Obama: ‘We Have Failed’ To Give Vets The ‘Support They Need Or Pay Them The Respect They Deserve’
Obama: ‘We Have Failed’ To Give Vets The ‘Support They Need Or Pay Them The Respect They Deserve’
On this Memorial Day, the nation celebrates the sacrifice of veterans who gave their lives in service to our country. A “by-the-numbers” analysis by the Center for American Progress notes that veterans “are still in need of services to improve their quality of life—before, during, and after deployments. This year, the need is even more urgent than ever as the economic crisis hits many veterans and their families hard and these Americans struggle to find jobs, pay their mortgages, and get back on their feet.” Some key stats:
– 338,000 or almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are experiencing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, or major depression as of January 2009.
– Yet only 53 percent suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician or mental health provider.
– 154,000 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2007, and 300,000 were homeless at some point during that year.
– One-third of homeless Americans are veterans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans.
– Foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average in last year.
In his weekly address, President Obama said, “Our fighting men and women – and the military families who love them – embody what is best in America. And we have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us. And yet, all too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility. We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve.”
“That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear – and all who have worn – the proud uniform of our country,” Obama added. “And that is a sacred trust I am committed to keeping as President of the United States.” Watch it:
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Napolitano stands by DHS report conclusion that right-wing extremist groups are targeting vets.
Napolitano stands by DHS report conclusion that right-wing extremist groups are targeting vets.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security released a report finding that right-wing extremist groups inside the United States may be gaining new recruits and that they are targeting veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, conservative critics — led by Fox News — have been up in arms, with some claiming that the report shows that the Obama administration is waging a “war on veterans.” Today on CNN, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that she regrets the politicization of the report that has ensued, but stands by its conclusion:
NAPOLITANO: Here is the important point. The report is not saying that veterans are extremists. Far from it. What it is saying is returning veterans are targets of right-wing extremist groups that are trying to recruit those to commit violent acts within the country. We want to do all we can to prevent that.
Watch it:
Scarborough: Obama Is ‘More Focused On Targeting Veterans’ Than Fighting Al Qaeda
Scarborough: Obama Is ‘More Focused On Targeting Veterans’ Than Fighting Al Qaeda
Yesterday, a copy of a Department of Homeland Security report was leaked, detailing the increasing radicaliziation of “rightwing extremists.” One portion of the report warned that “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.”
This morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough expressed fury at the report’s mention of veterans. Ignoring the report’s conclusion that right-wing groups would try to recruit veterans, Scarborough declared that the Obama administration was “targeting veterans” and waging a “war on veterans”:
When you have a president and you have the Department of Homeland Security more focused on targeting veterans than on protecting our border on the South where a war is breaking out, or protecting us from, I don’t know, al Qaeda? Isn’t this interesting: they no longer want to use the term “war on terror”? They don’t want to use “the war on terror” because that makes them feel uncomfortable, but they have no problem targeting veterans returning from war. This is perverse. … There’s not a war on terror but there may be a war on veterans.
Watch it:
Scarborough declared that if Dick Cheney had done something similar, the entire media would have been appalled.
What if Dick Cheney decided that he was going to target liberals? … Can you imagine what certain newspapers and cable news shows would do if George Bush and Dick Cheney decided to target democratic loyalists, and say that they may be a terror threat?
Of course, DHS already wrote a report on “left-wing extremists,” completed earlier this year. “This is the job of DHS, to assess what is happening in this country, with regard to homegrown terrorism, and determine whether it’s an actual threat or not, and that’s what these assessments do. This is nothing unusual,” a DHS official told Fox News.
More importantly, the report did not target “conservatives” or “Republican loyalists.” Indeed, it’s odd that conservatives like Scarborough would willingly group themselves and Republicans in with “rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements” — the actual focus of the DHS report. Scarborough is not alone in this lumping, however; yesterday, Michelle Malkin declared that the report a “hit job on conservatives,” while Fox News linked the report to the conservative “tea parties.”
