Disabled veterans protest budget proposal for health care


By Leo Shane III <mailto:shanel@stripes.osd.mil> , Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, March 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of disabled veterans booed and jeered Republican House
members on Tuesday for their budget proposal for veterans' health care,
which critics call inadequate to deal with the future needs of current
troops. Following testimony before a pair of congressional committees by
officials from the Disabled American Veterans, or DAV, the crowd of more
than 400 wounded and disabled veterans cheered House members who criticized
the president's budget plans and heckled representatives who defended the
spending. The loudest heckling was reserved for House Veterans' Affairs
chairman Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., who was criticized by Democrats on the
committee and rebuked the crowd at one point by saying "where the river is
the shallowest, it makes the most noise. "The proposed 2006 budget includes a
1.1 percent increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which officials
from the DAV called too little to deal with the large number of
servicemembers expected to return from Iraq and Afghanistan with missing
limbs, mental illnesses and other service injuries. In addition, the budget
would require veterans without combat injuries and who make more than
$25,000 a year to pay a $250 enrollment fee to use department health
services.James Sursely, national commander of the DAV, which calls itself
the voice of service-connected disabled veterans, said he wants to see an
additional $3.4 billion added to the budget for veterans' medical care, and
see the new fees removed. But Republicans on the committee have already
forwarded their budget proposals to House officials, and they include an
enrollment fee and only slight funding increases. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.,
called Buyer and his supporters hypocrites for scheduling Tuesday's hearing
without any intention of considering the veterans' budget concerns. "This
budget is an insult to our troops and to you," he told the crowd, who
responded with a standing ovation. "This is unconscionable. "Rep. Corrine
Brown, D-Fla., called promises made by Republicans "frankly a lot of
[expletive]," and was quickly censured by Buyer as the crowd roared in
approval. Buyer said the committee is focused on making sure the poorest and
most severely injured veterans continue to receive free medical care, and
said many affluent, uninjured veterans can currently exploit the low-cost
health care system. If changes are not made, the quality of care could
suffer, he said. Army Sgt. Tyler Hall, a 24-year-old Alaskan who lost part of
his left leg in an improvised explovsive device blast in August, said he
attended Tuesday's hearing to learn more about the legislative process and
see how he can help other soldiers like himself. "The number of disabled vets
is growing, so this affects us quite a bit," he said. "You almost
automatically go into the VA hospitals, so we need to make sure the care is
there."
C 2003 Stars and Stripes.
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Contributed,
YNCS Don Harribine, USN(ret)