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Censored for Cynicism
- Oct 20, 2008
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the treatment of veterans returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan has been a national disgrace, highlighted most dramatically by the neglect and substandard care given wounded troops at Walter Reed and other military hospitals.
The budget increases that have occurred mostly were enacted over Bushs opposition or related to the fact that injuries from the Iraq War far exceeded the administrations rosy projections in early 2003. The Bush team especially underestimated how many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder to anticipate as well as the number of brain injuries, which have been endemic to the Iraq War where insurgents made effective use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Before Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, documents released by the Department of Veterans Affairs said it expected a maximum of 8,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, according to a study released last year by the RAND Institute, there are more than 320,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars suffering from major depression, PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury. The report found that the VA has been and continues to be ill-equipped to deal with these cases when soldiers return from combat, especially after multiple tours.
An Army task force last year also found major flaws in the way the VA treated and cared for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
Bushs Record on VA Funding
For his part, Bush stacked the VA with political cronies, such as former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson, who as VA Secretary defended a budget measure that sought major cuts in staffing for healthcare and at the Board of Veterans Appeals; slashed funding for nursing home care; and blocked four legislative measures aimed at streamlining the backlog of veterans benefits claims.
Of the 84,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by VA, only half, about 42,000, had their disability claim approved by VA. Instead of expediting PTSD claims, Bush's political appointees at VA actively fought against mental health claims.
Bush's appointees also obstructed scientific research into the causes of Gulf War illnesses dating back 18 years to Operation Desert Storm and opposed medical research on treatment for 210,000 of those veterans.
As for funding, Bush proposed a 0.5 percent budget increase for the VA for fiscal year 2006, which amounted to a cruel mockery of Bushs promises to do everything to support veterans and soldiers, Rep. Lane Evans, D-Illinois, said at the time.
Evans called Bushs proposed budget increase for the VA grossly inadequate, saying it would force the VA to ration healthcare to veterans.
VA officials had testified in 2005 that the agency needed at least a 13 percent increase to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of war veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and others who needed long-term mental health care.
In early 2007, the Washington Post put a spotlight on the human consequences resulting from the combination of Bushs wars and the budget squeeze.
The Post published a series of articles documenting the substandard conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which is located only 4.7 miles from the White House. Wounded vets were housed in rooms with moldy walls, leaky plumage and an infestation of vermin, underscoring how out of touch Bush had become regarding the nations veterans.
In response to complaints that some veterans under VA care were being neglected, Nicholson said in March 2007 that such cases were anecdotal exceptions.
When you are treating so many people there is always going to be a linen towel left somewhere, he said.
In May 2007, the AP revealed that while Nicholson was pinching pennies on treatment costs and coping with a $1.3 billion budget shortfall, he awarded $3.8 million in bonuses to top executives in fiscal 2006″ many as much as $33,000.
Simultaneously, Bush was resisting congressional efforts to beef up the VAs budget. In May 2007, Bush threatened to veto legislation that sought a 10 percent$3.2 billionincrease, calling it too expensive. Bush proposed a 2 percent increase, far below what lawmakers and VA officials said was needed to treat a dramatic increase in traumatic brain injury and PTSD cases.
After Congress passed the legislation with the higher VA spending, Bush backed down on his veto threat but that was largely due to the fact that every Republican in the Senate with the exception of Jim DeMint of South Carolina, supported the measure.
Amid the growing scandals about substandard VA treatment and inept management, Nicholson resigned in July 2007.
Suicide Epidemic
Even after Nicholsons resignation, the Department of Veterans Affairs continued to be buffeted by scandals, including a cover-up in an epidemic of veterans suicides and attempted suicides.
Last year, internal VA e-mails surfaced that showed how top agency officials tried to conceal the information from the public about the sudden increase in suicides and attempted suicides among veterans that were treated or sought help at VA hospitals around the country.
And last November, internal watchdogs discovered 500 benefits claims in shredding bins at the 41 of the 57 regional VA offices around the country.
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a veterans advocacy group that sued the VA in federal court, said attempts by the White House to portray Bush as an advocate for veterans is beyond shameful.
Bush is the worst failure for our veterans since Hoover, Sullivan said, expressing shock that the President would shamefully continue his legacy of lies to the American people as he and his political cronies are forced to leave office on Jan. 20.
Sullivan disputed some of Bushs claims as misleading, such as the assertion that he doubled funding for the VA. However, President Bush failed to disclose that the number of veterans seeking VA healthcare doubled, from 2.7 million to 5.5 million, and that rising healthcare inflation actually resulted in a net decrease in spending per veteran by VA during the past eight years, he said.
If not for the intervention of Congress to substantially increase VA funding beyond Bush's inadequate budget requests, especially in the past two years, the situation would have deteriorated from a serious crisis to a catastrophe at VA.
