It’s bad enough that Bush has sent hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in a war against an enemy that wasn’t a threat, but it’s just as outrageous that those troops can’t count on Bush to fully fund their benefits if they come home with injuries.
Thousands of U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with physical injuries and mental health problems are encountering a benefits system that is already overburdened, and officials and veterans’ groups are concerned that the challenge could grow as the nation remains at war.
The disability benefits and health care systems that provide services for about 5 million American veterans have been overloaded for decades and have a current backlog of more than 300,000 claims. And because they were mobilized to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, nearly 150,000 National Guard and reservist veterans had become eligible for health care and benefits as of Aug. 1. That number is rising.
At the same time, President Bush’s budget for 2005 calls for cutting the Department of Veterans Affairs staff that handles benefits claims, and some veterans report long waits for benefits and confusing claims decisions.
“I love the military; that was my life. But I don’t believe they’re taking care of me now,” said Staff Sgt. Gene Westbrook, 35, of Lawton, Okla. Paralyzed in a mortar attack near Baghdad in April, he has received no disability benefits because his paperwork is missing. He is supporting his wife and three children on his regular military pay of $2,800 a month as he awaits a ruling on whether he will receive $6,500 a month from the VA for his disability.
I guess this helps explain why the Republicans were so comfortable mocking purple-heart recipients at the GOP convention — injured troops just aren’t at the top of their priority list.
Administration officials believe things are under control, but may not be for much longer.
“I think we’re doing okay now, but I am worried,” VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi said in a recent interview. “It is something you have to be concerned about. We don’t have a good handle on the extent to which the demand for care and benefits will be a year or five years from now.”
The figures, however, suggest that the status quo is wholly inadequate.
Through the end of April, the most recent accounting the VA could provide, a total of 166,334 veterans of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan had separated from military service, and 26,633 — 16 percent — had filed benefits claims with the VA for service-connected disabilities. Less than two-thirds of those claims had been processed, leaving more than 9,750 recent veterans waiting.
Officials expect those numbers to increase as the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan continues.
Given the circumstances, John Kerry’s commitment to benefits for these injured troops shouldn’t be overlooked.
“I have a 35 year record of fighting to keep faith with those who put themselves on the line.
“Today, even as we’re creating a new generation of veterans, folks, we’ve got 40,000 vets or so waiting months just to get their prescription drugs signed off on because they can’t afford them. We’ve got 90,000 vets waiting to get into the V.A. We’ve got 400,000 vets who’ve been told, ‘Don’t apply, because we don’t have the money for you.’
“But once again, we’ve got the money for these great big tax cuts.
“So I can guarantee you this is a fight that is a 35-year fight for me. And I will fight to make sure we do justice to those who fought with, fought for, wore the uniform of the United States of America in the interests of freedom and the defense of our country, and I will do that.”
In other words, hope is on the way.