Obama. THE BEST SENATOR one could have! READ this email about Veterans!!

[in_cog_ni_to]

The man writes his own emails AND apologized for taking so long to answer my email to him on Veterans benefits. He APOLOGIZED! LOL! I'm in love. Illinois is so damn LUCKY to have him and Durbin! Just read this email! He's BRILLIANT!

Dear Vickie:

Thank you for your message regarding our nation's commitment to its veterans. I agree that our country and its leaders must assign a higher priority to meeting the needs of America's veterans.

I may be new to Washington, but it did not take long to appreciate how poorly our government treats its veterans. That's why I sought a seat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and I will use this position to be an advocate for meeting our commitments to our veterans.

As far as I am concerned, we have a long way to go in that regard, as your comments document. In just a few short months in the Senate, I have been amazed by what can appear to be the federal bureaucracy's callous disregard for America's veterans.

For example, my introduction to this situation came before I was sworn into office when I learned about the problems Illinois veterans are having with disability payments. It is simply unacceptable that an Illinois veteran receives $5,000 less in benefits than a comparable veteran in Puerto Rico. In January, I raised this issue directly with Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, and he agreed to look into the situation immediately. A subsequent VA report confirmed these benefit discrepancies and indicated that VA regional offices do not have sufficient staff to thoroughly review veterans' claims. In the coming months, I will work to address the problems identified in the report.

The President's proposed budget also was a shot of cold water to veterans. It proposed a mere .04% increase in the VA budget from the Fiscal Year 2005, which is wholly inappropriate considering the fact that we are getting an increasingly high number of veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget also called for a $9 million decrease in medical research, which is totally unsatisfactory given the trouble this government has had in the past adjusting to various diseases such as Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome, the symptoms of which do not appear for years. It also proposes cuts in nursing homes for long-term care and requires priority 7 and 8 veterans pay a $250 dollar user fee and that co-payments for medication increase from $7 to $15. Our veterans should not be left to personally finance medical care they were promised by their government.

While I understand and support the President's call for fiscal responsibility, I do not believe that funding valuable domestic priorities and restoring discipline to federal spending are mutually exclusive propositions. During Senate debate on the Federal budget, I cosponsored and voted for an amendment that would increase veterans' health care funding by $2.8 billion. I believe that this amendment better reflects the priorities of the American people than do many of the President's budget recommendations.

This fight is not over. As Congress prepares the final budget for 2006, I will work with my colleagues in the Senate and the leaders of veterans organizations in Illinois and Washington to resist the Administration's cutbacks and provide America's veterans with the benefits they need and deserve.

Finally, I want to apologize for the delay in my response. Quite frankly, it has taken a bit longer than I had anticipated to get caught up on the backlog of correspondence I inherited when I was sworn into office. I hope that this delay will not deter you from keeping in touch in the future.


Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator

[SammyBlue]

1. Wow!

Can we steal him and bring him to Arizona. We have less people in AZ, so he can hopefully respond faster.

[Withywindle]

2. He and Durbin have both been seriously working this issue...

...it's not just lip service, they've been trying to get answers and get this fixed for months, at least as far as IL vets are concerned (they need more support everywhere, but locally it's especially bad). Obama was calling town hall meetings with vets' groups his first couple of weeks.

Great letter, and good for you for writing!

[OrlandoGator]

3. When he runs for president, I'll break my back campaigning for him.

He's awesome.

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. Me too. I will do everything in my power

to get that man elected.

[corbett]

6. Same Here

A few of his votes have been questionable but I still think he's superb.

[dbeach]

4. Veterans ned every friend that they can make..

"Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, and he agreed to look into the situation immediately. "

This new VA director is a budget cutter and another front man..a loyal bushevik ,repuke and former RNC natonal director..this guy wil be the worst ever for Veterans BUT Its what is expected from the likes of bush/cheny..2 men who avoided their own military responsibility BUT wildly support wars {for corporat profits of course}

THANX OBAMA and thanx for the post

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. Nicholson is just going to make it worse, isn't he?

:grr: I cannot tell you how much I HATE this administration. :grr::nuke:

[dbeach]

8. Worse is a vast underestimate!

nicholson is the ultimate insider..he was former RNC chairman..he raised the milions that got these NAZIS into the WH..

he is now rewarded with yet another cushy job at the VA after the vatican job for 2 yrs.


He has that :"aw shucks smile and that what me worry look."

VFW Mag:" How did this opportunity to become VA secretary arise?"
Nich:"It was right out of the blue. I had no inkling"

Such aw shucks poppycock..he will be the worst ever..look out if you are a disabled Veteran...

he did his duty for the bosses and now he gets the payoff

[Merope215]

9. Damn

I've never seen anything like that. The more I hear about Obama, the more I love him!