Veterans Upset That Tea Baggers Plan To Hold Their Anti-Obama Protest At A Veterans Memorial In Kansas
Veterans Upset That Tea Baggers Plan To Hold Their Anti-Obama Protest At A Veterans Memorial In Kansas
Tomorrow, conservatives around the country will be holding Tax Day tea parties. Although “tea” technically stands for “taxed enough already,” Fox News’s Glenn Beck — one of the main promoters of the event — has insisted they’re about spending, not taxes. Previous tea parties have attracted protesters who called for impeaching Obama while slurring the President’s name as “Obama Bin Lyin.”
Nevertheless, tea party organizers continue to insist that tomorrow’s events will be bipartisan. (Even though so far, no Democratic elected official has agreed to participate, compared to at least 38 GOP lawmakers.) However, a group of veterans in Kansas isn’t buying the spin, as Kansas Jackass points out.
Tomorrow, tea baggers in Pittsburg, KS, plan to hold their protest at the Pittsburg State University Veterans Memorial Amphitheater. Speaking at that event will be Rep. Lynne Jenkins (R-KS). Veterans are expressing concerns at having a partisan event on this “hallowed ground“:
– “It’s everybody’s right to have a protest, but our complaint is that it’s at the Veterans Memorial. Most people think of the Veterans Memorial as a sacred place. It’s a place to reflect, to remember why we’re here today and the people who have sacrificed for that.” [Bob Torbett, director of the American Legion Riders and a member of the Kansas Patriot Guard]
– “I’m not so sure the Veterans Memorial is the appropriate place for a tax protest.” [Charles Heath, Commander of American Legion Post 64]
– “This is something that really upset me. The Veterans Memorial, as far as I’m concerned, is hallowed ground. To have a partisan, political ‘tea party’ there really offends my sensibilities.” [Bob Torbett, veteran of the Korean War]
When asked for comment, Jenkins’s spokesperson said that while the congresswoman has the “utmost respect” for veterans, “What’s going on in Washington now, with spending and taxes, affects everyone – from veterans to small businesses and single moms and working families. The congresswoman feels it’s important to talk about these issues.”
John Minton, head of the Crawford County Republican Party, defended the tea baggers, saying that they were probably having their protest at the amphitheater because it was one of the few places in the country that “could accommodate a large crowd.”
The interview the VA didn’t want you to hear.
The interview the VA didn’t want you to hear.
Last week, WAMU reporter David Schultz attempted to interview Tommie Canady about the poor treatment he said veterans were receiving from the VA. In the middle of the interview, however, VA communications specialist named Gloria Hairston “stopped Schultz and wouldn’t let him leave until he handed over his [recording] equipment.” After significant public outcry, the VA returned Schultz’s equipment. Today, WAMU aired Schultz’s interview with Canady that the VA didn’t want the public to hear:
SCHULTZ: Canady recounted how, in his words, he was forced out of the military by a racist captain, and how after being discharged, he and his family were homeless for three years. … Canady described the conditions veterans encounter at DC’s VA hospital.
CANADY: They don’t get the proper care they’re supposed to by the nurses. I spent months in here. These guys — some of these guys spend years in here. We know exactly what goes on in this hospital, and they hide it. And it’s time for it to come out to the public. This is sad.
Schultz noted that Canady became “visibly upset” when Hairston came up and told him he couldn’t “talk anymore.” Listen here:
Transcript: More »
VA confiscates reporter’s equipment after he interviews a veteran about shoddy care.
VA confiscates reporter’s equipment after he interviews a veteran about shoddy care.
On Tuesday, WAMU reporter Eric Schultz attempted to interview Tommie Canady, a veteran from Maryland, about the poor treatment he said he was receiving from the VA. In the middle of the interview at a VA hospital in Washington, DC, a VA communications specialist named Gloria Hairston, “along with two other employees and four armed security guards, stopped Schultz and wouldn’t let him leave until he handed over his [recording] equipment.” A group of veterans stood nearby during the exchange:
One of those veterans, an amputee in a wheelchair, approached Schultz and asked him for his phone number.
