Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL 28 Sept 2007
Colonel, AUS, retired
I keep hearing people saying how "they support the troops and veterans"
Supporting the troops is more than a bumper sticker, or helping with Bingo.
According to a new GAO report, the VA reports 196,000 veterans were
homeless on any given night in 2006. The same report states the VA has
quad tripled beds for homeless veterans all the way up to 8,200. Who is kidding who?
You want to support the troops/ Veterans? Demand your Representatives
stay at their jobs and work on these problems more than a few days a year
rather than coming home to campaign all the time. A fire truck for a local
town, or more beds at a State VA Home or at a VA Medical Center.
500,000 VA claims for benefits are backlogged. Many of those are homeless
veterans unable to work, thus unable to rent places to live and support
their families. Valid claims are consistently denied, appealed, and denied taking far too
long to adjudicate. A soldier is found unfit for duty by the military, given a small amount
of money, discharged, then thrown to the wolves at the VA. When is enough, enough.
Reference:
Homeless Veterans Programs: Bed Capacity, Service, and Communication Gaps Challenge the Grant and Per Diem Program. GAO-07-1265T, September 27
Highlights - http://www.gao. gov/highlights/ d071265thigh. pdf
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL 217-359-3797
Colonel, AUS, retired
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