Time For Action!

[Gimpy]

A New Year is nearly upon us. If we are to expect any changes from the past few years from our leaders in Washington regarding the continued assault on degrading and reduction of veterans benefits we must take a stand!

The time for excuses and non-involvement in getting the things done to reverse the past few years poor record of support for military veterans and their families needs to be NOW!

From VA watchdog.org

During the past five-plus years we have seen drastic cuts in VA facilities and services. Three full-service VA hospitals have been closed. Countless clinics have been shut down. More are scheduled to close per the CARES Commission report.

Many programs have been cut back or eliminated altogether...including job training, vocational rehabilitation and substance abuse rehabilitation. Domiciliaries have been closed...including the one near me in Vancouver, Washington leaving fewer places for vets in need to live.

The co-pay for prescriptions has gone up. The cost many vets have to pay to see a Primary Care Physician or a Specialist has risen drastically. What's interesting here is that most people don't know that many vets have to PAY for their healthcare.

Whole groups of veterans (apx. 200,000 vets) have been cut from the VA rolls...they are not even allowed to register for benefits...they just get a flat refusal at the enrollment office. And, plans are in effect to deny service to about 500,000 more vets.

For those veterans who have to take a "means test" to determine if they make too much money to receive VA healthcare the news is even worse. The cutoff for receiving VA benefits is now apx. $26,000 income a year. I know few people who can live on that amount of money much less pay for adequate healthcare.

The FY 2006 VA budget is in shambles. In real dollars, after computing inflation in the healthcare sector, VA healthcare funding is actually going backwards!

And, the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC) is meeting to determine if "the death or disability of a veteran should be compensated." This is the actual wording from the VDBC charter. The Commission is expected to rewrite the book on VA benefits. The VDBC is the brainchild of President George W. Bush.

These are the dismal facts. What can you do about it? Lots!!! Get involved. Let your elected representatives know you're involved. Nothing is scarier to a politician that a well-organized group of voters who they are not serving.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS?

How about the POLITICIANS! I Think we can all agree on this. I don't care if you're a Republican, Democrat, Green or a Socialist. If you're a veteran and you aren't getting your benefits or proper healthcare then you only have the politicians to blame.

Most of the damage to the VA has been done during the current administration, but, they have had help from the other party also. When budgets are passed you will see Congresspersons and Senators from both sides voting in the affirmative. And, buried deep in the pages of the budget are the cuts in VA funding that are hurting all veterans. These actions are commonly called a "compromise" vote. You'll hear: "I really fought for a bigger VA budget but I had to compromise." or "It was the only way to get the budget passed."

At this point it is easy to tell the true believers from those just rendering lip service to the plight of veterans. If they voted for a budget that cut VA funding...THEY VOTED AGAINST YOU!

All this goes on while legislation for Full and Mandatory Funding for VA Healthcare is bogged down in partisan fighting. Learn about this legislation then fire up the email machine and encourage your representatives to support it.
And, if a candidate doesn't support veterans' funding, just say NO FUNDING, NO VOTE. Get more information here... http://www.vawatchdog.org/no%20funding%20no%20vote.htm


WHAT CAN I DO?

Here's a radical idea: Register to vote...then vote! You can't gripe if you didn't vote.

DON'T ACCEPT THIS


Never accept the word of a politician who won't commit to veterans. If you hear phrases like this, run away and cast your vote elsewhere: "I think" -- "I believe" -- "We need to study". These terms are copouts for action. They sound good in a speech and they sound good on the news but they mean nothing to you. Find out how they voted. Go to the Useful Links for Vets page
for links to get this information....... http://www.vawatchdog.org/useful%20...0for%20vets.htm


Do NOT believe anything you hear on a radio talk show. Remember, the people who do talk shows aren't working for you, they have a political agenda (left, right or elsewhere) and to believe them is to invite disaster. Remember, you're the vet, and how many radio talk show hosts ever served? I don't know of one! Do your homework. Make your own decisions.

DO THIS!


Always ask your politicians YES/NO questions. Do not ask open-ended questions that allow them to give long-winded nonsensical answers. It will drive them crazy...but you should get the information you need.

If you can't get direct access to your representative use regular mail or email. And always ask YES/NO questions: Do you support our veterans? Will you vote to reinstate funding for veterans benefits? Will you vote to increase VA funding to a level that will allow the VA to offer healthcare to all veterans? Never give them a chance to weasel out!

When writing to a politician ALWAYS respectfully request a personal response not a form letter. Most of the time you will get a form letter that states how much "I care for our veterans" etc, etc. So always state that a form response is not acceptable. You can tell a form response because it will not directly address your concerns but will generically talk about veteran's issues.

If you get a form response, write back and tell them. Then tell them again a form response is not acceptable and ask your questions. If this happens twice, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and gripe long and loud about your elected representative who won't answer simple questions but just sends out form letters. If your letter is printed I guarantee you'll hear from the politician...you might even get a phone call and a chance to discuss veterans issues.

Always, always, always keep hard copies of your correspondence with your representatives. Put them in a file. This way you will be able to confront the politician with their response should they "change their mind" and vote differently than they said they would. If your representative flip-flops on you, get this information to the editor of your local newspaper so all can know about someone who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk! This is important! Be sure to include copies of their correspondence. There is nothing worse for a politician than to be skewered by their own sword.

And, call radio talk shows on the left and right and lay out the veteran agenda. Let the listeners know the miserable state of VA funding. Be prepared by having all of your information straight in case you run into a hostile talk show host.

