Imagine leaving pieces of your body and soul in the desert of a distant land in service of your country. In return, for your sacrifice, your country gives you not gratitude, but indifference and even contempt. No, this is nothing new; just the latest incident.
Walk this way for details . . .
Nothing changes. For a party that thought it could remain in power running on issues of security and supporting the troops, the Republicans have yet again revealed themselves as avatars of hypocrisy. The current move, spearheaded by three Republican senators, to deny treatment and benefits to seriously wounded servicemen is a crass attempt to use medical treatment for veterans as a bargaining chip to fund their own political fortunes. This is particularly galling coming from a senator, who is also a medical doctor (Tom Coburn of Oklahoma).
VFW Commander Furious at 3 Republican Senators
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2006-–The national commander of the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans is furious that three Republican senators are holding hostage the passage of key fiscal year 2007 funding bills that prevent the federal government from improving upon the programs and services it provides to America’s veterans, servicemembers and their families.
Gary Kurpius, the commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., said the actions this week by Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama were “nothing short of pure partisan politics and sheer arrogance towards the new Democrat- controlled 110th Congress.”
At issue are spending bills that the administration and most in Congress want to pass this year before the 109th Congress ends. By holding up the process, the three senators are undercutting vital prosthetic and traumatic brain-injury research for returning troops, delaying staffing increases and infrastructure improvements within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and exacerbating an already out of control VA backlog that exceeds 820,000 claims. The government’s fiscal year began October 1.
“There are 351,000 veterans in Oklahoma, 412,000 in South Carolina and 422,000 in Alabama who are going to be directly impacted by their senators who have put politics above their constituency,” said Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran from Anchorage.
“What occurred on November 7 was an exact reversal of what occurred in 1994 when Republicans swept control of both houses of Congress,” he said. “These three senators obviously forgot that it is the will of the people that keeps them in office, not their political party.”
Kurpius is now calling on all veterans and servicemembers to contact their U.S. senators to bring pressure upon Coburn, DeMint and Sessions before the 109th Congress adjourns next month. Contact your senator.
“Our war is against an enemy that wants to destroy everything American; it is not a war between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “Our elected officials need to pass the budget and do the jobs they were elected to do. Supporting our veterans and those who serve in uniform are nonpartisan, nonnegotiable issues.”
VFW.com Press Release
In five minutes, you can send an email to your senators encouraging them to (politely, but firmly) explain to these three how true decency and real patriotism work.