The Bush Administration has repeatedly said they support our veterans, but time after time, the Bush Administration has refused to deal with a multitude of problems regarding our Veterans. I simply will not stand for the lack of care and support our veterans need and deserve. I proudly stand with our veterans and will support the need for full funding of the VA system.
Taking care of veterans is the starting point of any intelligent national security strategy. How we treat our veterans affects the ability of the armed forces to recruit the best and the brightest. The men and women who step up and defend our nation, putting their lives on the line, deserve highest quality health care and support services when they return. That simply is not occurring.
I will ensure helping our veterans is a top priority. According to USA Today (“Staffing at Vet Centers lagging” April 20, 2007): “Last year, the White House proposed cutting $47 million from the $3.3 billion budget for veterans’ readjustment benefits.” These proposed cuts (which did not pass Congress) came at a time when the veterans system was coming under increasing strain. That same USA Today article cited the results of a Department of Veterans Affairs study of the 200 Vets Centers (walk in facilities) around the country:
- “Twenty-six centers said it takes longer to help veterans because of increased workload.”
- “Twenty-two centers reported they cannot provide family counseling when necessary.”
- “Fifty-four centers said more sexual trauma treatment is needed.”
While I am a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility, being fiscally prudent means setting priorities and holding people accountable, not cutting critical resources for the brave men and women in uniform.
On the subject of holding federal agencies accountable, we need to make sure that the Department of Veterans Affairs is scrutinized. In February 2007, there was widespread reporting of disgraceful conditions for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center, a crown jewel in the veterans’ health system. The Washington Post series: “documented tattered conditions at Building 18, including mold, rot, mice and cockroaches, but also a larger indifference that has impeded some solders’ recovery.”
I worry about the quality of treatment veterans receive in Congressional Distict 3 and all of Nevada. To find out more first hand, I spoke with one of my clients who is a medical doctor at the veterans hospital in Las Vegas. His main concern was that the resources and commitment are not present to transform the veterans’ health system in the Las Vegas area into an integrated resource with a real teaching hospital.
There is also an epidemic of homeless veterans, including 300,000 nationwide and 12,000 – 15,000 in Southern Nevada. We learned this by working for many years with three Veterans organizations: Circle of Friends of American Veterans, Center for American Homeless Veterans, and Veterans Vision. Through our work with these organizations and its leader, Major Brian Hampton, we have witnessed first hand the severity of this crisis and the immorality of sending men and women off to war and forgetting about them when they return.
These issues are something I will be researching further as I talk with voters on critical issues facings the citizens of Nevada’s Congressional District 3.
Circle of Friends of American Veterans
Veterans Bill of Rights
1.) Do you support raising the Veterans’ Administration (VA) per diem for private, non-profit transitional facilities from the current maximum of $30 a day per bed (typically, they receive only $27), to $60 daily so that direct support for homeless veterans increases from under 1/10th of 1% to under 2/10th of 1% of the total Veterans’ Administration budget?
I, Andrew Martin, support this measure.
2.) Do you support making counseling services available for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in every VA Veterans’ Center in America, with adequate staffs, so that all veterans who served in a war zone can get the help they need?*
I, Andrew Martin, support this measure.
3.) Given the sacrifices our veterans have made and will continue to make for this country, and that we wish to help everyone, but our resources are limited and have to be prioritized, do you agree with the general philosophy of Putting Veterans First?
I, Andrew Martin, support this measure.