I am writing to you regarding a news release entitled:
"VFW Demands Senator Apologize to Troops"
Since when did torturing prisoners become acceptable to the VFW? Since when does the VFW demand an apology from a Senator who has stood by veterans, fought to keep their funding against an administration who continually cuts aid and funds for our veterans?
Senator Durbin did not say that John Furgess committed these offenses. He was referring to an F.B.I. report that documented detainees "chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more."
Should Senator Durbin have, instead, referred to the torture and murder that took place in Afghanistan instead (see article entitled: In U.S. Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths, 5/20/05
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70C13FB3F5D0C738EDDAC0894DD404482 )
As a veteran why would you prefer that these events be allowed to occur rather than prohibited? Why would you want anyone's son or daughter in our military to be encouraged to torture to death any prisoner?
It would seem to me that Senator Durbin is doing exactly what John Furgess is asking for--and more. Furgess said all the veterans ever asked for was for "the country to care for their minds and bodies if broken" and Durbin is trying to prevent their minds from being broken, their bodies from being broken, their spirits from being broken by not allowing them to be put in such a position.
Furgess wants "every member of Congress and all 900,000 veterans in the State of Illinois to make their displeasure known to Senator Durbin". But maybe Mr. Furgess should have reviewed Senator Durbin's record before making such remarks and he would have realized that Senator Durbin continues to show the utmost respect for the veterans in this country and in his state.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation to improve health care, education and housing benefits available to troops returning home from combat. The Welcome Home GI Bill is the Senate companion to legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL). Its benefits would be available to any member of the American Armed Services, including the Reserve and National Guard who served at least six consecutive months in Iraq or Afghanistan since September 11, 2001.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=237571 U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) today made the following statement regarding the release of a report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General on disparities in disability payments to Illinois veterans:
“Today’s report by the Office of the Inspector General moves us closer to understanding why Illinois veterans have been receiving far lower average disability benefits than veterans in other states, but here is much work to be done to guarantee Illinois veterans are treated fairly. The fact that Illinois ranked dead last in VA disability compensation for twenty years is disgraceful. Every veteran who feels he or she was treated unfairly during that period should have their case re-evaluated and the VA should work overtime to help them receive their fair compensation.”
“The report makes it clear that the VA regional offices do not have enough staff and their disability ratings specialists are overwhelmed by pressures to process claims quickly. But the faster they work, the less likely veterans are to receive fair compensation. The VA must do more to correct high turnover rates among ratings specialists in their regional offices, and especially in the Chicago Regional Office. We urge Secretary Nicholson to focus significant attention to improved training and retention for VA ratings specialists.”
“The report shows that veterans who receive assistance in preparing their disability claims from a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) are more likely to be fully compensated for their disability – receiving an average $6,225 more than veterans who do not work with a VSO. We strongly encourage the VA to expand and improve the outreach of Veterans Service Organizations in Illinois, requesting additional funding if necessary.”
“It is clear that the VA relies on a disability ratings system created in 1945 that must be reviewed. There is no excuse for the VA to continue to rely on methods developed during World War II when determining disability claims.”
“This report places a strong emphasis on cases of fraud and overpayment of disability claims. We agree that fraud and abuse must not be tolerated, but we urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to do more to ensure that cases where benefits are being underpaid receive the same or greater attention and leadership from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.”
“We look forward to hosting Secretary Nicholson in Chicago tomorrow for a town hall meeting with Illinois veterans. We hope it will be a positive opportunity for our veterans to make their voices heard and learn first hand what steps the VA will be taking to correct these benefit disparities.”
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=237957“The Bush Administration opposed the inclusion of the Reservist Pay Security in the supplemental appropriations bill, saying it would ‘have a negative impact on morale and unit cohesion.’ If that is the case, why would the Defense Department’s own website praise employers that make up the pay difference for their workers?”
“I am deeply disappointed by the way this was handled in the conference committee. Yesterday I reintroduced the Reservist Pay Security Act in the Senate and I will push for its consideration without delay. Our service members have been waiting long enough for this simple justice.”
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=237376“Earlier this month, I traveled across Illinois and met combat veterans who have recently returned home from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Durbin. “Many soldiers come home from war with wounds you can’t see, but that are just as real and just as disabling as physical injuries. Unfortunately, the VA is ill-prepared to deal with the increasing number of soldiers who will require PTSD treatment. Today, I joined with Senator Murray and other Senate Democrats to add funding to the VA system so that returning soldiers don’t have to wait six months to a year for the treatment they need to resume their normal lives.”
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=236299http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=238749http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=236342http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=236104http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=235049http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=234783An amendment to the Senate bankruptcy bill proposed by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was passed by the Senate today by a vote of 99-0. The Durbin amendment exempts disabled veterans from the bankruptcy bill’s means test if their debts occurred primarily during a period of military service.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=233444U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the budget the President sent to Capitol Hill today continues his failed tax polices, masks the true cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the costs of his Social Security privatization plan, and shortchanges vital domestic priorities like education, Medicaid and Veterans benefits that millions of Americans rely on.
“A budget is more than a collection of numbers; it’s a reflection of values,” Durbin said. “What the President is sending to Congress today reveals a wide gulf between the President’s speeches and his real priorities.”
“In this budget, the President increases health care costs for veterans, cuts health care for people in nursing homes and poor children, and continues to fail to fully fund his education mandates,..."
Veterans: The President’s budget would force more than 40,000 Illinois veterans with incomes as low as $25,842 per year to pay more for their health care. Illinois veterans will be hit with a $250 annual fee to participate in the VA healthcare system and their monthly prescription drug costs will more than double – going up to $15 per month from the current $7 per month.
In addition, the Department of Veterans Affairs has consistently underestimated the agency’s true costs in three areas: acute hospital care patients, psychiatric patients and the number of total medical visits have all exceeded VA’s projections in three of the last four years. Already more than one million American troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 10,000 soldiers have been wounded in action. Mental health professionals estimate that at least 16 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), requiring psychiatric treatment.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record2.cfm?id=233461And the list goes on.
Maybe John Furgess should "call on every member of Congress and all 900,000 veterans in the State of Illinois" to accept his personal apology because he misspoke when he implied that when our soldiers are ordered to torture prisoners it is "selflessness" behavior, and that he misunderstood Senator Durbin's statements and apologizes to Senator Durbin for calling his remarks "reprehensible."
It would appear Senator Durbin has gone to bat for veterans more often than this Bush administration. I would hardly call that "reprehensible."
From the daughter of a veteran.
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