Voice Of The Southern: Illinois Veterans Deserve Better Treatment From VA
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Printable FormatEditorial
SOUTHERN ILLINOISIAN
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." - George Washington
Newly elected to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama has jumped in with vigor with regard to his appointment to the U.S. Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee.
This past weekend, he conducted town hall style meetings on Chicago's southside and in Springfield. He heard directly from hundreds of Illinois veterans about the support -- or lack thereof -- they have received from our nation.
On Monday, Obama voted to approve President Bush's choice to head the Veterans Affairs Department, Jim Nicholson, a former Republican National Committee chairman who has served as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican for the past three years. Nicholson has been chosen to succeed Bush's previous Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi.
Like many of us in Illinois, Obama is concerned about the appalling lack of support some Illinois military veterans have been afforded through the years.
Illinois veterans received an average of $6,802 in disability pay in 2003, putting the state 50th among 52 states and territories, according to an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times. A veteran in Illinois can expect to receive $5,000 less than a veteran in Puerto Rico, Obama said during Monday's committee hearing.
The new senator has vowed to see that Illinois veterans receive the respect and support they deserve.
Obama has called on the leadership of the Veterans Affairs Department to bring this vast discrepancy under control and to answer for it. He has also called on the Veterans Affairs Department to hire more veterans in sensitive positions as they are many times the only ones who can truly understand the financial, emotional and physical stress many veterans must endure.
Disability pay isn't the only concern at issue. Adequate funding for veterans outpatient clinics tops the list of concerns for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Illinois. The clinics and the size of their staff should be increased so that more veterans can be treated.
Obama has demonstrated his desire to use this important committee assignment for the betterment of veterans' lives. He has reached out to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the rest of the Illinois congressional delegation also asked the VA to produce a study that would show why disability pay varies so much from state to state and recommend a system which will treat Illinois veterans more fairly.
The leadership of the Veterans Affairs Department must show that it is willing to take this issue seriously. And we hope our new senator will ensure that the new leadership of the Veterans Affairs Department does so.
As our nation's first commander-in-chief George Washington made it clear, how we treat our veterans is directly related to our armed forces remaining strong in the future.
We have seen evidence that veterans in Illinois are not getting a fair shake.
Obama is correct in keeping up the pressure on the Veterans Affairs Department and making sure the incoming secretary knows Illinois veterans will be expecting better from the department in the future.