Republicans Seek To Cut 1.3 Million Vets

[edthecynic]

Republican’s War on Veterans Benefits Continues

by Ben Krause

Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.
Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability. According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.
Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly to treat these vets, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.




Update: the cuts discussed above did not make the “markup.” Once the topic was run up the flagpole, public outcry caused the House to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the House cut spending for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by half of the requested funds from the White House. This court is one of the last resorts for veterans’ disability appeals. Meanwhile, they did allow funding for the VA to police the hand washing of its employees using RFID technology. So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve, VA employees will not have pee on their hands. At least the government contractor responsible for implementing the system will get paid.

 

[rdean]

First they want to do away with funding for the "Special Olympics" and now "Veterans?

Where is the "revenue"? Where is the "investment"? They don't have a clue on how to make money, other than sell their services to the richest millionaire or the biggest company.

Wonder how many tax cuts you can give millionaires by cutting programs that help Americans who are least able to help themselves?

 

[uscitizen]

Ahh that support for our veterans.

 

[Truthmatters]

I knew they would do this.

Every war they are all gung ho and scream about not supporting the troops right up until its time to take care of them post war.

How can anyone think like that?

This plus the false outrage about the latest personal scandal and their reaction in light of their OWN peoples "mis steps" being largely ignored makes it very hard to not think of the right as completely morally bankrupt.

 

[uscitizen]

What happened to the Dole/Albright comission on improving Veterans care? And Bush's promise to improve things?

LOL I just got negged for this factual question.

 

[rdean]

When I pointed out that when Republicans sent our young soldiers to Iraq with old and rusty equipment, then were hesitant to buy new equipment, right wingers on this very board said there wasn't time to get modern equipment. Even Rumsfeld said you have to use what you have.

Then there was John McCain who said you have to limit benefits, otherwise, soldiers won't stay in the military. No, because they will want to go to college or buy a home.

And this is the party constantly accusing Democrats of being "soft" and "unpatriotic". Too bad they were softer on Bin Laden than on our soldiers.

Oh, that's right. The current Republican party complains about about helping those from Joplin. They don't want to spend the money, not when there's a needy millionaire that needs to be taken care of. We should have been clued in by what they did after Katrina. No wonder they call the President names. To take the focus off of their destructive plans. It won't work forever.

 

[rdean]

What happened to the Dole/Albright comission on improving Veterans care? And Bush's promise to improve things?

LOL I just got negged for this factual question.

Rumsfeld to GIs’ families: I’m not Santa Claus
Secretary of Defense responds to criticism over extending Iraq deployments (no wonder the press was barred)

Rumsfeld: I

Complaints Of Soldier Who Confronted Rumsfeld

President Bush told reporters Thursday that he sympathizes with the concerns of Tennessee National Guard Spc. Thomas Wilson, who confronted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday during a question and answer session after a rally in Kuwait.

Wilson drew applause from the 2,000 troops who attended the rally when he asked Rumsfeld while troops in Kuwait awaiting deployment to Iraq "have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles? And why don't
we have those resources readily available to us?"

----------------------------------------------

Republicans say, "But those are the guys we elected into office to express our views, they don't really express our views".

 

[edthecynic]

What happened to the Dole/Albright comission on improving Veterans care? And Bush's promise to improve things?

LOL I just got negged for this factual question.

I got negged for my OP, and the Veteran hating coward couldn't even say why!!!

 

[Warrior102]

The Congressional Budget Office's "Budget Options, Volume 1, Health Care" that contains this "Option 35" was released in December 2008. Who was running Congress then?

 

[The Rabbi]

Republican’s War on Veterans Benefits Continues

by Ben Krause

Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.
Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability. According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.
Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly to treat these vets, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.




Update: the cuts discussed above did not make the “markup.” Once the topic was run up the flagpole, public outcry caused the House to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the House cut spending for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by half of the requested funds from the White House. This court is one of the last resorts for veterans’ disability appeals. Meanwhile, they did allow funding for the VA to police the hand washing of its employees using RFID technology. So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve, VA employees will not have pee on their hands. At least the government contractor responsible for implementing the system will get paid.

Right on! And people claimed the GOP wouldn't do anything worthwhile. I guess they were wrong. Go Boehner! Go Bachmann!

 

[Anachronism]

I've got a brilliant idea..... How about we put all that money back in the VA budget by taking it out of places it REALLY shouldn't be.....

HUD, Education, Welfare, Social Security, Foreign Aid, Domestic Disaster Aid, etc....

 

[Seawytch]

I've got a brilliant idea..... How about we put all that money back in the VA budget by taking it out of places it REALLY shouldn't be.....

HUD, Education, Welfare, Social Security, Foreign Aid, Domestic Disaster Aid, etc....

Better yet, how about we just cut oil subsidies. That should just about do it eh?

 

[shintao]

The Congressional Budget Office's "Budget Options, Volume 1, Health Care" that contains this "Option 35" was released in December 2008. Who was running Congress then?

Are we short on rope, or tree limbs?

 

[shintao]

I've got a brilliant idea..... How about we put all that money back in the VA budget by taking it out of places it REALLY shouldn't be.....

HUD, Education, Welfare, Social Security, Foreign Aid, Domestic Disaster Aid, etc....

