VFW urges 2M members to fight benefit changes

VFW urges 2M members to fight benefit changes
By Donna Cassata - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 18, 2011 17:16:23 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday urged its 2 million members to plead with Congress to spare military and veterans’ benefits as a special deficit-cutting panel looks to slash $1.2 trillion from the federal budget.

In a “call to action,” the VFW said it opposes any changes to the programs and decried any congressional attempt to balance the budget on the backs of military retirees and disabled veterans. The organization implored members, their families and friends to contact lawmakers immediately.

“It is critical that our voices not be lost in the ongoing budget debate that seems to now equate national service and sacrifice with the size of health care premiums,” said Richard L. DeNoyer, a retired Marine and head of the VFW. “The ‘people programs’ inside the (departments) are expensive because it takes people to fight our wars, and with less than 1 percent of our citizens currently in uniform, any degradation of these hard fought-for programs will break faith with those who sacrifice the most.”
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