Active Duty
- Bush Budget Cut Millions From Education Funds For Military Children
Bush's 2004 budget cut $200 million from Impact Aid, a program that helps
military children receive a quality education. The military portion of Impact
Aid would fall in Bush's budget from $635 to $435 million. Bush tried to cut
$3 million from Impact Aid in 2003 as well. [House Appropriations Committee,
Minority Staff, 6/17/03, 6/16/03; Washington Post, 6/17/03; Omaha World
Herald, 2/5/02; State News Service, 2/4/02]
“As Marines, we take the short end of the stick in many ways,” said Col. James
Lowe, commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. “But when it comes to our
children, we’re very intolerant about them being shortchanged.” -
Army Times
Nov 11, 2003
- Objected To Extending Full Benefits To Part Time Reservists
A bipartisan Senate push to extend benefits to part time reservists has met
stiff resistance by the Bush Administration. In July 2003, "Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld sent a letter to House and Senate leaders stating the
Bush Administration's opposition to" legislation that would extend full
benefits to part-time military reservists.
A Pentagon memo dated July 26, 2003 revealed that the Bush Administration
would veto any Defense appropriation request that included the benefits. The
legislation is strongly supported by the National Guard Association, the
Adjutants General Association, and Enlisted Association of the National Guard.
[Office of Senator Tom Daschle, 7/14/03; Army Times, 8/13/03;
http://www.ngaus.org/newsroom/Sec%20523%20Letter.pdf]
- Servicemen Denied Child Tax Credit
Nearly one in five children of active-duty U.S. military families won't
benefit from the increased tax credit signed last week by President Bush
because their parents earn too little to qualify -
USAToday Jun 4,2003
It is offensive to say to the people of this Nation that we can afford to give
huge tax credits to millionaires, but cannot come up with a few hundred
dollars to help low-income military families who have sacrificed so much and
need this money the most. -
House Debate Jun 4,
2003
Veterans Affairs
- Bush VA Spending Fails To Grow With Health Care Costs
Despite Bush's claims, "the annual percentage increase it requested for
veterans' health care is 5.4 percent -- hardly a windfall considering that the
consumer price index for medical care was 13 percent during fiscal year 2002.
VA officials have testified that it would take a 13 to 14 percent hike in the
VA's health care budget just to maintain the status quo." [Rep. Lane Evans
(D-IL) Op-Ed, The Hill, 9/17/03]
- Veterans Forced To Wait Months For Initial Visits to VA Doctors
At least 230,000 veterans are being forced to wait over six months for their
initial visit to a doctor at the VA medical facilities. In some parts of the
country veterans are waiting nearly two years for those visits. Bush's VA
Secretary Anthony Principi has acknowledged the danger in these delays,
stating "I'm concerned [the delays are] causing quality to be degraded."
The "Independent Budget," an analysis of the VA budget provided by veterans
groups, has said "The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system is in
critical condition." Meanwhile, the Bush administration opposed a Senate
addition to the Iraq supplemental bill that would have added $1.3 billion to
veterans' health care. [Air Force Magazine, 10/02; http://www.pva.org/independentbudget/pdf/IB_04excsum.pdf;
OMB Director Joshua Bolton to Rep. David Obey (D-WI), 10/21/03]
- Bush Administration Is Closing Seven Veterans Hospitals
In early August 2003, the Bush administration announced it was closing
hospitals in its efforts to "restructure" the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The administration is closing hospitals in:
Canandaigua, N.Y.
Pittsburgh
Lexington, Ky.
Brecksville, Ohio
Gulfport, Miss.
Livermore, Calif.
Waco, Tex.
Joy Ilem, assistant national legislative director for Disabled American
Veterans, "questioned the need for closures and other cutbacks. 'Everyone is
aware of the difficulty VA has meeting demand,' Ilem said. 'When we have
hundreds of thousands of veterans on waiting lists (for medical appointments),
we don't want to see facilities closed due to fiscal problems.'" There are
currently 163 VA hospitals in the US. [Associated Press, 8/4/03, 10/28/03;
Department of Veterans Affairs]
In mid-August, as Bush vacationed in Texas, a thousand veterans and supporters
rallied in Waco, Texas to protest the closing of that VA hospital. The
protestors met at the Waco School District football stadium parking lot "for a
rally before driving the 22 miles to Crawford," where Bush was vacationing.
"Veterans of Foreign Wars State Commander Ron Hornsby told the stadium crowd
that the VA commissioner looking at closing hospitals could harm veterans all
across the country, not just in Waco. 'We can never repay the veterans -- we
hear those words a lot,' Hornsby said. 'At times like this, those words become
very hollow, very meaningless.'" More than 1,500 vets joined a similar October
rally to protest a VA closing in New York. [San Antonio Express-News, 8/17/03;
Associated Press, 10/20/03, 10/28/03]
- Bush Proposed Doubling Costs Of Prescription Drugs For Veterans
This year Bush proposed increasing prescription drugs costs for veterans. The
Bush plan would have included a new $250 enrollment fee and a co pay increase
from $7 to $15 for veterans earning over $24,000. On July 21, the House
Appropriations Committee agreed to a Democratic amendment to reject the Bush
fee increases and recoup the $264 million in costs by reducing administrative
funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. [Reuters, 7/14/03; Washington
Post, 7/22/03]
- Bush Decided To Cut Benefits For Middle-Income Veterans
On January 16, 2003, the Bush Administration announced it would cut access to
health care benefits for 160,000 middle-income veterans due to budget
constraints. John Pettyjohn, an Oklahoma veteran who served in Vietnam, said
of the cuts, "On one hand, we're sending our sons and daughters out to war and
possibly to die, yet on the other hand we're punishing a certain class of
veterans who've made money in their lives. The government made a promise to
us. What they're doing now is wrong." [Associated Press, 1/16/03; The Daily
Oklahoman, 1/18/03]
Servicemen Denied Child Tax Credit
- Nearly one in five children of active-duty U.S. military families won't
benefit from the increased tax credit signed last week by President Bush
because their parents earn too little to qualify -
USAToday Jun 4,2003
- It is offensive to say to the people of this Nation that we can afford to
give huge tax credits to millionaires, but cannot come up with a few hundred
dollars to help low-income military families who have sacrificed so much and
need this money the most. -
House Debate Jun 4,
2003
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