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CHANGE OF HEART?: BUYER WANTS STIMULUS MONEY

TO COVER VA BUDGET SHORTFALL -- Instead of

helping pass an adequate VA budget, Rep. Steve

Buyer suddenly becomes a friend of veterans and

seeks stimulus package money for the agency.

What is this?  Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Ranking Member on the House Vets' Committee, wants more money for the VA?  This must be an error.

But, it isn't.  Because instead of working to adequately fund the VA by passing a proper budget, Buyer wants stimulus (or bailout) money for the VA.

Buyer has never been a friend of veterans.  More on Buyer here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=buyer&op=and

Buyer used to Chair the House Vet's Committee... before the Dems took over two years ago.  How he got that job gives you a good insight into the man.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) was House Vets' Chair from 2000-2004.  Smith, a true friend of veterans, realized the VA was terribly underfunded and pushed for more money.  The party ousted him from the Chair and punished other Republicans who joined his call. 

Buyer got the Chair because he would follow orders... that's the only reason.

Currently, Buyer could be called an obstructionist... constantly getting in the way of the work of the Committee.

But now?  A change of heart?  Hardly.  Buyer has found an easy way to appear veteran-friendly without really doing his job. 

If the VA needs this money so badly, why didn't Buyer, the budget Grinch, push for a much larger budget?  We never heard him talk about the "VA's aging healthcare infrastructure" when he was working on the budget (see below).

Nice try, Steve... but, it's all pretty transparent.

Does the VA need this money?  Yes.  But, not from the stimulus package.  Let Congress get to work and put the needed funds into the budget like they should have done in the first place.

Buyer press release here... http://www.insid
eindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=33228#middle

Press release below:

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Buyer Wants Veterans Included in Stimulus Package

Press Release

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, urged House leaders and President-elect Obama to include over $2 billion for initiatives to assist veterans in any new stimulus package considered by Congress.

"We should not say we want to stimulate the economy and fail to include investments in programs that improve the lives of veterans," Buyer said in a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader John Boehner.

To put stimulus funding where it would help both veterans and the economy the most, Buyer's letter proposed $1 billion per year to reauthorize an expired Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program to guarantee loans to veteran-owned small businesses. Buyer also proposed over $357 million for a broad set of initiatives that would increase job training and placement programs for veterans, especially homeless women veterans. Additionally, he proposed $927 million above current funding to accelerate construction programs to upgrade VA's aging healthcare infrastructure and cemetery system.

Committee Deputy Ranking Member, Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), joined Buyer in the stimulus package letter. "Investing in our veterans not only helps those who served our nation, it also promotes economic growth through new construction projects, and by increasing educational opportunities and access to health care," Stearns said. "I join in urging the leadership to provide additional funding for veterans' programs in any new economic stimulus package."

Buyer closed his plea by noting, "America faces many challenges in revitalizing the economy, but no one is more worthy of a stimulus than our veterans. Let us show them our appreciation by including them in any stimulus package."

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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