Why the Vets won't be celebrating

[raysr]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2003/11/06/vets/index.html Nov. 6, 2003 | Why vets won't be celebrating
Yesterday evening on the House floor, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., offered some angry perspective on the Bush administration's "support for our troops." A Vietnam-era Air Force veteran (although his own Web site omits that fact), DeFazio rose to contest the happy-face rhetoric of his Republican colleagues in anticipation of Veterans Day next Wednesday. DeFazio's remarks about the real record of the self-styled super-patriots in the GOP deserve to be quoted at length:

"Here are some real facts, unlike what we heard earlier today: 150,000 veterans are waiting six months or longer for appointments; 14,000 veterans have been waiting 15 months or longer for their "expedited" disability claims; 560,000 disabled veterans are subject to the disabled veterans tax, something we have tried to rectify.

"We have 373 cosponsors . There are only 435 people here. If 373 people want something, we should be able to do it, should we not? That is a super, super, super majority. But guess what? The Republican leadership, under urging from the president and Secretary Rumsfeld and threats of veto from the president, are refusing to bring up a repeal of the disabled veterans tax.

"We can have tax breaks for people who do not work for a living, the investor class. We can have tax breaks for whole hosts of people and things. But we cannot have tax relief for disabled veterans. Is that not extraordinary? President Bush refused to spend $275 million in emergency money for veterans' health care provided by Congress in the fiscal year 2002 supplemental appropriations bill. But of course he wants to do everything he can to recognize the service of our veterans and our young men and women.

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[Tansy_Gold]

1. I printed out a copy of DeFazio's statement for hubby. . . . .

. . . , who is a Vietnam-era vet, to take to work and share with his co-workers who are veterans but also for some idiotic reason remain stubbornly repuke.

Thanks for posting this.


Tansy Gold, who continues to be amazed, but not really surprised, by the tenacity of the blindly loyal

[Cha]

2. Maybe all the Vets "who won't be celebrating"

should read this on Veteran's Day, instead, and if they get it they can vote in 2004 for our Dem candidate. They might have something to "celebrate" next Veteran's Day! :kick: