Congressman Adrian Smith listened to concerns from area veterans during a visit to the Western Nebraska Veterans Home in Scottsbluff on Tuesday.
Many of the issues that the audience brought up included the sequester of the military in the current federal budget. Recently, Democrat Norm Dicks, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said that defense spending could be cut by an additional $5 billion.
“What they (Congress) have put forward are unreasonable cuts,” Smith said. “They didn’t get the job done so we are left with it.”
He added that new ways of dealing with the cuts should be looked at.
Another topic of importance among the audience was the fate of the VA Medical Center in Hot Springs, S.D.
Scotts Bluff County Veterans Service Director John Brehm asked Smith what was going on with the center and when they would know more about its fate.
He noted that the VA Medical Center in Fort Meade, S.D., is advertising for staff when the Hot Springs center desperately needs staff and is not hiring.
Brehm asked if they were going to “strip down” the Hot Springs center before making the decision.
Several other members of the audience agreed that services they were able to get at the Hot Springs location were now no longer available.
Smith said he continues to work on the situation and is working with Congresswoman Kristi Noem.
It was brought up that some veterans would like to go to the Cheyenne, Wyo., VA Medical Center, but would be unable to, since they would have to change all their information over.
“Flexibility is what is needed from the centers for the veterans,” Smith said.
He added that for many, Hot Springs is closer than Cheyenne, but veterans should have the flexibility to use any facility where they could receive the best care and treatment.
HoHum posted at 2:24 pm on Wed, Oct 10, 2012.
The Veteran's Administration does not have electronic medical records?