“I started to give it to him and then the woman [Hairston] became irate, she said you can’t give him your phone number. You have to give me all of your equipment or I’m going to get ugly. She used the phrase ‘get ugly,’” Schultz says,
Like any good reporter, Schultz stood his ground and called his boss for direction. Longtime newsman Jim Asendio is the news director for WAMU.
“I told him to give them the flash card and get out of there,” Asendio says. “I didn’t want this to get out of hand.”
“What I mostly feel bad about is Mr. Canady,” Schultz told WTOP reporter Mark Segraves. “He was trying to tell his story, he has an amazing story and he was denied a chance to tell his story to the media because of these tactics.” ThinkProgress contacted the VA but has yet to get a response.
Burr drops his still-unexplained opposition to Duckworth nomination.
Burr drops his still-unexplained opposition to Duckworth nomination.
Last week, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) announced that he was delaying the “nomination of Tammy Duckworth, an injured Iraq war helicopter pilot, to be an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Burr’s office claimed that the senator was simply “doing some due diligence…to ensure veterans have the best representation,” but would not disclose what that “due diligence” was. Now, however, Burr is ready to let Duckworth’s nomination go forward. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported last night:
MADDOW: Today, the senator’s office relented. Still not clear on what the “due diligence” was on a decorated helicopter pilot, double amputee, experienced veterans advocate, supported by all the veterans service organizations, and nationally known for her work. But it is done. At last.
Maddow noted, however, that this does not seem to signal “smoother sailing for the rest of the high-level nominations that are still stuck in the senate.” Watch it:
Contacted by ThinkProgress, Burr’s press secretary, David Ward, said that the senator was satisfied with Duckworth’s responses to a number of last-minute questions. Ward added that the senator is “looking forward to moving forward with [Duckworth's] nomination.”
Tammy Duckworth tapped for Assistant VA Secretary.
Tammy Duckworth tapped for Assistant VA Secretary.
Today, the Obama administration announced that the President intends to nominate veteran Tammy Duckworth to be Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth, who lost both her legs serving in the Iraq war, is currently director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and ran for the House in the 2006 elections. From the Obama team’s press release:
As assistant secretary, Duckworth will direct VA’s public affairs, internal communications and intergovernmental relations. She also will oversee programs for homeless Veterans, consumer affairs and special rehabilitative events.
Duckworth was appointed director of the state Veterans office in Illinois in 2006. In previous testimony before Congress, she expressed her commitment to Veterans and the need for transformation of the Department. “The VA system faces new challenges as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” She also noted “the patient profile is changing. More wounded soldiers are surviving very serious injuries.”
Obama Taps Shinseki To Head A 21st Century VA: ‘We Have A Sacred Trust To Repay’ To Our Troops
Obama Taps Shinseki To Head A 21st Century VA: ‘We Have A Sacred Trust To Repay’ To Our Troops
Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Gen. Eric Shinseki will become his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary. The nomination of the first Asian-American to the post — Shinseki, a Japanese-American, grew up in Hawaii — carries extra poignancy, coming on the 67th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. Watch it:
Shinseki is most famous for publicly contradicting Bush administration officials’ overly optimistic predictions about the war in Iraq. In 2003, then serving as the Army’s chief of staff, he told Congress that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to secure Iraq.
The Bush administration’s failure to heed Shinseki’s warnings have led to a decimation of the U.S. military — underequipped forces, an over-reliance on the National Guard and Reserves, a dangerous stop-loss policy, and an increasing number troops coming home with mental and physical problems. As Michigan University history professor Juan Cole told the Washington Post:
If Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and [former undersecretary for defense Douglas J.] Feith had listened to Shinseki, there wouldn’t be as many wounded veterans to take care of. I think this is a way of saying, “Here was a career officer who had valuable insights who was shunted aside by arrogant civilians, and we’re not going to make the same kind of mistakes.”
Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, receiving two Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars. Shinseki has frequently worked with wounded veterans and visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center, referring to it as a “members-only section” since he too is an amputee. Some veterans organizations, such as IAVA, have already come out with high praise for Obama’s choice, saying that Shinseki is a man the military community holds in “high regard” but also note that he faces enormous challenges.
Transcript: More »
VIDEO: Georgia Republicans Rally Supporters: Palin-Chambliss 2012?
VIDEO: Georgia Republicans Rally Supporters: Palin-Chambliss 2012?
On Monday, Georgia’s U.S. Senate candidates — Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin — had competing rallies around the state in advance of the Dec. 2 critical run-off contest. Martin and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) held four events around the state, while Martin held one main rally in Atlanta in the evening.
The two men’s events couldn’t have been more different. ThinkProgress attended the Chambliss rally in Perry, GA, which took place indoors at the Georgia National Fairgrounds. The attendees were predominantly white, older, and many came with their families. The crowd cheered and clapped enthusiastically, always at the appropriate times.
While people were clearly excited about the GOP candidates, some of it appeared to be manufactured. News reports showed people on-stage holding handmade signs — including ones that read “Palin-Chambliss 2012″ and “Vets for Saxby” — but those were handed out before the event by a campaign aide. A sign in the entrance to the venue said that attendees were prohibited from bringing in such large signs on their own:
As ThinkProgress reported earlier, Palin’s events throughout the state were largely a rehash of her talking points when she was John McCain’s running mate. At the Perry event, she stressed that Chambliss has a “strong independent spirit,” just like McCain — ignoring the fact that he has voted with the GOP on every single key vote from the 109th Congress onward. Watch a portion of her remarks:
McClatchy reported on some of the reasons people came to hear Palin speak, including one woman who said that she wanted her daughters to “see a fine, upstanding, Christian woman with five kids and a good career” and another who said that Palin was just a “Josephine the plumber or Sarah the fisherman.”
Martin’s event, which was held on the steps of the State Capitol, attracted a smaller crowd, but was far more boisterous, with drivers passing by honking in support. The young, diverse crowd often spontaneously shouted out replies to the speakers, and the event had the atmosphere of a college party. Additionally, Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth took direct aim at Chambliss’s policy positions, specifically noting his record on veterans issues:
In 2004, when I was flying my Blackhawk helicopter north of Baghdad and I got hit with that rocket-propelled grenade that blew up between my legs and took them off — and almost took off my right arm — the only thing that saved me was my buddies and the armor that I was wearing. … In his six years in the United States Senate, Saxby Chambliss has voted against providing armor for our troops. He has been against providing armored vehicles for our troops. And then, when my buddies and I came home, he has been against the G.I. Bill.
Watch it:
McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group
McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held a telephone town hall meeting, in which “thousands” of Nevadans — according to the McCain campaign — called to listen in. Among some of the hostile, pointed, and critical questions came one from a veteran, who challenged McCain on his voting record regarding funding for the Veterans Administration and veterans’ priorities:
Q: I know you voted for lesser increases, and sometimes they were so much less, and our VA desperately needs the money. Can you tell me why you would vote for less money for the VA when there’s a war going on?
M: Well of course I have not and I’m afraid I’ve been endorsed by the VFW in every election that I’ve been in. I have been — received the honors, the highest honor and awards from all our veterans organizations for my consistent support of them. I don’t know what you’re looking at, but the DAV, the VFW, the American Legion, all of them have given me their highest awards for my consistent support of them.
Listen here:
As ThinkProgress has repeatedly documented, McCain is either willfully lying or he is delusional about his record — and the meaning of “highest awards.” In fact, McCain has recently stood on the opposite side of all three of the groups he mentioned:
– Disabled American Veterans (DAV): In a list of 36 “key votes,” shows McCain “Voted Against Us” 16 times. (Obama “Voted With Us” 17 times, and against only once.)
– Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): Endorsed Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) GI Bill that McCain vigorously opposed; called McCain’s alternative GI Bill “very partisan” and said they “didn’t have much input” in its crafting.
– American Legion: Endorsed Webb’s GI Bill and criticized McCain’s concern about how it would affect retention, saying the bill “would encourage young men and women to join the military.”
