FAILING OUR VETERANS- A NATIONAL DISGRACE BY RUTH KING
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/failing-our-veterans-a-national-disgrace
With additional comments by Adam Andrzejewski founder of Open the Books , (www.openthebooks.com/) a project of American Transparency.
In 2014 under the aegis of Family Security Matters, Nancy Kennon and I published a comprehensive study of every Congressional and Senatorial election, including incumbents and challengers, highlighting all their top issues. We found almost unanimous bi-partisan concern with protecting our Veterans and their rights.
It stands to reason that all Americans would cherish those who, in the words of Hannah Sennesh, a Holocaust martyr and poet, would have “the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake” and for duty and country.
This was a welcome development from an earlier time during and after the Vietnam war, when veterans were derided and not accorded the respect they were due.
A young veteran John Kerry testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on April 22, 1971, that American troops “…had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam…” and accused the U.S. military of committing war crimes “on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.”
An aspiring young William Clinton, to justify his draft resistance, wrote “so many fine people have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military.” To be fair, as president he proposed reforms in VA health care programs and expedited hearings on Veterans’ Affairs early in his administration. In 1994 he appointed Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer a physician trained in emergency medicine and Public Health, as Director of U.S. Veterans Health Administration to update and modernize the VA health system. This was another case of good intentions with poor implementation and very limited success.
Under President George Bush, a scandal erupted in 2007 detailing the systematic neglect, and frustration, and deteriorating facilities that veterans faced at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, ostensibly the top medical facility for veterans. What made this more poignant is the fact that so many were veterans of both wars initiated by the president. The scandal provoked caterwauling outrage and hearings to condemn the deplorable Army hospital environment. They led to negligible reform and the venerable hospital closed its doors in July 2011 after 102 Years of healing troops and veterans.
While the stigma and the libel against veterans ended, almost pari passu with the end of the draft in 1973, another national tragedy and scandal ensued.
In April 2014 it was revealed that at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix, Arizona Veterans Health Administration. By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system.
Investigations by the Justice Department revealed endemic neglect throughout the nation culminating in a report of June 2014 that more than 120,000 veterans were denied care or relegated to endless wait lists for medical care.
In August 2014 President Obama signed Congressional legislation for funding and reform of the Veterans Health Administration.
There has been no reform and absolutely no amelioration of the dreadful conditions and abuse.
In April 2014, Charles Lane wrote (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/caring-for-veterans-is-our-national-responsibility/2015/04/22/ae61eb88-e929-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html)
“The latest VA scandal involves a still-unfinished 182-bed hospital in Aurora, Colo., that has already cost $1.7 billion and may require another $830 million from Congress. Similar cost overruns plague VA projects in Las Vegas, Orlando and New Orleans, as The Post’s Emily Wax-Thibodeaux recently reported. Meanwhile, an investigation by VA’s inspector general has found that its Philadelphia office imposed inappropriately long waits for pension claims and doctored records to cover them up, among other alleged abuses.”
Furthermore, by June 2015 Fox News reported :
“The number of veterans seeking health care but ending up on waiting lists of one month or more is 50 percent higher now than it was a year ago when a scandal over false records and long wait times wracked the Department of Veterans Affairs. ”
What about Congress? Check out http://www.veterans.senate.gov/ which is co- chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D – CT) a rather risible fact since Blumenthal lied about service in the military . (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/nyregion/18blumenthal.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)
“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it – Afghanistan or Iraq – we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”
“There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.”
What has Commander Blumenthal’s committee accomplished? Nothing. Zero. Zilch.
As for the candidates vying for the Presidency in 2016?
Jane Horton sums it up: (http://taskandpurpose.com/the-presidential-candidates-arent-talking-about-vital-veterans-issues/)
“So far, there have been myriad issues raised – from women’s rights, to Iran, to the economy. Veterans and their families, however; the backbone, strength and protection of this nation, have taken a back burner in the national discussion.
There are no shortage of issues to be discussed – there are 22 veterans a day who commit suicide, homeless veterans without food or shelter, a Department of Veterans affairs that needs to become more accountable and effective, fraught wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and numerous veterans seeking employment after courageously serving…… But on the presidential campaign trail, there is little to no conversation pertaining to veterans, the wars they fought and are continuing to fight, or our country fulfilling our sacred obligation to care for those who have borne the battle, as well as their families, their widows and orphans.”
There is not much beyond clichés, with the outrageous remarks by Hillary Clinton:(http://conservativebase.com/719779/hillary-clinton-calls-veterans-healthcare-deaths-a-gop-created-scandal/)
“During an interview with the arguably far-left cable news channel MSNBC, Clinton insisted that the so-called wait-list-scandal just an exaggeration by Republican lawmakers and conservative media: “It’s not been as widespread as it has been made out to be,” she claimed referring to the length of waiting time for veterans who needed medical attention.” !!!
There is one organization in the United States which has exposed the waste and fraud in Next, a period should go at the end of that same paragraph Veterans Administration. It is Open the Books , (www.openthebooks.com/) a project of American Transparency, a 501(c)3 non-partisan, non-profit organization (TIN#26-3593601)
I asked the founder of the organization Adam Andrzejewski for an update on their findings and he graciously agreed to answer two questions.
R.K.: Has there been any real reform that will help the hundreds of veterans who have been unable to get care?
A.K.:Congress eliminated the payment of ‘performance bonuses’ based on veteran wait-times for appointments. This action was in response to 70% of VA facilities having ‘cooked-the-books’ – showing no wait times for veterans and collecting millions of dollars in bonuses – while veterans died waiting for an appointment.
But rather than eliminating the bonus, or making sure the folks who gamed-the-system were prosecuted, or clawing back ill-gotten gains, Congress just changed the manner in which the bonus was awarded.
So, now performance bonuses continue to run unabated, even at the identified worst-troubled facilities from the 2013 – 2014 VA crisis.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2015/05/24/the-va-scandal-one-year-later/
R.K.: What is an example of waste at the VA?
A.K.:While the VA still doesn’t have enough doctors, they spent over $147,000,000 on public affairs officer salaries and bonuses since 2007. The VA didn’t need a ‘spin-machine,’ they needed to give our military heroes healthcare.
R.K.: Have they hired more doctors and nurses?
A.K.:The problem is the VA is an employment farm, not a medical system. For example, during the peak of the scandal and for one year after, our data at OpenTheBooks.com shows that the VA hired 24,000 new employees. Yet, only 2,000 were doctors. Veterans still can’t get in to see a doctor, because there aren’t enough doctors.
R.K: According to lists compiled by CQ Roll Call, the House currently has 81 veterans (including 3 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate has 20 veterans, including 1 woman. These Members served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Many have served in the reserves and the National Guard. Eight House Members and two Senators are still serving in the reserves, and six House Members and one Senator are still serving in the National Guard. All of the female veterans are combat veterans.
Have they done anything to expedite reform?
A.K.:To their credit, Congress did pass a reform bill to give a voucher for private healthcare if the veteran lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility. Unfortunately, by all accounts, the VA has been very slow to implement the legislation and therefore this reform has not materially impacted appointment wait-times.
R.K: Thank you Adam, for the unique work you have done on behalf of America’s veterans.
A.K.: it’s a crisis that continues to rip and tear at our most sacred social bond – to provide for those who fought on the battlefield for us. We must fight for them. It’s a duty and obligation as citizens to do much more for our veterans.
Ruth King, editorial board member of Family Security Foundation, Inc., is a freelance writer. She has written a book and articles on gardening, and also writes a monthly column in OUTPOST, the publication of Americans for a Safe Israel.
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