Bush Cuts, Veterans Bleed
By Jere Beery
Contributing Editor
March 1, 2006
To say the handwriting is on the wall would be an understatement. The handwriting is on the front page of your newspaper, all you have to do is read it.
If the Bush administration gets its way, veteran’s benefits and services will be cut by as much as a staggering 35 to 40% by the end of the decade. According to a newly released Bush 2007 budget proposal, some 260,000 veterans will lose access to veteran’s health care altogether, and retired military health care will be hit with triple and quadruple increases in TriCare enrollment fees, co-payments, and deductibles over the next few years. Many within the country’s veteran community foresee the inevitable closure of VA hospitals and clinics as the end result of this attack on veteran’s funding. To put it mildly, former U.S. military personnel and their families are facing a very dim future when it comes to health care coverage. This cannot be good news for U.S. military recruiting and retention. If a military career loses its benefits, it loses its appeal as a career. In other words, the state of veteran’s affairs directly affects troop strength, morale and national security and involves the welfare of all Americans.
A large number of veteran’s rights advocates and supporters nationwide are uniting their resources to publicly voicing their objection to the Bush proposal. On April 25th and 26th of this year, Operation Firing For Effect – The Veteran’s March will conduct a March and Rally in support of mandatory funding of veterans’ affairs. Thousands of veterans and their families will take their concerns about the future of veteran’s affairs directly to the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington, DC. A number of Shadow Rallies are planned in cities across the U.S. to occur simultaneously with the DC event.
To date, the national news media has been extremely gun-shy about addressing the subject of veteran’s affairs. The national veterans’ service organizations (NVSO), continue to straddle the political fence, and our politicians appear to be more concerned with their special interest and personal agenda than addressing the problems facing our veterans.
In short, it appears that we are headed for a political showdown over the future services and benefits “we” as a country provide our troops. I find it very sad that President Bush would spend more time and effort cutting veteran’s benefits, than trying to find innovative ways to meet our obligations to our men and women in uniform. A federally sponsored veterans’ lottery is one suggestion circulating within the veteran community, tax incentives for medical providers and manufactures is another.
I will be very blunt here. My personal point of view is; this is a very dangerous time in our history to start reducing the benefits and services earned by our troops. If President Bush’s proposal is approved it could lead to the possible loss of the all volunteer military and reinstatement of the Selective Service Draft. If we learned anything from the Vietnam War, it was the Draft, just like slavery, is extremely primitive and barbaric and will not work. “Freedom of Choice” is a far too valuable Keystone in the American way of life to ever risk revisiting the Draft.
Like many of you, I pray this country never resorts to forcing our young to serve and die ever again. And I thank God every day for the brave and courageous volunteers that fight our battles for us every second - of every hour - of every day - of every year. President George Bush’s proposal is not in their best interest.
I will be in Washington, DC on April 25th & 26th. To not be there, would be to accept the disgraceful and damaging perceptions some politicians have about veteran’s affairs in this country. I have too much respect for our men and women in uniform to betray them by ignoring my responsibility to protect their earned benefits while they are deployed. I love my grandchildren way too much to intentionally leave them a substandard and under funded veteran’s health care system. I love your grandchildren too much to allow them to be forced to serve and die for economical, political, or religious beliefs other than their own. I love my country, and I’m very concerned about future troop strength/morale and national security. The only real question is, where will you be in April? If you agree with me, meet me in DC.
To learn more about Operation Firing For Effect – The Veteran’s March visit: WWW.VetMarch2006.COM
[Postscript] On the lighter side, isn’t this the same George W. Bush that purposed/earmarked $500 BILLION for Mars exploration? And you thought you were traveling a long way to the VA now!