We the People have made a contract with our veterans which states that they receive health care as part of their compensation for serving the common defense. Not only is this a moral contract, but it is fully constitutional per Article 1, Section 8 which states: “To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; To provide and maintain a navy; To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces”
Health care and maintenance of VA medical facilities comprises 42.5% or
approximately $45 billion of the proposed 2010 VA budget.
With more and more veterans coming back being homeless and suffering from major medical problems our congressmen need to step up and answer these questions. Veteran’s serve and give up the greatest thing we own, our lives. There needs to be a call for accountability in congress both State and Federal.
Health care and maintenance of VA medical facilities comprises 42.5% or
approximately $45 billion of the proposed 2010 VA budget.
With more and more veterans coming back being homeless and suffering from major medical problems our congressmen need to step up and answer these questions. Veteran’s serve and give up the greatest thing we own, our lives. There needs to be a call for accountability in congress both State and Federal.
As we come to the General Election in five months we need to elect those that are willing to support our veterans and just say they will. How can we cut the Veterans Affairs Budget for the Luzerne County when we have one of the largest veteran populations in the state? Acts like this seem concerning to me.
Still disturbing to me is the homeless veterans.
According to VA and the Housing and Urban Development Department:
* An estimates 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, down from 195,000 in 2004. The Annual Homeless Assessment Report has a higher count of 135,583, or 12 percent of homeless adults.
* One in five veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan is jobless.
* An estimated 44,000 to 60,000 veterans are chronically homeless. Chronic homelessness is defined as spending more than a year on the streets or being homeless for more than four periods within three years.
* Women comprise 5 percent of homeless veterans and are the fastest growing subset of the population.
* Veterans are 1 percent of the nation’s total population, but 10 percent of the homeless demographic.
At a time when the number of unemployed and mentally ill veterans is on the rise, the lack of resources creates what Shinseki called a “perfect storm” for homelessness among vets.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said it’s urgent to address the funding now as troops come home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We’re learning as we go,” Shinseki said in regards to the program that helps homeless veterans find housing.
Listen, we are fighting two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, and also fighting the war on terrorism. We have more veterans coming out of the military than ever. I said it before and I will say it again, “Veterans fight for our freedom then come home and fight for their benefits.” This will never end till we all make a difference.
This is why I sent out a letter to all elected officials addressing Veteran’s issues. I also sent the letter to the candidates that are running in this year’s election. I am looking forward to hear what they have to say.
3 comments:
My significant other is a veteran and the 2 medicines that he requires is not available through the VA and retail 30 pills run over $500/mo. How can he do that on a fixed income? Where is the administration on updating their formularies so that vets can utilize updated meds that actually help their conditions?
Goto your VA primary care physician and have them see if their is another drug that could be substituted. A good point of contact would be to ask your local congressman. Ask him to look into updating the VA's formularies. Keep me posted.
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