This is my first diary so please be gentle. :) As a Veteran I have had to suffer the hell of Veteran Disability Claims since last year. I filed a claim for PTSD almost a year ago and have still not received a decision. As a loyal reader of VAwatchdog.org, I found an excellent list of six reason to not confirm Dr. Peake. It conveys mine, and I would hope many other veterns concerns much better than I could ever try to. This guy is another Bushie who will continue to cause havoc for Veterans past, present and future.
I've wanted to say this for a year now
MORE BELOW THE JUMP!! (now that i got that out of my system...)
All six reasons from VAwatchdog.org. The BEST resource for Veterans.
Reason #1-He don't know shit about shit.
Peake has no first-hand experience with the VA system. He is an outsider who will have to spend the next year trying to get up to speed. Veterans can't afford such an unqualified person at the helm of the VA.
Reason #2-Spend money on our solders?? Screw that!!.
Peake, while Surgeon General of the Army (2000-2004), spoke often of his "efficiency" and his "financial objectives." Basically, Peake is a number-crunching budget-slasher. VA needs someone to lobby for adequate funding...not someone who wrote this about his job at the Army: "...our duty to be responsible stewards of the taxpayers' resources."
Reason #3- Look what a good job he did at Walter Reed!!!
Peake's "financial objectives" mentioned above were well-realized as budgets for Walter Reed were kept low and jobs were outsourced. We saw what happened at Walter Reed. And, the problems there were known in 2004 as VA and DoD talked with patients about the problems. Those reports were buried. Peake cannot hide from these facts.
Reason #4- If things wern't confusing enough...
Peake, as he mentioned in his acceptance address, will push for full implementation of the Dole-Shalala Commission recommendations. If the Dole-Shalala legislation is passed, the VA disability compensation system will be changed forever. As Randy Reese of the DAV wrote, "At any point in time, disabled veterans would receive three types of variable payments. This is a recipe for abandoning the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." And, it is a recipe to move backward and include all veterans in this unfair system.
Reason #5- Conflicting Interests anyone???
Peake is currently chief medical director and chief operating officer of QTC Management Inc., which provides contract medical exams for the VA and the military. The Chairman of the QTC board is former VA Secretary Anthony Principi. QTC has garnered a multi-year VA contract that could be worth well over a billion dollars. This is as close as you can get to a conflict of interest. It's just another example of the good ol' boy revolving door in Washington. In simple terms: Those that have, get.
Reason #6- George Bush picked him. Nuff Said?
This administration has a history of nominating cronies and the incompetent to Cabinet-level Secretary positions. And, the VA is no exception. Secretary Anthony J. Principi changed the rules on benefits for Agent Orange exposure and cut out "Blue Water Navy" veterans. He also, on his signature, barred Priority Group 8 veterans from enrolling in the VA system. This move barred potentially millions of qualified veterans from receiving VA healthcare and saved the VA billions of dollars. Then we had Secretary Jim Nicholson who became the bumbling symbol of all that is wrong with the VA. Nicholson cooked the VA's books to make it look like the VA budget was adequate, deliberately mislead Congress on VA budget needs, did not distribute all mental health care funds to VA hospitals...and the list goes on. Given that President George W. Bush has sent veterans two unworthy individuals to look after their needs, how can we trust his third choice? We can't! And, we shouldn't!
You can contact the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs here:
http://www.veterans.senate.gov/...
Democratic Committee Members:
Daniel K. Akaka, HI (Chairman)
John D. Rockefeller IV, WV
Patty Murray, WA
Barack Obama, IL
Sherrod Brown, OH
Jon Tester, MT
Jim Webb, VA
Republican Committee Members:
Richard Burr, NC (Ranking Member)
Arlen Specter,PA
Larry Craig, ID (Resident Toe Tapper)
Johnny Isakson, GA
Lindsey Graham, SC
Kay Bailey Hutchison, TX
John Ensign,NV
Independent Committee Member:
Bernard Sanders, VT