VA SCANDAL BELONGS TO THE ADMINISTRATIONS THAT STARTED BOTH GULF WARS

…The Official VA Logo

 

The current VA problems have been made worse by the influx of veterans from both middle east wars.

I was very disappointed to read Michael Gerson’s article saying that the VA scandal was one that will be sticking to the Obama administration.  In other words, Benghazi, IRS, Fast & Furious, etc, these so called “scandals” will all eventually fade away, but the VA issues will stick like glue.

I guess this is an appropriate comment coming from a conservative Republican op-ed writer that was once the chief speech writer for George W. Bush and who was an active member of Bush’s White House Iraq Group.

The issue at the VA definitely needs to be addressed, but it’s not that it was a problem that was started by the current VA Secretary, Eric K. Shinseki.  I agree that General Shinseki should probably have had someone focusing on getting the infrastructure of the VA reworked and set up to meet his 2 week commitment for medical appointments.  But these same type of problems were already there, going all the way back to when Ronald Reagan had said that those exposed to Agent Orange were not being harmed.  Now there’s a proclamation that has been proven wrong with many dead or cancer ridden veterans, and one of them was an old friend of mine.

No one seems to understand that the current president has stopped two foreign wars.  The results of that effort means that those veterans have either, returned home, or they’re on the way back.  They will all become new VA members along with those left from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and now Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Our Vets have earned the best health care in the world.  And I can personally confirm that those that actually get into the system are getting excellent care.  It’s the giant influx of new vets that is killing the system.  On top of that, the operational system is outdated and broken.  It needs fixing and modernizing and that means it needs the necessary funding. 

And guess who has cut the budget programs multiple times over the past decades?

Yep, the congressional GOP!!!!!

As an example, last February, Senate Republicans derailed a sweeping $21 billion bill that would have expanded medical, educational and other benefits for America’s military veterans.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moved to cut off debate on the bill and blocked consideration of amendments, including one on Iran sanctions demanded by Republicans. Democrats then came up four votes short of the 60 needed, because the Republicans had filibustered the bill.

Per Mr. Gerson, “The more immediate problem for Obama is that the VA scandal comes in the context of a broader health-care debate. The VA health system is unapologetically socialized medicine, in a way that Obamacare (for all its faults) is not. But for the administration, the scandal is an inconvenient public reminder that the centralization of government power in health care has inherent dangers.”

So, to fix these issues, Gerson's and the Republican’s answer is to remove the VA and give each veteran an ID card for turning them loose on private insurance companies and the US medical industry.  They seriously think the private medical industry would be able to absorb all of today’s vets and those new ones returning from the wars. 

 

Anybody want to guess how big the medical traffic jam would be, and the costs, if the private US medical operations tried to absorb all the military's needs?  Costs would more than triple and the wait times would be much worse for every vet than they are today.

As the head of the VA, and being that General Shinseki hasn’t been able to fix the problem, he probably should be replaced as the American Legion has suggested.  But this is a problem that hasn’t been fixed for decades and it should not “stick” just to the Obama administration. 

 

If anything, it was Bush that started the Iraq war that was promised to be finished in 6 months, not 10 years.  The problems, and the costs, if they have to stick to anyone, they really should stick to both of the Bush presidencies. 

They were the ones that started it all, regarding the current group of US veterans.

Copyright G.Ater 2014