The Obama administration is ushering in the largest expansion of government control of our personal lives in the history of this country. Our national debt is approaching $11 Trillion, an out of control, record breaking debt that is reaching the stratosphere. While this administration is ignoring the cost to the taxpayer of taking control of private businesses and forcing through universal health care that will increase our debt even more, they are simultaneously working on a bill that will require veterans to pay for treatment of combat-related injuries.
Veterans Health Care Plan
So, it appears that we will tax us into poverty to pay for 9,000 pet projects for our legislators, use the military to chauffeur Nancy Pelosi around, but we won’t pay for veterans health care. Outraged? So are veterans groups.
The White House confirmed yesterday that the idea remains under consideration, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and leaders of veterans groups are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss it further.
The proposal — intended to save the Department of Veterans Affairs $530 million a year — would authorize VA to bill private insurance companies for the treatment of injuries and medical conditions related to military service, such as amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder and other battle wounds. VA already pursues such third-party billing for conditions that are not service-related.
Veterans groups said the change would be an abrogation of the government’s responsibility to care for the war wounded. And they expressed concern that the new policy would make employers less willing to hire veterans, for fear of the cost of insuring them, and that insurance benefits for veterans’ families would be jeopardized.
There are only a handful of our youth that have volunteered to protect our country. By doing this, they have been required to give up their freedom, their youth and in too many cases, their health. They do this while so many others have just gone on with their lives virtually oblivious to the fact that we are a nation at war, and making no sacrifices whatsoever in support of the Global War on Terrorism. We have thanked our Soldiers by basically ignoring them and the sacrifices they have made on our behalf. Now, this administration seems determined to slap them in the face by refusing government assistance with any health care needs they might have as a result of their willingness to do the heavy lifting for the country.
The American Legion reports that the President refused to hear opposing opinions:
“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”
The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, “This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘ to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”
I think what appalls me as much as anything about it is that this news comes out at the same time that Nancy Pelosi stands up in front of illegal aliens and gives a big speech about how its ‘unAmerican’ to ask them to abide by American laws and come into the country legally. Illegal aliens get free health care. I think its time our Soldiers got a little leg up from our society.
Virtually every other aspect of our society is being socialized and the medical care of our military is being privatized. This is illogical and just plain outrageous.
So much of what this administration is doing is being done quickly, before people are aware its being done. The logic seems to be that once its done there is nothing people can do about it. If they get all the nasty stuff done on the front end of this administration, then they will have some time to make nice with the American people before they have to face the next election.
These huge bailouts and ’stimulous’ bills are about paying back political debt, not saving the economy. This is all about Obama and the Congress’ self interests, not the best interests of the American people, the country and certainly not our Men at Arms.
People need to know what is being done to our military men and women.
Others who are outraged:
Day by Day (cartoon above)
Fausta
blatherings
demoralize the troops, sabotage recruitment and break private health insurance industry: just more hope and change you can count on.
Darleen at Protein Wisdom
This Ain’t Hell
Red State
Blackfive
Powerline
Guntoting Liberal
Kim Priestap at Wizbang! says there’s something ‘fundamentally wrong’ about this and wonders if this is how Obama ‘upholds the Sacred trust’.
Brutally Honest
Well now he is president. And the first thing that he wants to do concerning veterans? Is turn his back on them and tell them up front that they need to look after themselves as it concerns their war related maladies. Let their insurance pay for it if they have it. Forget the age old premise of “service connected” becasue in the eyes of Barack Obama, there is no debt of payment owing to those who served. Debts of service obviously means little of nothing to a man that feels absolutely no connection to the military or those who serve or have served this country. The social baton has been passed to the future now it would appear.
NiceDeb has a great round-up of Obama blunders and outrages from the past couple of weeks.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Great. So now Barry in Charge is going to screw up the military and the VA. What a joke this guy is. He and his followers have no idea how to do anything.
Expect a mass exodus from the military like we saw under Billary Clinton.
Is it 2012 yet?
March 18th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
George - we knew he had no respect for or understanding of the military. Unfortunately, none of this comes as a surprise. I’m just a tad surprised that he’s doing it so fast is all. But then, he has to get our entire society changed over so he can sit back and collect his payoffs for the rest of his presidency.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:00 am
I guess that Disabled Veterans benefit package the Democrats stonewalled and shelved in the Senate last year will never see the light of day. Democrats claimed they only wanted increases in it, and Republicans wouldn’t go along with them. They claimed, that was what was holding up its passage. I hate liars.
They can throw away billions in porkulus on projects like Pelosi’s “swamp mouse conservation program” while wounded Veterans and their families are filing for bankruptcy trying to pay for necessary medical needs that are not covered in the VA’s meager budget. Time to re-institute a military Draft. Watch how quickly Liberals would change their minds on the importance of caring for our men and women in uniform. Obama and his administration are like the Keystone Cops. Running around wildly, accomplishing nothing and creating their own havoc.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
This president has done nothing but shoot down the basic principles which have been established by our founding of the Constitution of the United States of America. He is all about Marxism. When are the Americans who want to retain our basic freedoms going to speak up. It saddens me that our boys who are in the line of duty have to call the likes of him commander in chief. It is a shame. Those who fought for our freedoms deserve the best. I pray to the almighty father in heaven that this destructive reign of terror is stopped in Washington. Only God can take care of this situation.