Evans, Obama say Bush's proposed budget shortchanges veterans
Monday, February 14, 2005
Printable FormatROCK ISLAND ARGUS
By Kurt Allemeier
MOLINE -- The number of veterans seeking health and other benefits will grow as soldiers return from Iraq, but President George W. Bush's budget plan won't meet the nation's obligation, U.S. Rep. Lane Evans and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said Friday.
The Democratic legislators, both members of veterans affairs committees in Congress, said the $70.8 billion budget proposed for the Department of Veterans Affairs is about $4 billion shy of the amount needed to provide promised services. They called the proposed budget "grossly inadequate" during an appearance at Rep. Evans' Moline office.
President Bush's budget also would raise drug co-pays from $7 to $15 for a 30-day supply, affecting more than 2 million veterans, and would charge a $250-a-year fee to veterans earning more than $26,000 a year if they do not have service-connected illnesses or injuries.
The proposal also would eliminate state grants for extended care of veterans in state-sponsored nursing homes. About $104 million went to the program in 2005.
Adjusted for inflation, the $70.8 billion will buy less than a year ago, Sen. Obama said.
"We will have hundreds of thousands of veterans coming back from Iraq who will be enrolling in the Veterans Affairs programs," Sen. Obama said. "What kind of message does this send?"
The proposed budget also doesn't have money to pay new employees needed to process nearly 500,000 compensation and pension claims and would push veterans onto a health-care waiting list, the legislators said.
"Why are veterans of this country being picked on?" Rep. Evans asked. "They are heroes."
He has introduced the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act of 2005, which would base veterans health-care funding on the number of veterans in the system, similar to other federal health-care programs.
A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.
Previous budgets submitted by President Bush have included fee increases but were promptly rejected. That could change this year, with new legislators and chairmen on the veterans affairs committees.
"The climate is bad," Rep. Evans said. "The budget is a farce.
Former chairman Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., has been replaced on the House veteran's affairs committee by Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. Rep. Evans, ranking Democrat on the committee, said he is willing to work with Republicans up to a point.
"I'll work with them as much as I can, but I won't work with them to run down the V.A.," Rep. Evans said. "The loss of Chris Smith is a big one because he would've brought a few Republicans with him."
Rep. Evans said Democrats will send their own proposals for discussion to both the House and Senate committees.