I find it interesting we can talk about the retiring generations, but never a thought of our returning troops. You can either afford them or you can't.

Now we have Republican Paul Ryan identified, the black sheep of the VA. I say it is an unfair call, as he isn't the only unpatriotic bastard considering this from both sides of the isle.

But he will do to examine what is going through these bastards minds. He is no veteran, never fought for his country, was never taken down with chemicals or wounds, lost an arm or a face. Yes, he had other things to do, like cut veteran benefits. He is the first one to defend himself with, "Well they volunteered."

Name fucking names!!! Here is an example of the devil bastards in their details. If you are a veteran you get no dental care, or least that was the case about 8 years ago. BUT there is an exception, IF your were a POW you get dental care. BUT there is a devilish exception. IF you were captured, tortured, beaten, teeth broke out, BUT you managed to escape within 45 days,................Well then, no soup for you. Here the guy manages to escape, but he just didn't stay around to be tortured, pissed on, fucked in the ass, etc., he gets no dental care just like the office clerk who served at home on a military base.

It is that devil in the details thinking that comes from minds like the Paul Patriots in Congress. And they undermine VA benefits every chance they get, every time opportunity presents itself.

 

[The Rabbi]

I've got a brilliant idea..... How about we put all that money back in the VA budget by taking it out of places it REALLY shouldn't be.....

HUD, Education, Welfare, Social Security, Foreign Aid, Domestic Disaster Aid, etc....

Better yet, how about we just cut oil subsidies. That should just about do it eh?

What "oil subsidies" would that be?


SO the proposal is to stop treating people who aren't sick. Why would anyone object to that?

 

[WillowTree]

Republican’s War on Veterans Benefits Continues

by Ben Krause

Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.
Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability. According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.
Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly to treat these vets, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.




Update: the cuts discussed above did not make the “markup.” Once the topic was run up the flagpole, public outcry caused the House to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the House cut spending for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by half of the requested funds from the White House. This court is one of the last resorts for veterans’ disability appeals. Meanwhile, they did allow funding for the VA to police the hand washing of its employees using RFID technology. So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve, VA employees will not have pee on their hands. At least the government contractor responsible for implementing the system will get paid.

A. You didn't cry a fucking tear when obie doodle stole 960 Billion dollars from medicare. Did ya?

 

[Anachronism]

I find it interesting we can talk about the retiring generations, but never a thought of our returning troops. You can either afford them or you can't.

shintao, WE, the American People, made a promise to these men and women; that we would support them and provide them with appropriate medical care for injuries and illnesses which they now have due to their VOLUNTARY SERVICE to the American People and the United States of America.

On the other hand, there is ZERO Constitutional basis for welfare, medicare, medicaid, social security, or tons of other programs and expenditures that we spent untold amounts of money on every year.

Everyone gets old. That's a fact of life. If one choses (like me), not to prepare for it financially; then one should face the consequences of doing so. Not everyone chooses to serve, and nobody CHOOSES to undertake the pain and other results of an injury suffered in the line of duty for this country. If you cannot see the differnce between those two things, then I'm not sure we have any basis for a conversation here.

As for who gets what.... My father received a 10% VA Disability check for exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam. When he got melanoma in 1998 he contacted the VA and was told that his type of Cancer wasn't on the list of AO-related issues. Even though that's WRONG, it was probably a good thing, since the care he received from his own private health insurance was probably better than what the VA would have given him.

 

[Trajan]

Republican’s War on Veterans Benefits Continues

by Ben Krause

Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.
Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability. According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.
Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly to treat these vets, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.




Update: the cuts discussed above did not make the “markup.” Once the topic was run up the flagpole, public outcry caused the House to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the House cut spending for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by half of the requested funds from the White House. This court is one of the last resorts for veterans’ disability appeals. Meanwhile, they did allow funding for the VA to police the hand washing of its employees using RFID technology. So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve, VA employees will not have pee on their hands. At least the government contractor responsible for implementing the system will get paid.

this article is red meat trash.

end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability.

I have a service related injury and was re-classified several times due its improvement in that it no longer impairs me, there fore, I no longer require treatment. It is their right to do so as I was, after examinations shown and a board approved my new classification.

read the above again, like no service related disability....what is hard to understand here?

If they don't have a health care issue resulting in inability to work, they would not be classified 7 or 8 to start with.

And I see the author played the agent orange card. Pavlov, meet dog.

So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve,

so his argument is with who?

The doctors who did not give them the rating they think they deserve?

What does that have to do with this? IF they don’t have the rating they WON’T BE EFFECTED, becasue they weren't getting anything anyway...…hello…

 

[Trajan]

Better yet, how about we just cut oil subsidies. That should just about do it eh?

What "oil subsidies" would that be?


SO the proposal is to stop treating people who aren't sick. Why would anyone object to that?

This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.

its like you dont bother reading ever.

and you're inability top grasp simple logic is , well frightening...again-

This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure,

so, their argument is with who?

 

[Sallow]

I've got a brilliant idea..... How about we put all that money back in the VA budget by taking it out of places it REALLY shouldn't be.....

HUD, Education, Welfare, Social Security, Foreign Aid, Domestic Disaster Aid, etc....

Better yet, how about we just cut oil subsidies. That should just about do it eh?

Or funding the IRS properly so they can collect the billions in unpaid taxes!