Just last week, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. (Obama got a B.) The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) have noted that in its “Key Votes,” McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. (Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.)
Earlier this month, Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), a leading veterans advocate, excoriated McCain in an interview with ThinkProgress: “If you look at John McCain’s record on veterans issues, it’s a failed one.” It’s a sentiment IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff agrees with. Noting McCain’s dismal voting record on VA funding, Rieckhoff told ThinkProgress, “If he says the VA’s not working, it’s in part because he hasn’t funded it properly.”
VA benefits claims found in piles to be shredded.
VA benefits claims found in piles to be shredded.
The Military Times reports that the “Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices have been ordered to immediately stop shredding documents” after an investigation found some benefits claims and supporting documents — such as certificates for births, deaths and marriage — among piles of papers waiting to be destroyed. VFW National Commander Glen Gardner said the problem could be significant:
“The question that begs to be asked and answered is how many veterans had their disability and compensation claims disappear down a paper shredder?”
Among the records found waiting to be shredded were applications for disability compensation, education benefits, home loans and pensions for low-income veterans, officials said.
VA won’t outsource GI Bill management.
VA won’t outsource GI Bill management.
Last month, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake said that administrating the new GI Bill will “tax VA’s resources” and announced that “the decision has been made to seek private-sector support to implement this new program.” However, the Army Times reports today that the VA has scuttled the controversial plan after it could not find a contractor. “Instead, VA officials will rely on its own employees to create and implement” the bill’s provisions. Veterans groups had slammed the plan to hire an outside contractor, saying the “level of service [wouldn't] be the same.”
Cindy McCain: Vietnam vets with PTSD were 18-year-olds who didn’t know what they were doing.
Cindy McCain: Vietnam vets with PTSD were 18-year-olds who didn’t know what they were doing.
During a recent interview with Marie Claire, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) wife Cindy suggested that her husband has never had PTSD symptoms because “he was trained.” She also added that symptoms such as “cold sweats in the middle of the night” are reserved for the “the 18-year-olds who were drafted”:
Q: You met your husband after his POW days. To what extent is that still with you - or is it a part of history?
McCAIN: My husband will be the first one to tell you that that’s in the past. Certainly it’s a part of who he is, but he doesn’t dwell on it. It’s not part of a daily experience that we experience or anything like that. But it has shaped him. It has made him the leader that he is.
Q: But no cold sweats in the middle of the night?
McCAIN: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. My husband, he’d be the first one to tell you that he was trained to do what he was doing. The guys who had the trouble were the 18-year-olds who were drafted. He was trained, he went to the Naval Academy, he was a trained United States naval officer, and so he knew what he was doing.
One Week After McCain Claims Vets ‘Know I’ll Take Care Of Them,’ IAVA Gives Him A ‘D’
One Week After McCain Claims Vets ‘Know I’ll Take Care Of Them,’ IAVA Gives Him A ‘D’
During the first presidential debate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeatedly emphasized his love of veterans — and their fondness for him in return. “I’ll take care of them. And they know I’ll take care of them,” he said. McCain frequently exaggerates his level of support for and from veterans groups, claiming to have “received the highest award from literally every veteran’s organization in America” and to have “a perfect voting record” on veterans’ issues. Watch a compilation:
Today, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America released its congressional scorecard for the 110th Congress, and awarded McCain a grade of “D” for his votes against veterans’ priorities. The grade makes McCain one of only four Senators to fall on IAVA’s “D List” — and marks a repeat performance for him, after receiving a “D” for his 109th congressional voting record as well.
IAVA hammered McCain for refusing to co-sponsor Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century G.I. Bill. In fact, the IAVA highlighted the weaker alternative proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — and endorsed by McCain — as “an effort to derail the popular and bipartisan” GI Bill proposed by Webb. “Thankfully,” the IAVA writes, “the Senate voted forcefully, 55-42, to kill” the Graham-McCain proposal.
