Immediate action needed!!!

[Gimpy]

Just got this from the DAV.
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To: dav_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net





Health Care Appropriations Take Action!

Immediate Action Needed

Yielding to strong pressure from the White House, a majority of the conferees on the Iraq Emergency Supplemental appropriations measure agreed to strip the provision to provide $1.3 billion for VA health care from the measure. Although the conference took place behind closed doors, information on some of the negotiations has been provided to us by some of the conferees. While it was acknowledged that the $1.3 billion for veterans health care was critical to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) being able to keep America?s promise to deliver timely, quality health care to our nation?s veterans, it was felt that this money could be provided in the VA/HUD appropriations bill currently pending before the Senate. However, no definite plan to ensure that this money would be made available to VA in fiscal year 2004 was provided.

Some of the options discussed included keeping the emergency spending designation provided for in the Senate VA/HUD appropriations bill. However, this would not guarantee that the $1.3 billion would be made available to the VA because the President would have to agree to the emergency designation and the need for these funds, notwithstanding the fact that the Administration?s budget did not call for this additional level of funding. A second option would be to provide the $1.3 billion without the emergency designation and without any corresponding offsets in spending. This option could subject the appropriations bill to a budget point of order and require a super majority vote for passage. The third option would provide for the $1.3 billion in additional spending with corresponding across-the-board cuts in other programs, including non-medical VA programs. These across-the-board cuts would occur in the VA/HUD spending bill, if that bill was passed as a stand-alone bill, or, if the VA/HUD bill was incorporated in an omnibus package including five other appropriations bills, the across-the-board cuts would be taken from all the programs contained in that omnibus bill, thereby lessening the percentage of the offset for any individual program.

We therefore ask you to urge your elected officials to honor their commitment to veterans by providing, at a minimum, a $1.8 billion increase for veterans medical care, as called for in the Congressional Budget Resolution, without any ?strings? attached.

Please call or e-mail your Senators immediately, as a vote on appropriations for VA spending could occur as early as next week, November 3, 2003.

As always, thank you for your support.


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[SuperScout]

Already been on the phone and elsewhere with this. Time for all (congressfolks) to get off their overpaid asses, do the right thing for veterans, and act like they still have some integrity.

[Arrow]

I think they are gonna mess around and find their collective asses out of a job next year.

Done Gimpy...

[DMZ-LT]

Will do Gimp Thanks for the heads up and thanks for coming to Tallassee last Aug.

[Gimpy]

Scout, Sis, and John. We need ALL the help we can get on this one!

[the humper]

You've had mine, just neglected to inform you. Have done the same as Scout!!!
SF
NC

[HARDCORE]

GIMP -

Integrity in government, that would be a first!!

Good luck and continue to give 'em hell!!

VERITAS