Read much more:
Consortiumnews.com
The budget increases that have occurred mostly were enacted over Bushs opposition or related to the fact that injuries from the Iraq War far exceeded the administrations rosy projections in early 2003. The Bush team especially underestimated how many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder to anticipate as well as the number of brain injuries, which have been endemic to the Iraq War where insurgents made effective use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Before Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, documents released by the Department of Veterans Affairs said it expected a maximum of 8,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, according to a study released last year by the RAND Institute, there are more than 320,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars suffering from major depression, PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury. The report found that the VA has been and continues to be ill-equipped to deal with these cases when soldiers return from combat, especially after multiple tours.
An Army task force last year also found major flaws in the way the VA treated and cared for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
Bushs Record on VA Funding
For his part, Bush stacked the VA with political cronies, such as former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson, who as VA Secretary defended a budget measure that sought major cuts in staffing for healthcare and at the Board of Veterans Appeals; slashed funding for nursing home care; and blocked four legislative measures aimed at streamlining the backlog of veterans benefits claims.
Of the 84,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by VA, only half, about 42,000, had their disability claim approved by VA. Instead of expediting PTSD claims, Bush's political appointees at VA actively fought against mental health claims.
Bush's appointees also obstructed scientific research into the causes of Gulf War illnesses dating back 18 years to Operation Desert Storm and opposed medical research on treatment for 210,000 of those veterans.
As for funding, Bush proposed a 0.5 percent budget increase for the VA for fiscal year 2006, which amounted to a cruel mockery of Bushs promises to do everything to support veterans and soldiers, Rep. Lane Evans, D-Illinois, said at the time.
Evans called Bushs proposed budget increase for the VA grossly inadequate, saying it would force the VA to ration healthcare to veterans.
VA officials had testified in 2005 that the agency needed at least a 13 percent increase to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of war veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and others who needed long-term mental health care.
In early 2007, the Washington Post put a spotlight on the human consequences resulting from the combination of Bushs wars and the budget squeeze.
The Post published a series of articles documenting the substandard conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which is located only 4.7 miles from the White House. Wounded vets were housed in rooms with moldy walls, leaky plumage and an infestation of vermin, underscoring how out of touch Bush had become regarding the nations veterans.
In response to complaints that some veterans under VA care were being neglected, Nicholson said in March 2007 that such cases were anecdotal exceptions.
When you are treating so many people there is always going to be a linen towel left somewhere, he said.
In May 2007, the AP revealed that while Nicholson was pinching pennies on treatment costs and coping with a $1.3 billion budget shortfall, he awarded $3.8 million in bonuses to top executives in fiscal 2006″ many as much as $33,000.
Simultaneously, Bush was resisting congressional efforts to beef up the VAs budget. In May 2007, Bush threatened to veto legislation that sought a 10 percent$3.2 billionincrease, calling it too expensive. Bush proposed a 2 percent increase, far below what lawmakers and VA officials said was needed to treat a dramatic increase in traumatic brain injury and PTSD cases.
After Congress passed the legislation with the higher VA spending, Bush backed down on his veto threat but that was largely due to the fact that every Republican in the Senate with the exception of Jim DeMint of South Carolina, supported the measure.
Amid the growing scandals about substandard VA treatment and inept management, Nicholson resigned in July 2007.
Suicide Epidemic
Even after Nicholsons resignation, the Department of Veterans Affairs continued to be buffeted by scandals, including a cover-up in an epidemic of veterans suicides and attempted suicides.
Last year, internal VA e-mails surfaced that showed how top agency officials tried to conceal the information from the public about the sudden increase in suicides and attempted suicides among veterans that were treated or sought help at VA hospitals around the country.
And last November, internal watchdogs discovered 500 benefits claims in shredding bins at the 41 of the 57 regional VA offices around the country.
Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a veterans advocacy group that sued the VA in federal court, said attempts by the White House to portray Bush as an advocate for veterans is beyond shameful.
Bush is the worst failure for our veterans since Hoover, Sullivan said, expressing shock that the President would shamefully continue his legacy of lies to the American people as he and his political cronies are forced to leave office on Jan. 20.
Sullivan disputed some of Bushs claims as misleading, such as the assertion that he doubled funding for the VA. However, President Bush failed to disclose that the number of veterans seeking VA healthcare doubled, from 2.7 million to 5.5 million, and that rising healthcare inflation actually resulted in a net decrease in spending per veteran by VA during the past eight years, he said.
If not for the intervention of Congress to substantially increase VA funding beyond Bush's inadequate budget requests, especially in the past two years, the situation would have deteriorated from a serious crisis to a catastrophe at VA.
Read much more:
Consortiumnews.com
