Congress Owes Veterans

Congress Owes Veterans
Not the other way around
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 26, 2014

Like most Americans I was deluded. I just assumed this country took care of veterans no matter what war, no matter where they lived or what they needed. My Dad was a Korean War veteran, 100% disabled and was taken care of after a fighting to have his claim approved. My uncles were WWII veterans but didn't go to the VA until they were elderly.

It was not until 30 years ago my rude awakening began. It didn't matter which party was in control or who was in the Oval Office at the time. Veterans were never taken care of properly.

While members of the House and Senate are trying to figure out how to pay for the new round of spending on veterans, people need to be aware of the simple facts.

PTSD

America's Wars Total (1775-1991)
U.S. Military Service during Wartime 41,892,128
Battle Deaths 651,031
Other Deaths (In Theater) 308,800
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 230,279
Non-mortal Woundings 1,431,290
Living War Veterans (Total will be more than sum of conflicts due to no “end date” established for Persian Gulf War.) 16,962,000
Living Veterans (Periods of War and Peace) 23,234,000

Since 1979, VA’s Readjustment Counseling Service has operated Vet Centers, which provide psychological counseling for war-related trauma, community outreach, case management and referral activities, plus supportive social services to veterans and family members. There are 232 Vet Centers.

Yes you read the year right. 1979.

When you read anything on PTSD and veterans remember how long they have been "doing" something.

Congress keeps talking about the number of veterans in this country, however the VA has never had all veterans in their system.

In fiscal year 2008, VA provided $38.9 billion in disability compensation, death compensation and pension to 3.7 million people. About 3.2 million veterans received disability compensation or pension from VA. In addition, about 554,700 spouses, children and parents of deceased veterans received VA benefits. Among them are 170,144 survivors of Vietnam-era veterans and 235,000 survivors of World War II veterans.

1988....Legislation to elevate VA to Cabinet status signed by President Reagan. 1989....On March 15, VA became the 14th Department in the President's Cabinet. (Department of Veterans Affairs)

Secretaries of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki 2009 – Present
James B. Peake 2007 - 2009

Bush left a backlog of 816,211 in 2008. This was left after some veterans were just cut off in 2003. VA officials say they must focus on veterans with the greatest needs - those with the most serious service-related illnesses and injuries and those too poor to afford other health care. But many veterans - and the organizations that represent them - say it is a broken promise.

R. James Nicholson 2005–2007
Anthony J. Principi 2001–2005
Before Afghanistan and Iraq veterans required VA.

In FY 2000, more than 3.8 million patients used VA health care, over 2.6 million veterans and family members received monthly VA disability compensation payments

Clinton left a backlog of 400,000 in 2001.

Over the next 5 years, we anticipate losing over 1,100 experienced VSRs due to retirement. To avoid a skill gap, we have added a significant number of new employees and will continue to do so for the next few years. We expect our quality and timeliness will be affected as we recruit and train new employees. It takes 2 to 3 years for VSRs to achieve a full level of decision-making expertise.

We expect a significant increase in workload due to (1) the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-475, also referred to as the Duty to Assist), which requires additional duties in assisting claimants; and (2) a recent regulatory change, which makes diabetes a presumptively service-connected disability for Vietnam veterans who served in Southeast Asia. As a result, we amended our FY 2001 performance target upward from 142 days to 195 days.

Togo D. West Jr. 1998-2000
Jesse Brown 1993–1997
Edward J. Derwinski 1989–1992

It does not matter which of our elected officials are sitting in the chairs because they never take care of the men and women putting their lives on the line. Had any congress been interested in fixing the VA for all veterans since 1989 there would be no need of veterans suffering and waiting for the care that was promised. Congress forgot that the bill is not what veterans owe but is in fact what congress owes them.