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Click here for Nebraska's new voter registration form. You will need Acrobat Reader to access this form. This form may be copied. Mail the completed form to your county election office.
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Veterans Groups Critical of Bush's VA Budget
Dismay Over Higher Fees and Staff Cuts Could Be Boon for Democratic Nominee
By Edward Walsh
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 3, 2004; Page A25
Military veterans have already played a prominent role in the 2004 presidential campaign, helping to propel one of their own -- Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts -- close to the Democratic nomination. If he is the nominee, Kerry is counting on strong support from his fellow veterans in the general election battle against President Bush.
And Kerry may be getting an unintended boost from the Bush administration's proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the next fiscal year.
After three years of mostly cordial relations with the administration, leaders of veterans' organizations and a union that represents VA workers are voicing strong criticism of Bush's fiscal 2005 budget plan. They assert that the budget would only worsen the backlog in processing disability claims, reduce the number of VA nursing home beds just as the number of veterans who need long-term care is swelling and force some veterans to pay a fee simply to gain access to the VA health care system.
In a statement issued shortly after the budget was released, Edward S. Banas Sr., commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called the VA's health care spending proposal "a disgrace and a sham."
VA officials reply that spending for health care will increase under the budget, but that tough choices had to be made because of the soaring budget deficit and limits on spending.
According to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA is calling for a reduction of 540 full-time jobs in the Veterans Benefits Administration, which handles disability, pension and other claims by veterans.
"VBA is under such pressure to get the caseload down, and now they are going to cut the staff," he said. "These things don't make sense on their face."
Mark Catlett, the VA's principal deputy assistant secretary for management, said only 35 of the jobs that would be eliminated through attrition involve employees who process disability claims, in which the backlog problem is most severe. He said the elimination of many of the jobs would be the result of a consolidation of the department's pension processing functions.
Catlett said the lower staffing levels proposed in the budget assume an increase in productivity by VA employees.
"We clearly have a responsibility to get more productive," he said.
The more contentious issue involves the VA's sprawling health care system. The budget calls for spending $29.5 billion for veterans' health care in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, a 4.2 percent increase over current spending.
But critics in the veterans' organizations say the budget would effectively cut health care spend
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ing because about $2.4 billion of the total would not come from congressional appropriations but from fees and other charges collected from third parties and from veterans themselves.
Under the budget, some veterans would have to pay $250 a year to use the VA health care system; their co-payments for a 30-day supply of a prescription drug would also more than double, from $7 to $15. The proposed changes would affect only the veterans with no service-related health problems whose relative high income places them in the two lowest priority classifications.
VA officials estimate that the new "user fee" would produce about $268 million a year and that the higher pharmacy co-payment would add about $135 million a year in revenue. They also project that these higher costs will prompt about 200,000 of the affected veterans to drop out of the system and get their health care elsewhere.
John McNeill, deputy director of the VFW, credited the Bush administration with increasing the VA's health care budget during the last few years. But, he added, "just as they are getting close [to the needed level of spending], this proposal retrogrades everything. It doesn't even take care of the inflation factor."
Linda Bennett, AFGE's legislative director, was equally critical of the proposed cuts in nursing home care, which she said would reduce the number of full-time VA nursing home beds to 37 percent below the level set in law by Congress in 1998. She said the VA has been trying to move more veterans into state-run nursing homes and "non-institutional" settings, such as home health care programs.
"I look at it as a signal that the VA would like to get out of the business of taking care of veterans in their old age," Bennett said.
But Catlett said long-term care at home is usually "better and preferred" to a nursing home, and that the VA is directly or indirectly providing long-term care to more veterans than ever.
"We're trying to get the right balance," he said. "There will always be VA nursing homes."
Catlett also said the user fee and higher co-payments for the lowest priority veterans would help the department pay for its core mission -- to care for low-income veterans, especially those with service-related health problems.
Last year, Congress rejected a similar proposal for a user fee and higher co-payments and may do so again. But the congressional debate will almost certainly become embroiled in presidential politics as Bush and his Democratic opponent vie for the allegiance of veterans.
Bob Wallace, executive director of the VFW's Washington office, said that even veterans who would not be affected by the budget proposals "hear that their comrades are affected by it, and it bothers them."
Whether that will hurt Bush in the fall is not clear, but American Legion National Commander John Brieden said, "This sure doesn't help him. The PR on this is not good. I expect the Democrats, whether it's Kerry or whoever, to beat Bush over the head with this."
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Subject: "I don't cross picket lines. I never have." Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 18:55:59 GMT
Dear Working Families e-Activist:
"I don't cross picket lines. I never have." With these eight words, this past weekend Sen. John Kerry illustrated the stark difference between himself and George W. Bush on workers' rights, including workers' freedom to form and join unions. Sen. Kerry cancelled a speech at a major meeting of U.S. mayors rather than cross a picket line of firefighters and police who have been working in Boston without a contract--some as long as two years.
