Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 09/29/2003

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
America was sucker punched on Sept. 11, 2001. It was an unforgettable day of shock and sadness. Many of us will pray that Divine Providence will ameliorate our grief and shepherd our brave men and women of the armed forces as they dismantle terrorism “Over There.”

“The security of this nation and our friends requires decisive action,” President George W. Bush said Aug. 26 at The American Legion 85th National Convention at St. Louis. “And with a broad coalition, we're taking that action around the globe. We are on the offensive against terror, and we will stay on the offensive against terror.”

Staying “on the offensive against terror” comes at a high price. The men and women who sacrifice for freedom pay the highest toll. But our government pays a quantifiable price for freedom by sustaining our troops on the battlefield and by caring for and rebuilding the lives of the men and women who mount the “offensive.” The cost of veterans’ benefits, albeit a delayed cost of war, is inseparable from the full price of freedom. That is why Congress must fully fund the health care budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Men and women “on the offensive against terror” today are among the veterans who will seek treatment at VA tomorrow. Many will leave Iraq with battlefield wounds that render them a shell of their former selves. Many will leave behind comrades, their innocence and a part of themselves. More than 200,000 veterans already must wait six months to two years for a primary-care appointment at a VA medical center because our government is past due on this particular installment of the price of freedom. The solution is adequate funding – indeed, mandatory funding – for the VA health care system.

If our nation can afford to be “on the offensive against terror,” as President Bush said, then our nation can afford “to care for him who shall have borne the battle…” as President Lincoln said, reminding a healing America of its moral obligation to its veterans.

If VA health care received mandatory funding, as Social Security and Medicare receive, then the funding would lawfully keep pace with the demand for treatment. And those who stood in harm’s way would not have to stand in long lines to see a VA doctor. But as long as VA health care is funded on a discretionary basis, it’s up to members of Congress to appropriate ample resources to those who fight our wars and to those whose lives are inexorably changed by war.

Sincerely,
John A. Brieden III
National Commander
The American Legion
Washington

Dear Commander,
Over two hundred years ago, George Washington stated that “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.”

Mandatory funding must be passed by Congress in order to end the beg, borrow, and steal approach of providing health care to our nation’s veterans.

We have a sacred obligation to ensure that they receive the honors and benefits that they have earned through their service to our great country.

In your recent congressional testimony, you stated that if Congress can meet the president's request for an additional $87 billion to fund the ongoing war in Iraq, then Congress also can raise an additional $1.8 billion next year, and a $3 billion  increase the following year, to meet the health care needs of veterans from the war on terror and earlier periods of service

SHAFT SHOT
A high caliber shot is in order for Senator Barbara Mikulski (D) MD and her personal flak, Washington Post Reporter Christopher Lee, for their cheap slam at fellow Viet Nam veteran, former Chief Executive Officer for the Corporation for National Service (CNS) Les Lenkowsky and the many dedicated employees of the corporation who received miniscule bonuses. As Kelly Daly, President of the CNS Employees Union pointed out in a recent rebuke to Mr. Lee’s article, most Corporation employees do not receive automatic salary increases like other federal employees.

The article titled "$411,655 in Bonuses at AmeriCorps’s Parent Agency decried,” was malicious and irresponsible. It is true that the Educational trust fund of the Corporation has been mismanaged from its inception (eight years of which were under the Clinton Administration). It was Mr. Lenkowsky who was responsible for making significant changes on how the Corporation conducts its affairs, stressing greater financial and program accountability. The Maryland Senator sat on her hands during this time and continued to appropriate funny money without oversight of the taxpayer dollars.

A wonderful Democrat, the late Tip O ‘ Neil once said, “ all politics is local”, However the good Senator from Maryland shows that some politics is loco.

Shaft Kudos
The Sarge salutes the office of Personnel Management for their proactive initiative to ensure that veteran’s receive there deserved preference in federal employment.

After a recent Office of Personnel Management merit system accountability audit of Department of Housing and Urban Development hiring activity, errors were discovered that resulted in five veterans not being hired for positions for which they were qualified. OPM worked with HUD to develop an immediate corrective action plan that has already been implemented.

As OPM Director Kay Coles James: stated “Increased flexibility in hiring processes and protection of Veterans’ Preference are not mutually exclusive. Both OPM and HUD are committed to corrective actions. The Administration’s team is committed to Veterans’ Preference and will make certain it is honored and upheld.”

“We owe a great debt to the men and women who have served our nation in uniform,” said HUD Deputy Secretary Alphonso Jackson “and I pledge to make HUD an even more effective and welcome environment for our veterans.”

Information on OPM responsibilities, programs and initiatives can be found at www.opm.gov.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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