Since 03-11-04
President Bush looks to save at home by taking from retirees and veterans
Since 03-11-04
Navy Times
15 March 2004
President Bush looks to save at home by taking from retirees and veterans
Veterans and military retirees must be on heightened alert in 2004 and beyond.
The war on terrorism soon could be taking its economic toll on America’s home
front. After committing $87 billion to military operations and the rebuilding of
Iraq and Afghanistan, and after overpaying Halliburton for oil and gasoline, the
administration and certain Pentagon henchmen are looking to save a few bucks at
home.
While salaries for corporate chief executive officers, contractors and senior
administrators are on the rise, Washington bureaucrats are targeting a patriotic
but politically disjointed segment of American society for cuts — military
retirees and veterans. The benefits squeeze includes not only base closings and
the reintroduction of proposals to cut critical commissary services, but also
dramatic changes in prescription drug benefits.
I don’t mind sacrificing for my country when it is in dire straits and everybody
pitches in. But that’s not the case.
I’ve yet to see freezes or cutbacks in benefits and salaries for our Washington
elite. My family and I, together with millions of others, paid our dues while
serving our country in many undesirable places. Most of us pulled several
overseas tours. We froze at the borders of Germany and South Korea. We fought in
diverse conflicts, and we paid with injuries and degradation of our health.
In return for the risks we took, we were promised adequate health benefits and
certain services. We trusted our government’s word. Today, a great number of
veterans and retirees stay off the poverty rolls only because of treatment at
military hospitals, reduced grocery prices at commissaries and prescription drug
benefits.
In contrast, the scheming behind the Defense Department’s curtains and in a few
congressional committees borders on outright treason. While we’re resurrecting
Iraq with better schools, improved medical care and access to more consumer
goods, a few political bureaucrats plan to wreck the benefits of former troops.
Unbelievably, the coldblooded number crunchers in the five-sided wind tunnel
want to roll back a drug benefit extended just 30 months ago. Retirees may be
asked to pay $10 instead of $3 for each 90-day generic prescription filled
through Tricare by mail. The copayment for three months’ worth of brand-name
drugs, currently $9, would rise to $20.
Additionally, the fee for generic drug prescriptions filled at military
treatment facilities would go from zero to $10, while $20 would be due for
brand-name medications.
What can be done? All retirees, veterans and their organizations must stand tall
and together on this issue. A new line has just been drawn, and it’s essential
to forget differences and separate agendas.
Together, veterans and retirees must fight to protect commissary privileges and
prescription benefits — now and in the future.
This isn’t about whining and begging for handouts. It’s about honoring our
service and honoring promises to those who sacrificed. And it’s about the future
of the force: Declining benefits will have an impact on recruiting and
retention.
Most important, it’s about the little man. These earned benefits are essential
to the economic survival of many retirees. If veterans and retirees stick
together and make their voices heard as one, the walls in the halls of Congress,
the Pentagon and the White House soon will reverberate with a warning. It will
be a reminder that America’s government was designed to be from the people and
for the people. Those in Congress should understand that many of us gave them
the privilege to serve us — by voting. That trust and privilege easily can be
withdrawn in the future.
Let’s take action and tell the politicians to move this “pre-decisional”
Pentagon plan from the hold box to the trash can.
The writer, son of a German World War II Panzer commander, is an expert on the
U.S. and German militaries. His new novel, “Brotherhood of Iron,” deals with the
German soldier in World War II. He can be reached at
r6zimm@earthlink.net .
------------------------------------------------
Test proposed to cut waiting times
WHAT’S UP:
Legislation introduced in February in the House and Senate would create a
two-year test program for scheduling medical appointments for veterans. It would
require appointments for a primary-care evaluation, hospitalization or
outpatient procedures to be made within 30 days, either at Department of
Veterans Affairs facilities or non-VA facilities. The test would be conducted in
an urban area, a moderately rural area and an extremely rural area to see if
waiting times could be cut.
WHAT’S NEXT:
The bills, S 2063 and H 3812, are aimed at resolving one of the
major problems facing veterans who try to use VA facilities. Long waits,
especially for medical specialists, are routine and pose particular problems for
veterans who live a long way from a VA hospital. The House and Senate veterans’
affairs committees will consider the bills later this year.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Veterans Still at least one strong bond
WHAT’S UP:
Traditional allies America and France haven’t seen eye to eye on very much since
U.S. forces invaded Iraq last year, with their citizens trading barbs about
cheese-eating surrender monkeys and imperialistic cowboys. But six decades ago,
American GIs were welcomed as beloved liberators when they stormed ashore at
Omaha Beach alongside British and Canadian forces and began pushing the German
army back to the Rhine. The 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings takes place
June 6 in Normandy, where the graves of thousands of Americans still dot the
countryside.
WHAT’S NEXT:
The youngest D-Day vets are almost 80 now, but those planning to
venture once again to coastal France this summer will receive special badges of
gratitude from the provincial government of Normandy. The people of Normandy
“suffered greatly” during the 80-day invasion, “paying a heavy price for the
freedom they owe their liberators,” said French Adm. Brac de la Perriere,
chairman of this year’s anniversary remembrance. Those who fought in northern
France from June 5 to Aug. 24, 1944, are eligible for the medals.
--------------------------------------------------------
Contributed,
YNCS Don Harribine, USN(Ret)
NAVetsUSA