IAVA’s score adds to other groups who have criticized McCain’s abysmal record on veterans’ issues. McCain has received a 20 percent vote rating from the Disabled Veterans of America, while the Vietnam Veterans of America noted McCain had “voted against us” in 15 “key votes.”
Chet Edwards: ‘If You Look At McCain’s Record On Veterans Issues, It’s A Failed One’
Chet Edwards: ‘If You Look At McCain’s Record On Veterans Issues, It’s A Failed One’
Sen. John McCain has proudly touted his record on veterans throughout this campaign. “I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I’ll take care of them,” he said in last week’s debate. In May, McCain said he has the “judgment necessary to care for the veterans.”
In an interview with ThinkProgress today, Rep. Chet Edwards (D), who represents Crawford, TX and is a leader on veterans issues in Congress, ripped McCain’s record on veterans:
If you look at John McCain’s record on veterans issues, it’s a failed one. … Even the Vietnam Veterans of America, those who served with Sen. McCain in Vietnam, have given Sen. McCain a ‘D’ voting record when it comes to voting to improve veterans health care and benefits. … But I think America’s veterans and voters have a right to know before the election that his voting record in the Senate has been a failed one.
“If his voting record had prevailed over the last several years, veterans would have poorer health care and fewer benefits than they have today,” he said. Watch it:
Indeed, McCain’s voting record in the Senate on veterans issues is abysmal. He has received failing grades from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Disabled Veterans of America, and Vietnam Veterans of America. McCain has voted against money for VA outpatient care and treatment and against increasing VA funding by $1.5 billion by closing corporate loopholes, to name a few.
“My message to veterans is that a vote for Sen. McCain is a vote to show respect for one veteran and his service in Vietnam,” Edwards said. He added that the mainstream media has “ignored the failed record of John McCain.” “You’ve got 25 million veterans in America, and again I bet the vast majority of them would be shocked and deeply disappointed to find out McCain has a failed voting record on veterans.”
Biden: National Guard head deserves ’seat at the table’ with Joint Chiefs.
Biden: National Guard head deserves ’seat at the table’ with Joint Chiefs.
Today, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) spoke to the National Guard Association Conference. Noting that more than half of the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been National Guard members or reservists, Biden declared, “Your voice needs to be heard.” He said that Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, slated to be the first four-star general to head the Guard, should have a seat at the table with the Joint Chiefs:
It’s time for a change. Change begins with giving the Guard a seat at the table. That table in the Pentagon where the Joint Chiefs sit. General McKinley, I not only want to see your fourth star — I want to see you sitting there with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen. Your men and women are serving and dying. Your voice needs to be heard.
A similar proposal was made in 2006, but it was rejected by Donald Rumsfeld and Peter Pace, then-Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, respectively.
Veterans Groups Attack Bush Administration Plan To Outsource GI Bill Benefits
Veterans Groups Attack Bush Administration Plan To Outsource GI Bill Benefits
In June — after months of kicking and screaming — President Bush finally signed a war supplemental spending bill that included a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for veterans.
Bush’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), however, doesn’t seem too happy about the increased work these new benefits will create and plans to outsource it all. Last month, VA Secretary James Peake wrote to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union announcing the plan. From Peake’s letter, obtained by ThinkProgress:
The challenges of creating the procedures and systems to support a new program and ensuring accurate and timely benefit payments under this new program effective August 1, 2009, will tax VA’s resources. … Therefore, the decision has been made to seek private-sector support to implement this new program.
The government wants to automate all GI Bill requests and is looking to hire a private contractor to set up such a system. AFGE is condemning this decision, which would dump the expertise of 850 government employees who are able to process a veteran’s request for GI benefits within 20 days.
The VA is arguing that with this new outsourcing plan, benefits could be processed in minutes. Veterans advocates point to the Bush administration’s abysmal record in hiring contractors who have no expertise in the area they’re hired to work:
Marty Conatser, American Legion: “Our newest generation of veterans deserve the benefits administered by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, not outside contractors. Patients, critics and most media all cite the outstanding job the VA is doing. Outsourcing is not the answer.”
