Columns

Friday, April 8, 2005

veterans left behind

By Senator Tom Harkin

During my years in the Navy, I learned one of the most important lessons of my entire life: Never leave a buddy behind. I try to live by that code every day, which is why I am deeply concerned about inadequate funding in the Veterans Administration.

The harsh reality is that, as our service men and women return from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are encountering VA facilities that are increasingly overcrowded and understaffed. The Midwest region of the VA has had large budget shortfalls for several years now. And here in Iowa, there is not enough funding to hire more doctors and nurses and to open more outpatient clinics to accommodate all the new patients. While some progress has been made, many patients still must wait months just to get an appointment. This is unacceptable.

The White House requested an increase of only $111 million for veterans’ health care in the 2006 budget. By contrast, in their annual Independent Budget, the four veterans’ service organizations estimated that the VA will need a $3.2 billion increase to meet rapidly expanding needs for medical and other services. In addition, the White House budget requires non-disabled veterans to pay a $250 enrollment fee to receive health care, and more than doubles veterans’ prescription drug co-pay amount. Although these two new revenue-raisers are projected to generate more than $400 million for the VA, they will deter thousands of veterans from using the system.

The White House budget ignores the unprecedented surge in VA health care enrollments, as well as the rapidly escalating cost of veterans’ health care and prescription drugs. Taking these things into account, the White House budget request actually amounts to a cut in VA funding, not a modest increase.

In January I, along with other Senators, wrote to President Bush urging him to fully fund the VA health care system, and to take full account of the costs of payroll increases and medical inflation. Unfortunately, this request went unheeded.

To prevent shortchanging our veterans, I am an original co-sponsor of the Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act, which would increase funding for VA health care, and would make VA health care “mandatory,” that is, not subject to annual appropriations. Unfortunately, this bill was blocked in the 108th Congress. But I will fight for it in the new 109th Congress.

With our nation at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are reminded on a daily basis that our freedom is not free. Throughout our history, Americans have paid a very dear price for that freedom. In return, today, we have a duty to meet our commitments to veterans of our Armed Forces. We have a duty to provide them with quality health care. And we certainly should not burden them with enrollment fees and 100-percent increases in co-pays. It is time to give the VA the funding it needs, and veterans the respect they deserve.