The Bush Record on Veterans Affairs

[Secretariat]

Bush compromised on the Disabled Veterans Tax, leaving 400,000 veterans to pay the tax.

Bush gave illegal immigrants free health care, all the while he was cutting off veterans' benefits.

Bush failed to make sure that our troops being deployed in Iraq had proper equipment. Result: soldiers are wearing 30-year-old body armor---Vietnam vintage.

Bush sought to roll back increases in imminent danger pay from $225 to $150 a month, and family separation allowance (for families of soldiers away from home) from $250 to $100 a month.

Bush's budget meant the closing of 8,000 nursing homes nationwide. This will exclude 500,000 veterans from the VA health care system by 2005.

Bush has done nothing to shorten the long waits at VA hospitals, and nothing about the veterans who are paying record amounts of out-of-pocket expenses for VA health services.

Overall, the White House budget falls $4.1 billion short of veterans needs, according to budget analyses by leading non-partisan veterans groups.

As one prominent Senator put it: "Is this the same president who ran for election with the pledge to veterans that 'help is on the way?' These men and women risked their lives to defend our own. They stood up for us, now we must stand up for them."

[lsbets]

Sec, you are almost as dishonest as Kerry. First, this seems like the days talking points from the DNC. Second, the point about body armor is an out and out lie. We have gone over this in exhaustive detail before. Your post talks present tense, and that is simply untrue - and you know it to be untrue. I would make two requests of you Sec:

1) Please stop lying to try and shore up support for Kerry. It is highly disingenuous and only serves to diminish what respect people might have for you as a person, and

2) Don't drag those of us serving into Iraq into your little posts. We want no part of your silly games. My pay is substantially higher now than under the last CINC, high enough that my wife has not suffered financially (too much) when I was recalled to active duty.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Both parties have been bad about VA bennies- VA groups are chartered by the Feds so they are yellow to demand more.
If vets do not demand more, they will keep getting screwed by all of them.
I have been a disabled vet since 1988.
I worked at a thrift shop in 1975 when Cleland ran Paralyzed Veterans of America- word was he did a lousy job.

[JustRalph]

can PA put in a "redirect" that would just take us to the DNC website everytime we want to read a post by Sec?

[Secretariat]

Originally posted by lsbets
Sec, you are almost as dishonest as Kerry. First, this seems like the days talking points from the DNC. Second, the point about body armor is an out and out lie. We have gone over this in exhaustive detail before. Your post talks present tense, and that is simply untrue - and you know it to be untrue. I would make two requests of you Sec:

1) Please stop lying to try and shore up support for Kerry. It is highly disingenuous and only serves to diminish what respect people might have for you as a person, and

2) Don't drag those of us serving into Iraq into your little posts. We want no part of your silly games. My pay is substantially higher now than under the last CINC, high enough that my wife has not suffered financially (too much) when I was recalled to active duty.

Isbets,

Go to a VA hospital and talk to their staff if you don't believe me.
As to the body armor, it took months before adequate body armor was in place. Yes, we went over this and yes they have it now, but the war began in March 2003 without proper preparation in regards to BA.

I'm not trying to get you to support Kerry. both you and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I just don't want others who mgiht be on the fence to buy into some perception that Bush has done a lot for Vets. He's done nothing for them.

[schweitz]

Bush's 2005 Budget increases the VA by 20 billion which means VA spending will have increased more in 4 years than the previous 8 years.

[Secretariat]

Here’s what Bush has done for vets Schweitz,

Another Vets’s perspective:

http://www.opednews.com/boyne_060104..._screw_job.htm

And from the vets for justice website:

http://www.vetsforjustice.com/News.htm

Bush’s record in a non-election year:

http://www.todaysseniorsnetwork.com/..._vets_spar.htm

Kerry’s plans to help vets:

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/veterans/

[JustRalph]

Originally posted by schweitz
Bush's 2005 Budget increases the VA by 20 billion which means VA spending will have increased more in 4 years than the previous 8 years.

Funny how the DNC forgets that one.

Speaking of Vets and uniforms etc.........

I heard a Columbus Ohio Cop on the local radio station today. they were doing a show about meeting famous people. this guy has met every president since Ford , on visits to Columbus. He related how Clinton Despised the cops and would only wave at them getting on the plane. refused to take pictures etc.

