Obama Draws Line On Possible Cuts To Veterans Programs. New York Times

[allan]

Obama Draws Line On Possible Cuts To Veterans Programs. New York Times

President Obama, in a “somber” speech at the American Legion national convention, “vowed…that he would not allow cuts in programs for veterans as Congress and the administration look for ways to balance the budget.” The Times adds that the President “repeated his assertion of earlier this summer that after a decade of war, it was time to turn the country’s attention to domestic prosperity. ‘It’s time to focus on nation-building here at home,’ Mr. Obama told 6,000 members of the country’s largest veterans group, who clapped politely.” AP ”Obama said the Americans who have worn the uniform since Sept. 11 have put the nation in a position of strength and have earned their place among the greatest of generations. ‘Every day for the past 10 years, these men and women have succeeded together as one American team,’ Obama said.” The AP says that “since taking office, Obama has set a course for drawing down both wars after a decade of continuous conflict,” and he “spoke of ending, not of winning, the Afghanistan war. ‘As our mission transitions from combat to support, Afghans will take responsibility for their own security, and the longest war in American history will come to a responsible end,’ he said.”

Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/09/01/top-10-veterans-stories-40/

[myround0]

OPEN YOUR EYES VETERANS...

[USNDW]

I have to say that over the last 3 years as a Veteran, I haven't seen anything improve. Claims processing time has doubled, even with the VA hiring like Starbucks 10 years ago. I haven't seen a COLA and I can assure you the cost of living has increased. My wife makes me go to the store with her, I see the utility bills. From my prespective on VA programs and I have used many of them so far, or at least tried to over the last 3 years, every time I ask a question about a benefit I am told No first, then "we are trying to reduce costs" been hearing that crap since I entered the VA program, then I get the VA rep who gives the runaround and eventually after ripping some fingernails out finally get some benefit.

In fact right now I am going through testosterone treatment. The VA wants to MAKE me get T shots which cause cancer and liver & kidney failure, among some of the milder side effects. I went to my private doc with the VA PCP recommendation and test results and he ordered the T cream. My results went from out of limits, way out of limits to the upper end of the scale within 3 weeks. I guess Morphine blockes the T generation. Anyway, I call the VA doc and then send a letter asking him to send me a recommendation for the T cream to get Fee basis to pay for it. They call me and tell me no, I have to try the shots first, BS, that is a choice, and then that the Fee basis will not cover it because they are reducing costs. I was also told a couple of months ago they stopped carrying and supplying compression hosiery because they are trying to reduce costs.

The VA budget has almost doubled since 2000, hmmmmmm, wonder what happened then. With their budget continuing to increase they are cutting health care costs?? WTF?

I hear a lot of noise from people who want your vote, then I see a whole lot of nothing once they get it. Sad to say that there are some Democratic leaders like Jim Webb, VA who are not going to run for re-election. Can you imagine, one of the biggest proponents of Veterans is going to give it up. He announced that earlier this year. I remember 2 years ago when a certain someone was talking about charging more for Tricare because "Veterans can pay more, they volunteered to serve and knew what they were getting into"

Yeah, Veterans Affairs is not a political topic.