Paralyzed Veterans Urges Congress to Act Now on Veterans Funding
Washington, DC – Congress will return this week for one last week of work on legislation still pending in the 109th Congress. The House Republican leadership plans to pass a continuing resolution that would extend government operations through February 15, 2007—one week after President Bush submits his budget for fiscal year 2008. The continuing resolution would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to operate at FY 2006 funding levels. Enacting a continuing resolution funding VA at FY 2006 funding levels would have a drastic impact on the health-care services being provided to veterans.
“The Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) is outraged that Congress would play these partisan political games with such a vitally important issue," said Louis Irvin, executive director of Paralyzed Veterans. “If VA is forced to operate long term under the restrictions of a continuing resolution at the previous year’s levels, it will almost certainly begin to turn away veterans who have earned and deserve health care. With troops still in the field, now is not the time to place their health-care needs in jeopardy by undermining the VA’s ability to provide that care."
Some Republican senators have expressed a desire to get the FY 2007 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill enacted. Support is almost unanimous for the underlying bill, which funds housing, health care and other benefits for the military, veterans and their families.
Unfortunately, some fiscally conservative senators have blocked further action on this bill because they believe that it would simply become a vehicle for many unnecessary amendments. After unanimous Senate passage of the bill on November 14, fiscally conservative Republican Senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, with the blessing of the Senate leadership, blocked it from going to conference because they argued appropriators would use it as a vehicle to add the nine remaining FY 2007 spending bills and thousands of new earmarks. This action was taken despite the Appropriations Committee assuring the senators that this would not be permitted. This is clearly a case of partisan politics trumping the needs of veterans, military service members and their families.
Irvin emphasized, "While servicemen and -women will spend the holidays in harm’s way, it is unconscionable that members of Congress would see fit to return home not having fulfilled their responsibility to veterans, servicemembers and their families."
So, mark your calendars for next June when we have our second Annual One Day Salt Water Fishing Trip. We hope to see you there.