Unlike President Bush, Sen. Kerry strongly supports workers' freedom to form unions. Take action on these differences at the link below or keep reading. http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/qdatBMs1X7ZS/
Where do the presidential candidates stand? Sen. Kerry is a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act--the most important piece of workers' rights legislation in decades--which would help stop the employer harassment and intimidation workers face when forming a union. President Bush hasn't taken a public stand on the legislation--but his administration is actively working to undermine workers' unions and stack the National Labor Relations Board with anti-worker appointees who have indicated their intention to roll back workers' rights.
Please take one minute right now to thank Sen. Kerry for his support of workers' rights--and urge President Bush to change his mind about workers' freedom to choose a union by clicking on the link below.
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/qdatBMs1X7ZS/
Find out more about where Sen. Kerry and President Bush stand by downloading this leaflet comparing their positions on workers' freedom to choose a union (file, 400KB). http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/q7atBMs1X7ZL/
Please share this leaflet and this e-mail with your friends, family and co-workers.
You won't be acting alone. This week, during the Voice@Work National Workplace Week of Action June 28-July 4, thousands of
people will reclaim Independence Day and demand that we restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain collectively in America.
Today, workers have lost this right in America's workplaces. In fact, workers who attempt to form unions in the private sector are illegally fired in 25 percent of union election campaigns. The Employee Free Choice Act would remove many of the obstacles workers currently face.
Please stand in solidarity on this important issue and take action right now at the link below.
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/qdatBMs1X7ZS/
Everyone suffers when workers lose the freedom to form unions. The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to form a union
through a majority verification process, allow employees to seek mediation and arbitration in securing a first contract and increase penalties against employers that violate the law.
Thanks for all you do.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO June 29, 2004
P.S. Don't forget to download a leaflet showing the differences between Sen. Kerry and President Bush on workers' freedom to choose a union by clicking on the link below (file, 400 KB).
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/q7atBMs1X7ZL/
-------------------------------------------------
This e-mail message was paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education - Political Contributions Committee, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
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Excerpts taken from June 2004 Special Report from Congressman Lee Terry
New Laws Improve Veterans Benefits posted 6/30/04
Last December, President Bush signed three important bills, which were passed with my strong support. These new laws improve benefits for disabled veterans and former POWs:
The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-183) increased education and housing benefits to disabled veterans and their families; enhanced the Montgovery GI Bill to cover self-employment training programs and entrepreneurship courses; restored dependency and indemnity compensation to spouses who remarry after age 57; and made it easier for POWs to receive help with certain service-connected disabilities, such as post traumatic stress syndrome and residuals from frostbite.
The Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (P.L. 108-147) provided a 2.1 percent cost-of-living increase to disability compensation payments for 2.6 million disabled veterans.
The Veterans Health Care Improvement Act (P.L. 108-170) eliminated prescription drug co-payments for POWs and made it easier for them to qualify for dental care; increased specialized mental health care funding for disabled veterans; required the VA to report on actions taken to increase access to rural health care; and improved the VA's nursing care and extended care options for aging veterans.
Current Legislation to Help Veterans
I am a proud cosponsor of the following bills to keep the commitments made to veterans. While serving as your Representative, I will continue working to help them become law.
The Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act (H.R. 3474) would help fulfill the government's commitment to provide free, lifetime health care to "Greatest Generation" military retirees by exempting them from paying Medicare Part B premiums for the TRICARE for Life program. This bill would also allow all military retirees - not just those over age 65 - and their dependents to participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) as an alternative to TRICARE.
The Flag Protection Amendment (H.J. Res. 4) would ensure Congress has the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag. The flag is an emblem of the many sacrifices made to protect our country's freedom and preserve our founding principles. It must be honored and preserved.
The Veterans Health Care Full Funding Act (H.R. 2475) would improve veterans health care by establishing an independent board of health experts to produce an annual VA budget request that fully meets veterans' needs. The VA requested insufficient funding from Congress in at least seven of the past nine years, making it necessary for Congress to add significant new dollars for veterans health care. Under this bill, the VA would also be required to contract out health services if care cannot be provided in a timely manner.
The Retired Pay Restoration Act (H.R. 303) would ensure that every disabled military retiree receives full VA disability compensation and retirement pay. Congress made substantial progress by approving a $22 billion, ten-year plan to gradually phase-in full benefits for veterans with disability ratings of 50 percent or higher, or who were wounded in combat. However, every one of the more than 500,000 disabled American veterans deserve to receive their complete benefits.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Backlog Reduction Act (H.R. 1264) would streamline the claims process for veterans benefits to ensure faster service. There are currently more than 330,000 veterans' claims pending at the VA. Some take years to handle, and some are not handled within a veteran's lifetime. H.R. 1264 would require the VA to refer backlogged claims to the nearest County Veterans Service Office, to ensure timely processing.
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