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SEN. LARRY CRAIG CONTINUES FIGHT TO DENY VA
HEALTHCARE TO QUALIFIED VETERANS -- Tries to
disguise anti-veteran agenda as "protecting" VA
benefits.
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs has
voted to allow Priority Group 8 veterans to enroll in the VA healthcare
system. They were denied that legal benefit in 2003. That
story here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/
nfJUN07/nf062807-3.htm
But, once again, trying to stand in the way was
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Ranking Minority Member on the Committee.
After Craig's move to block the reinstatement
of Group 8 vets failed, he issued a press release. Here are some
interesting points showing just how lame his arguments are.
Craig said, describing Group 8 vets:
"...we now seek to open the doors to veterans who already have private
health insurance, no service connected disabilities and higher incomes.
I don’t understand that."
There's a problem with this. First, Craig
doesn't know who has health insurance so that statement is an outright
lie. Second, the fact that Group 8 vets do not have a
service-connected disability is not the point because the law says they
have VA benefits. And third, the higher income remark makes no
sense, unless Craig's idea of a higher income is $27,000 a year.
Craig also said: "It appears that the
majority’s answer to long lines at VA medical centers is simply to get
more people standing in line. I think this is the wrong focus at the
wrong time,"
This is misleading, as well. The
majority's answer is to fully fund the VA so all qualified veterans can
get healthcare. But, Sen. Craig has voted against that.
Story and record of Craig's vote here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%
20newsflashes%20MAR%2006/
newsflash03-17-2006-9.htm
We should be thankful that cooler, and smarter,
heads prevailed in the Committee.
Craig's press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
scva07/scva062707-1.htm
Press release below:
-------------------------
June 27, 2007
CRAIG MOVES TO PROTECT VETERANS’ HEALTHCARE
Senator works to improve healthcare and
benefits
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093
(Washington, DC) U.S. Sen. Larry Craig warned his colleagues Wednesday
that new legislation could overwhelm the Department of Veterans Affairs
award-winning medical system and hamper its ability to provide first
class medical care to recently wounded veterans.
"For the past several years, this Congress has focused intensely on the
needs of our returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan," said Craig,
the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
"Yet, inexplicably to me, we now seek to open the doors to veterans who
already have private health insurance, no service connected disabilities
and higher incomes. I don’t understand that."
Under legislation adopted by the committee, as many as 17 million
additional veterans would be eligible to use VA’s medical system next
year. Experts say that the "likely" number of veterans to show up is
probably about 1.6 million.
"It appears that the majority’s answer to long lines at VA medical
centers is simply to get more people standing in line. I think this is
the wrong focus at the wrong time," Craig said.
The Idaho Republican had offered an amendment which would have required
VA to certify that there would be no delays for high priority veterans
with combat-related injuries before VA is required to open its doors to
others. Craig’s amendment was not agreed to.
He noted that during his two years as Chairman of the Committee,
Congress increased spending on veterans by 23 percent. Since 2001, when
President Bush took office, funding for veterans increased approximately
80 percent.
"Contrary to what some think, it’s not the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
which are driving the numbers. Our youngest, newest veterans constitute
just over two percent of VA medical patients. What we’ve done with that
increased funding is create an award winning medical system that is
treating veterans from all generations. I want to see us provide the
best care to those who need it most," Craig said.
Other legislation Craig supported passed the committee today, including
one bill which seeks to improve traumatic brain injury and mental health
treatment and enhance travel reimbursement – up from 10 cents per mile
now to 28 cents per mile next year. The bill would also expand outreach
and access to care for rural and homeless veterans, and authorize funds
for the construction and updating of VA facilities.
"I am also pleased that legislation we passed in committee includes many
provisions I sponsored, including a provision that would provide
retroactive Wounded Warrior insurance payments to those hurt outside of
a theater of combat. This change will benefit those like Seaman Robert
Roeder, whose leg was severed by an arresting wire on board an Aircraft
Carrier that was on its way to the Persian Gulf. Because his injury
occurred outside of a war zone, he is not eligible for assistance, a
reality that S. 1315 would remedy," Craig said.
The legislation would also expand the array of grant assistance programs
available to those who have severe burn injuries.
"The prevalence of severe burn injuries is a sad reality of the present
conflict. I was pleased to work Sen. Akaka and the two Senators from
Texas, Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Hutchison, the home of the military’s major
receiving center for burn injuries, on these provisions. The changes we
made will make a real difference in the lives of those severely burned,"
Craig said.
Legislation passed by the committee also includes many provisions from
Craig’s "Veterans’ Justice Assurance Act of 2007.
"This legislation we passed in committee will help the Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims deal with its current caseload and help ensure, in
the long-term, that the court has the judicial resources it needs to
decide veterans’ cases in a timely fashion," Craig said.
The measures adopted today will now go to the floor of the Senate for
further consideration.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