Rick Weidman, Vietnam Veterans of America: “If anything goes wrong, I’ll tell you what’ll happen, and it’s what always happens in these instances, is they’ll say, ‘Well, it’s not our job, it’s the VA’s.’ And the VA will say, ‘We can’t do anything, it’s contracted out. It’s the contractor’s job.’ And that is baloney. The problem isn’t the troops; the problem is the leadership.”
Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ): “I just cannot believe that we’d ever allow this to happen. The level of service won’t be the same.”
So far, the Bush administration has treated this contracting process like it has so many others — with secrecy. As NPR reported today, the VA has so far “handpicked only a small number of companies to compete for the contract, and so far, officials won’t even reveal the companies’ names.”
Perhaps this move by the Bush administration is intended to take the agency one step closer to McCain’s dream of privatized veterans health care?
IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background ‘Was As Close As McCain Got To Veterans Issues’ At RNC
IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background ‘Was As Close As McCain Got To Veterans Issues’ At RNC
On Thursday night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) formally accepted his party’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention. During his speech, a mysterious image of a building appeared on the screen behind him, which TalkingPointsMemo identified as Walter Reed Middle School, in North Hollywood, CA. (The school did not grant permission to use its image.) Some suspect McCain had intended to show a photo of Walter Reed Medical Center; the McCain campaign has offered conflicting explanations for the bizarre use of the photo.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, Paul Riekhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, slammed McCain for completely ignoring Iraq and Afghanistan veterans during his speech, saying the mistaken background was “about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues”:
RIECKHOFF: I think honestly that backdrop, whether it was Walter Reed medical center or Walter Reed middle school — that’s about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues last night. He didn’t mention the word veteran once during his entire speech, didn’t talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, didn’t talk about veterans funding. I think he really forgot where he came from last night.
Watch the entire interview:
Rieckhoff also mentioned McCain’s opposition to the 21st Century GI Bill. “We told America that if Sen. McCain was on the wrong side of the G.I. Bill, it would hang around his neck for the election. That’s exactly what’s happening now,” Rieckhoff said.
McCain’s opposition to the GI Bill is just one aspect of his abysmal record on veterans issues. It’s no wonder, as Rieckhoff said, that we saw “a deliberate attempt by the RNC not to put Iraq and Afghanistan vets out in front.”
Transcript: More »
IAVA Director: If McCain Thinks The VA Isn’t Working, ‘It’s In Part Because He Hasn’t Funded It’
IAVA Director: If McCain Thinks The VA Isn’t Working, ‘It’s In Part Because He Hasn’t Funded It’
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain promoted his veterans private health care “plastic card” in a speech to the American Legion. Though he insisted the “card is not intended to either replace the VA or privatize veterans’ health care,” veterans groups aren’t buying it. AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars all argue McCain’s scheme may undermine the VA.
Today ThinkProgress spoke to Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, at the Democratic National Convention. When we asked him what he thought of McCain’s private health card plan, Rieckhoff slammed McCain for blocking funding for the VA:
Basically every major veterans group is opposed to it so far, so I think that pretty much says it all. We’ve got to come up with a comprehensive solution to VA health care, and that starts with VA funding. Sen. McCain has consistently voted against expansion of VA funding. So if he says the VA’s not working, it’s in part because he hasn’t funded it properly. … A lot of vets groups are going to push back against the card because it may be on the path toward privatization. So we’ve got to really make the VA as strong as it can be, and that should be our priority.
Despite his repeated claims to the contrary, McCain’s record on veterans health funding is disappointing to say the least:
– Voted AGAINST providing $430 million to the VA for outpatient care “and treatment for veterans,” one of only 13 senators to do so. [4/26/06]
– Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.5 billion by closing corporate loopholes. [3/14/06]
– Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.8 billion by ending “abusive tax loopholes.” [3/10/04]
McCain can try to convince veterans groups that he opposes privatization, but considering his disdain for government-sponsored health care, it’s no surprise he wants to put veterans health into the hands of private business.
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