachusetts but moved to Florida when Romney was governor. What he did was end the hiring preference for veterans, cut state VA budget and outsourced public worker jobs to India. For military families, one thing is clear. Most veterans end up going into law enforcement, fire departments, emergency responders, medical and teaching. These jobs fall in the group of public employees Romney has shown disdain for.

If you read this blog you know I also have issues with President Obama but at least he has tried to fix what has gone wrong for our veterans. In the first two years, he did have a congress run by Democrats and things got done. As we've seen in the last year and a half when the Republicans controlled the House and the Senate Bills were blocked by Republicans because a super-majority is needed to prevent filibusters, President Obama should have taken to the airwaves more to let the American people know exactly what was going on and who was responsible for it. While he did include most of these shenanigans in his weekly address, few heard what he had to say.

MSNBC
Aired on September 20, 2012

Sen. Cardin on defeat of jobs bill: Our veterans deserve more
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks to Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-MD., about the defeat of the Veteran’s Jobs Bill in the Senate.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


The truth is what it is but politicians won't come out and tell the truth.

President Obama had the opportunity to address one other issue but has avoided mentioning it. The fact that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were not part of President Bush's budget and were provided by supplemental requests and Afghanistan was hardly ever mentioned. President Obama put the costs into his budget so the costs wars were no longer hidden even if they were not actually paid for.

Iraq War Supplemental: Speech by President Bush (2007)



2:17
Bush talks about a date to withdraw the troops as if he had no intentions of the Iraqi people stepping up to take over their own security. It turned out that having a date to leave put the future of Iraq into Iraqi hands. This was not about the US taking over Iraq, so the argument did not hold up.

This claim is now being repeated concerning Afghanistan by Romney as if giving the Afghan people a date when they have to take over their own security is a bad thing when we are not taking over Afghanistan.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Beau Biden holds veterans roundtable in Columbus

Beau Biden holds veterans roundtable in Columbus
By: Lydia Coutre
The Columbus Dispatch
September 27, 2012

Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General and Iraq war veteran, stopped in Columbus this morning to talk to veterans about how their care and benefits would look under presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

“Governor Romney confuses the defense budget with the (Veterans Affairs) budget,” Biden said. “He talks about wanting to increase the defense budget as if that’s going to help veterans. It doesn't. They’re two separate budgets.”

Sitting around a table in the back of Cup of Joe in German Village, Biden and Rob Diamond, the Obama campaign’s National Veterans and Military Families Vote Director, talked jobs, healthcare and support with about a dozen veterans.

Biden contrasted an $11 billion cut in Veterans Affairs spending in year one proposed in Paul Ryan’s budget with Obama’s spending record. “He’s increased VA spending by more than any president has in 30 years,” Biden said.

These numbers concern Bernard Pontones, secretary and treasurer of Vietnam Veterans of Ohio.
read more here

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wisconsin election shows difference in caring about veterans

If you just listen to what politicians say when they claim to support veterans during an election, because they want veterans to vote for them, you better get out your wallet and just hand it over. When they get veterans to vote for them they know they are also getting their families and friends because veterans fight for what/who they believe in. That's the saddest part of all.

The report about two politicians in Wisconsin just summed up what is happening all over the country.

Ribble, Wall Court Veterans
ABC WBAY News
Updated: Sep 18, 2012

Candidates for the U.S. 8th Congressional District vied for the veteran vote Tuesday.

Republican incumbent Reid Ribble and Democratic challenger Jamie Wall both held events to address the needs of men and women in the armed services.

Congressman Ribble hosted a symposium on post-traumatic stress disorder in Appleton. Panel members included state Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary John Scocos and local PTSD experts to discuss the disorder and what resources are available.

Wall held a news conference in Green Bay, where he was flanked by veterans and declared them his first priority. He accused Congressman Ribble of trying to take money away from veterans programs.

"The budget that Congressman Ribble put together sadly turns its back on veterans funding. It takes 11 billion dollars in veterans funding and cuts it," Wall said.
read more here


The budget Wall is talking about is the Paul Ryan budget that has been posted about on this blog many times before.

We just heard what Mitt Romney said about 47% of the American people not paying income tax and disabled veterans are included in on that percentage along with senior citizens, like Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans and WWII veterans. What do they want military/veterans families do? Just die off so they won't have to worry about us anymore?

The VA needs to be fixed, not taken apart and sold off to private companies. Veterans already paid for everything the VA does with their lives on the line. Why should they ever have to worry about a politician taking over to take away from them? Talk is cheap but what they end up voting for proves how they really feel.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Beau Biden hits Romney on veterans spending

Beau Biden hits Romney on veterans spending
Romney campaign says Ryan budget plan would actually spend more on veterans.
By Scott Kraus, Of The Morning Call
August 23, 2012

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden on Wednesday lit into cuts he claimed Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan would be forced to make to veterans services in order to hit the deficit reduction targets in Ryan's 10-year budget plan.

Biden, an Iraq War veteran and the son of Vice President Joe Biden, appeared in Allentown with Mayor Ed Pawlowski and a handful of veterans in between stops in Philadelphia and Scranton aimed at dinging the Republican ticket on spending cuts contained in Ryan's Path to Prosperity budget plan.

"Paul Ryan's budget, if you believe what it says, would cut the [Veterans Administration] by $11 billion," Biden said. "How is that conscionable to do? At the same time, he is doubling down on the Bush tax cuts."

The campaign is basing the figure on the 19 percent across-the-board cut to "non-defense discretionary spending" it says would be needed over 10 years to reach the Ryan budget's target of $1 trillion in spending reductions — some $900 million of which have not been detailed — in order to reduce the deficit.
read more here

readRyan's bill and know that this was the subject of widespread horror as soon as he put it in front of congress and most Republicans voted for it long before Romney picked him as his running mate.

This is what Michelle Bachmann wanted to do January 28, 2011

Disabled Veterans Decry Wrongheaded, 'Heartless' Budget Cuts

Romney wants to sell it off an privatize it. How is it possible he "believes" in what he wants to do until someone asks him about it and then he denies it?