Vfw Will Defeat Bachmann Plan

[allan]

fwd from: Colonel Dan

VFW Will Defeat Bachmann Plan

WASHINGTON (January 28, 2011) — America's oldest and largest major combat veterans' organization announced it will do everything within its power to defeat a plan introduced by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to cut $4.5 billion from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"No way, no how, will we let this proposal get any traction in Congress," said Richard L. Eubank, the national commander of the 2.1 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.

On her website, the three-term congresswoman lists more than $400 billion in suggestions to cut federal spending. The VA suggestion would cap increases to VA healthcare spending, and reduce disability compensation to account for Social Security Disability Insurance payments — in other words, an offset. She says her plan is intended to generate discussion.

"The only discussion the VFW wants is to tell the congresswoman that her plan is totally out of step with America's commitment to our veterans," said Eubank, a retired Marine and Vietnam combat veteran from Eugene, Ore.

"There are certain things you do not do when our nation is at war, and at the top of that list is not caring for our wounded and disabled servicemen and women when they return home," he said. "I want the congresswoman to join us in a tour of the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and Poly Trauma Center the next time she's in her home district to witness firsthand the great work the VA does every day to heal their wounds and ease their pain. Then I want her to look those disabled veterans in the eye and tell them their service and sacrifice is too expensive for the nation to bear.

"The day this nation can't afford to take care of her veterans is the day this nation should quit creating them," said Eubank.

-30-

"Keep on, Keepin' on"

Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"

See my web site at:

http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

[robert51]

how about all the money the US spends on military in germany, korea, japan, philippines,, money to mexico and columbia and every other country that wants a hand out..

[COOL BREEZE]

how about all the money the US spends on military in germany, korea, japan, philippines,, money to mexico and columbia and every other country that wants a hand out..

The voice has been heard. Due to the enormous amount of feed back; back lash from all Veterans groups, she has dropped this proposal of trying to use the VA to reduce the deficit. This was posted on face book as well. I get all updates from DAV on my face book page.

[Pete53]

Although I know I sounded cold and heartless in an earlier post, I will say a couple of more things. For so many years people would tell me the old..."if I had stayed in I could retire now.. Most, in reality could not endure the poor, substandard living conditions, nor the abusive environment and jumped ship as soon as they could. At least, among those receiving gov't funds, disabled vets have "earned" theirs. Cannot say whether all are real or true, but the disabled have earned their pensions. Chronic pain is never easy to measure.

I remember seeing a special on 60 Minutes or something about a family in Mississippi that had too many kids and the parents had taught them to act like imbeciles/idiots so as to receive SSD for the children. The parents were receiving about a grand a month for the kids. When they turned 18, the $$ stopped and the parents kicked the kids out of the house- with no education and no way to earn a living because they did not go to school (because they were "disabled"). The disabled vet will be in competition with these kind of folks for gov't spending. Them and the aged immigrants who have no money and no pensions who are allowed to immigrate to the land of "free money." I was never asked whether opening these floodgates of spending were good and the politicians that I voted for to say "NO" to this spending did not win too often (go figure.)

I also think that the disabled vet will spend his pension a lot more effectively than ANY congressional politician who have a skill for throwing good money after bad.

The real question is how does the energy to fight a Michelle Bachmann turn into a force that demands the gov't be accountable for all that it spends and to make the gov't a wise steward of our resources. I know I have seen far more idle employees standing around NOT working in VA Medical Centers than in commercially run outfits. I have seen VA employee Shop Stewards and employee parking near the entry doors where parking for severely disabled SHOULD be.

The VA is paying millions for SOLAR panels at medical centers - some in real nice locations...like cloudy and cold Connecticut, in areas that they will NEVER have a payback..but the installations are payback of another, political sort. There probably are significant cuts that can be made at the VA medical level, of course we never see the stats or numbers but we will cry aloud if anyone says to "cut:"

I think Michelle Bachmann is not the problem. The problem is runaway gov't spending. After I retires, I went to college under the Vocational Rehab plan. In one of my required Social Studies classes, teh teacher was outlining how wonderful gov't spending was so progressive and with each program she spoke about the young kids were nodding their heads up and down saying "yes, yes" like it was a great idea. When I raised my hand and asked who was going to pay for all of the gov't spending required to bestow these wonderful benefits to the masses I was the bad guy! I guess I still am.