BACK TO BASICS

Get off your butt and raise hell....! Your voice will make one MORE voice to which the politicians will have to listen. If you're serious about your benefits and about making sure all veterans get their benefits...YOU CANNOT REMAIN QUIET!

[Boats]

Gimpy;

As you know I've written and send many items off to my congressmen about several issues of late. I got one reply.

Dear Wayne:

Thank you for your message regarding our nation's commitment to its veterans. There are far too many veterans who are not receiving the services they have earned, and we must assign a higher priority to meeting their needs. That's why I sought a seat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

In just over a year in Washington, I have been amazed by what can appear to be the federal bureaucracy's callous disregard for America's veterans. My introduction to this situation came before I was sworn into office when I learned about the problems Illinois veterans were having with disability payments. I raised this concern directly with VA Secretary James Nicholson several times, and made it my priority to uncover the reasons for the disparity and to correct it. As a result of this pressure, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opened an investigation into the matter, agreed to hire a dozen new claims specialists for the Chicago regional office, and agreed to re-examine the claims of Illinois veterans who felt they have been treated unfairly. In late 2005, Congress passed an amendment I authored with Senator Durbin requiring the VA to notify Illinois veterans about their right to seek a review of their past claims.

I have also taken the lead on Senate efforts to combat homelessness among veterans ? a problem that too often flies under the radar in Congress. Each and every night, more than 200,000 of our nation's veterans are homeless, and more than 400,000 will experience homelessness over the course of a year. In 2005, I authored the Sheltering All Veterans Everywhere Act (SAVE Act, S. 1180) to strengthen and expand federal homeless veterans programs that serve over 100,000 homeless veterans annually. And I am pleased to report that the Senate recently passed an amendment I authored to increase funding for homeless veterans programs by $40 million and spending on veteran job placement programs by $12 million. In addition to employment and housing assistance, these funds would benefit programs that provide food, clothing, mental health and substance abuse counseling

These problems, like most in the VA system, are largely a product of chronic under-funding. Reversing this trend must be a top priority for lawmakers. I opposed the President?s budget request for FY 2006, which asked for a meager .04% increase in VA health care spending and planned to pay for many of its obligations by raising fees and prescription co-pays for patients. During debate on the FY 2006 budget request, I cosponsored and voted for an amendment that would have increased veterans' health care funding by $2.8 billion, but that amendment was defeated. These funding concerns were validated several months later when the VA reported that it was $1 billion short of the funding it needed for FY 2005. In response, I co-sponsored a bill that led to $1 billion in emergency funding for veterans? medical care.

While I was hopeful that last year?s budget crisis would send a sharp message about VA funding deficiencies, there was little improvement in the President?s FY 2007 request. While the budget request appears high, the request uses a variety of budget gimmicks ? the same tricks used in the request that led to last year?s shortfall ? to account for $1.9 billion in revenue and savings that do not exist. That figure includes $800 million from a proposed increase in co-pays and enrollment fees for VA patients ? the same proposal that Congress defeated last year. I raised these concerns directly with Secretary Nicholson at a Veterans Committee hearing in February, and will fight for more funding as the FY 2007 budget debate continues. While an increasing federal deficit and spending on Iraq and Katrina have placed enormous burdens on the federal budget, this country simply cannot place more hardships on the backs of America?s veterans.

Our veterans deserve nothing less than the best treatment we can provide them. The experiences of the past year have only strengthened my resolve to fight for those who fought for us.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

[Boats]

Here is my reply back to him concerning his letter;

Dear Senator,



Sir - We appreciate any help we can get. Our dilemma is not just for us but also for the kids coming

back from Iraq and Afghanistan. None of us likes these conflicts but once we engage we must

stand our ground. Viet Nam left a bad taste in our mouths and we don?t want these kids or any

other to suffer what we had upon returning home. Whether the war is good or bad we must

stay the course ? we not cut and run ? and once we commit we must do whatever it takes to win

that engagement.



Of course many are killed or injured severely and many will be handicapped for life. We must

show our men and women that should this occur - our country will be there for them.



I know you are only one voice in the choir but here us as we sing out - we need every voice to

make others sit up and pay attention. Much of the monies spent on 3rd world countries and

other issues make many of us concerned that we are overlooking our own people here in this

country.



The major National Interest should be its people. We should look out for our own with medical care,

housing and give them a general sense of well being. We are all American?s and we deserve the

best efforts our elected congress can provide for us.



Many poor are suffering and many of our own kids are hungry. Our men and women who fight for

this country in many past and recent conflicts - see this as well. When we see our older generation

suffering because they can?t buy their medicine and pay their utilities - it?s terrible.



I know there are many issues in congress but its time to toss out the rhetoric and work together as a

team and chip away at these moral issues that affect our country as a whole. We can?t be the big

brother to every country in the world. Let us take care of our own internal problems and then look to

see what we can do for them.



Sir I once more appreciate your reply and understand the problems but each year as well as each

new generation we are seeing very little gains other than increased taxes and loss of employment to

3rd world countries. I don?t know anymore if this country can pull itself out of the mess we are in?



The majority still know that living here in the USA is still the best place to be. But - there are many

who won?t (or can?t) tell you that. Let?s consider that those terrorist who infiltrate this country will

seek out these unhappy people, make them promises, and by using this ploy they can play our

people against us - to their own gains. Don?t let this happen.



Best Regards



Wayne E. Lovison ? An American Veteran and Citizen

[Gimpy]

GREAT JOB!...................


Thanks for your efforts, if more folks would get as involved as you do it would sure help the situation.

My hat's off to you Sir!