When asked who the most charismatic President was, he responded, "the two Bush's" When asked why, he said that both of them had great respect for the People who wear uniforms around them. He said Clinton was "kind of dull" unless there was a lady in the area who he was trying to impress, or there were camera's around. He said that G.W. sought them out even before he was elected. He spends time with them every time he comes to town and treats them very well. He also said that the Senior Bush was very Charismatic in that he could walk into a room and speak on any subject. He said he has great knowledge about many subjects. It makes you wonder how the media distorts things...............

[schweitz]

Sec, your vetsforjustice site is a hoot---you should scroll down and see what they have to say about John Kerry.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally posted by schweitz
Sec, your vetsforjustice site is a hoot---you should scroll down and see what they have to say about John Kerry.

I'll make it easy with a brief clip from the very site Secretariat quoted:

Nancy Pelosi the Democratic Leader

and Senator John Kerry Presidential Hopeful

ARE LYING TO VETERANS !

Most of us receive those e-mail ads from Nancy Pelosi, and John Kerry, claiming that they support Veterans Issues. They say they are introducing this bill, or that, to solve injustices towards Veterans.

But what do they do when Veterans actually go to them seeking help? We put them to the test!

We contacted Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and John Kerry, and gave them solid evidence of massive corruption in the Saint Petersburg Regional Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and we asked for their help cleaning up the corruption.

To make sure Nancy Pelosi, and John Kerry, could not lie, and claim they did not receive our requests for help we contacted them by U.S. Mail, and Faxed the same requests for assistance, and evidence, to each of their many offices.

Neither Nancy Pelosi or John Kerry responded!

Both are blatant liars! They could care less about Veterans. They only want to defraud Veterans out of their vote.

[lsbets]

Sec,

If you had said that when we first invaded Iraq not all troops had the new Interceptor Body Armor, I could not have disagreed with you. But, you said:

"Bush failed to make sure that our troops being deployed in Iraq had proper equipment. Result: soldiers are wearing 30-year-old body armor---Vietnam vintage."

A small English lesson. Being deployed and are wearing are present tense verbs. Present tense means now, and you knew that to be a lie when you posted it. Nothing but pure disinigenuous partisanship.

When I left active duty, in Nov 1999, I was in the 4th Infantry Division. At the time we were testing and deploying the newest and best equipment for the Army of the future. We never heard of the Interceptor Body Armor. Five years later every soldier in a combat zone has the body armor and it has proven to be highly effective. In 1999 we were using the old Vietnam era flak vests. Why didn't our Commander in Chief in 1999 ensure that the Army was deploying the best body armor in the world to protect our soldiers? I'd say the Army has come a long way in the last 5 years. Personally, I think Bush, Rumsfeld, et al have done an outstanding job getting new equipment fielded and out to the troops. Its a lot better than when I wanted to take some of my soldiers back to the M-16 range in 1999 because they needed to improve their marksmanship and I was told we didn't have the budget for the bullets.

[Secretariat]

So PA you then agree with the comments they made about Bush as well. They seem non-partisan. Why not post their statements about Bush?

[Secretariat]

Isbets,

I respect your service, but you're missing my point.

Rumsfield, Bush and Wolfowitz co-ordinated our soldiers to go into a war which was based on "pre-emption", not a "retaliatory action".

By the Bush adminstration's own words, they never used the word "imminent". If that is the case, what was the urgency of putting soldiers into this type of action without the best and latest armor available, because it was available, and could have been quickly mass produced. Wouldn't it have been better to have made sure soldiers were equipped with the best before going into a country that by the administrations own admission stated "we never said Iraq was an iminent threat".

What's done is done. I just don't agree with your appraisal that Rumsfield and wolfowitz ad Bush did their best.


Today there is even a story that an Israel spy was found in the Pentagon, and that draft reprts were passed onto Israel regarding possible policy. The premise is that if they passed this type of policy, could draft intelligence been passed onto Israel about Iraq which lead to manipulation of policy.

It is a new story and hopefully it will be fleshed out, but one has to wonder why Israel, one of our allies, would place a spy in our Pentagon.

[lsbets]

Sec,

Wrong again - if you are going to argue about the IBA at least know what you are talking about. There is only one company that manufactures the approved body armor. Other companies armor was found to be inferior. Instead of rushing an inferior product onto the battlefielf, they waited until the company making the right product could produce them.

[PaceAdvantage]

Tsk tsk lsbets. Such a pesky little thing like "inferior product" shouldn't get in the way of a good "story", now should it?

Tsk tsk......