I was drafted in 1968 sent 600 miles from home and separated from my family. I was going to College, working my way through in Texas, my wife was pregnant. We had to give up our home my income went from 600 to 92 bucks plus uncle Sam kicked in 40.

Because I was gone and wife could not work maternity benefits were piss poor and my wife's Doctor did not accept the crappy government insurance neither did the hospital we went through about 10,000 dollars of money we had saved together.

When our troops were deployed to Iraq I saw news reports that many of the enlisted families were on food stamps. Surprise it was same in my time.

They could double our benefits and I don't think it would make up for sacrifices made over the years,

I am conservative as I do feel that our government should cut all corporate welfare and subsidies to people or foreign governments till we get back on a pay as we go. There should be no deductions or tax loopholes and yes the taxes should be raised to pay off war debt and government tax cuts to rich.

And yes I think everyone should pay taxes except on VA benefits. Can someone explain to me how Warren Buffet's secretary pays more income tax than Warren does or how President Nixon paid less tax on his come in 1972 than I did on my Adjusted Gross Income of 39,000?

I do believe that there is also something wrong that our major corporations and foreign ones do not pay taxes when they earn most of their profits here. I wish that US would tax any product extra that is not made in US. A lot extra, if you buy a Japanese TV the tax should be 100% till we catch up. Or a car a truck or computer.

[john999]

The tax rate on capital gains is 15%. This is how Warren Buffet gets his money. He sells his losing stock for a capital loss and his winning stocks for a gain and they offset each other so he pays no tax except on what is left after deductions. In the last 30 years the median income for American families has not changed when inflation is considered. The income has increased ten fold for the top 5% of Americans while they pay less tax. Nobody who graduates from Harvard or Yale enlists in the Army infantry. They enlist at a hedge fund on Wall Street. The people who have benefited least from our system are asked to sacrifice their bodies and minds while those have gained the most sacrifice nothing. We will be like Egypt soon.

[allan]

Subject: DAV News Release - Rep. Bachmann Drops Veterans Budget Cut Proposal Amid DAV PressureDate: Feb 4, 2011 1:06 PMAfter the Disabled American Veterans and other groups sharply criticized a scheme to cut $4.5 billion from veterans health care and disability compensation, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has removed the controversial proposal from her Web site. In recent days, Bachmann has received thousands of phone calls, emails, and Facebook posts calling on her to back away from the proposals to severely cut essential veterans programs. Bachmann’s press release is available on here

Web site here: http://bachmann.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=223583. “We are pleased that Rep. Bachmann has come to realize that such drastic cuts to veterans health care and disability compensation would have severe negative consequences for veterans who rely on these programs, particularly disabled veterans,” DAV Washington Headquarters Executive Director David W. Gorman said. “We hope to work with her and others to ensure that any efforts to balance the federal budget must first ensure that we fulfill our obligations to care for the men and women who have been injured and disabled while defending this nation,” he said. In a Jan. 28 news release, the DAV had called the ill-advised, unconscionable proposal “nothing short of heartless” and vowed that America’s sick and disabled veterans would not sit idly by while their earned health care and disability benefits are threatened. “Any proposal to freeze VA health care funding would not only freeze out sick and disabled veterans seeking care, it would also end up costing the federal government even more money,” Gorman said. Independent studies have shown the VA system provides safe, high quality health care at an average cost that is less than Medicare, Medicaid or the private sector. “With the number of veterans seeking health care rising, the effect of a freeze would be to either block enrollment of veterans, many of them just returning from battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, or to ration care to currently enrolled veterans, including disabled veterans who have relied on VA dating back to World War II,” Gorman said.

[sawgunner]

I thouhgt we were not allowed to discuss politics??????????

I once mentined in a thread something about a certian leader who had abandoned vets and was shot down for it real fast.

But I do see a pattern here.

I suppose whats good for the goose is not for the gander.