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PEAKE IN DENIAL: SAYS PROPOSED 2009 VA BUDGET

IS SUFFICIENT -- VA Secretary says White House

proposal would be sufficient to meet the growing

demands of veterans of a protracted Iraq war.

VA Secretary James Peake with President George W. Bush

This man is starting to make my hair hurt.

VA Secretary James Peake says the proposed 2009 VA budget is fine.  He is just another version of former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.

He will say what he's told to say...truth or not.

You may recall that Jim Nicholson also testified before Congress that the VA budget was adequate...until Senators pinned him down and he had to admit there was a huge shortfall.

I often wonder where they get these people.

Is there a factory somewhere that turns out these clones with no conscience?  Are they screened to make sure they don't know how to tell the truth?

The only difference between Peake and Nicholson:  Peake is smoother, more smug and a better liar.

The 2009 VA budget proposal is a disaster.  Stories here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfFEB08/nf020708-1.htm
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfFEB08/nf020508-3.htm

The story below headlines Peake's promise (impossible to keep) to reduce waiting times to process a disability claim...but the real headline should be his statement about a "sufficient" budget.

Story here... http://ap.google.com/article/ALe
qM5hMwGyCNkZ4wKNAeUkn8dTYGUL1XwD8ULKFV00

Story below: 

-------------------------

Peake Pledges to Cut Vets' Wait for Help

By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake pledged Thursday to trim more than five weeks off the time it now takes to get the first check to a war veteran who files a disability claim.

In his first appearance before Congress since becoming secretary, Peake also sought to assure lawmakers that President Bush's proposed 2009 VA budget of $91 billion would be sufficient to meet the growing demands of veterans of a protracted Iraq war. The proposal is a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year, but several lawmakers have criticized it as inadequate after factoring in inflation.

Peake wants to reduce wait times from roughly 180 days to 145 days by the start of next year. He cited aggressive efforts to hire staff, noting the VA will have 3,100 new staff by 2009. The VA also is working to get greater online access to Pentagon medical information that he says will allow staff to process claims faster and move toward a system of electronic filing of claims.

Peake promised to "virtually eliminate" the current list of 69,000 veterans who have waited more than 30 days for an appointment to get VA medical care. Such long waits runs counter to department policy, and a group of Iraq war veterans have filed a lawsuit alleging undue delays. He said the VA plans to open 64 new community-based outpatient clinics this year and 51 next year to improve access to health care in rural areas.

"We will take all measures necessary to provide them with timely benefits and services, to give them complete information about the benefits they have earned through their courageous service, and to implement streamlined processes free of bureaucratic red tape," Peake said in testimony prepared for a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Thursday.

Peake took over the agency amid criticism the VA was not doing enough to meet the growing needs of war veterans, particularly the thousands returning home injured from Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent months, Bush has released, at the request of Congress, $3.7 billion in emergency money for additional services for injured veterans.

"I am concerned that this budget proposal contains cuts to veterans' programs," said Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., who chairs the House panel. "Although the request includes an increase for health care, it does not fully fund the needs of America's veterans."

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

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