Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

‘Support the Troops’ is Still a Slogan to the GOP

The contempt Republicans have for veterans has become more and more visceral
as Democratic and independent minded soldiers and veterans stand up and declare
there are many political affiliations in the military. As everyone knows, it was Republicans who
swiftboated John McCain in 2000, as well as John Kerry in 2004, not to mention
went after John Murtha, as well as any general or soldier who came out against
the Bush – Cheney Iraq policy. Honestly, the list of Republicans attacking veterans since Democratic veterans began pushing back on Iraq is endless. Executive privilege on Pat Tillman documents the insult of all insults. The “Shock
Troops” diary from The New Republic offered just the latest
attempt to go after a veteran, especially now that the
author of the anonymous diaries has declared his identity. There have been charges that the stories are not true, with TNR now fact checking everything again. That’s one thing, even though nothing has been disproven to date. But Michelle
Malkin goes full out on Beauchamp, with Powerline offering the short version of his opinion of the Democratic veteran.

He’s a pretentious ass, and a lefty.

That’s really the bottom line with Republican support for the military. They
like their soldiers serving, silent and sycophantic, oh, and Republican. A Democratic veteran will
be spared no quarter and be attacked.

But when it comes to supporting the troops, nothing goes further to proving
Republican hypocrisy than their policies and military management.

Tony Snow said the following yesterday after the Dole-Shalala report was issued.

White House Said President Bush Would Not Act Quickly on Dole-Shalala Recommendations. “White House press secretary Tony Snow said that Bush would not be acting immediately on any of the recommendations.” [Associated Press, 7/25/07]

The recommendations from the Dole Shalala report
are simple. Because of their importance I’m offering them in full.

The Commission report: Serve, Support, Simplify presents six recommendations with specific action steps for the Administration and Congress: 1. Immediately Create Comprehensive Recovery Plans to Provide the Right Care and Support at the Right Time in the Right Place Recommendation: Create a patient-centered Recovery Plan for every seriously injured service member that provides the right care and support at the right time in the right place. A corps of well-trained, highly-skilled Recovery Coordinators must be swiftly developed to ensure prompt development and execution of the Recovery Plan. Goals: Ensure an efficient, effective and smooth rehabilitation and transition back to military duty or civilian life; establish a single point of contact for patients and families; and eliminate delays and gaps in treatment and services. Seriously injured service members—approximately 3,100 in the current conflicts— require assistance in navigating complex medical systems in general. The Commission’s research, including site visits and the work of previous studies, indicate that individuals both need and benefit from this support, and that too often, it is not available. 2. Completely Restructure the Disability Determination and Compensation Systems Recommendation: DoD maintains authority to determine fitness to serve. For those found not fit for duty, DOD provides a payment for time served. VA then establishes the disability rating, compensation and benefits. Goals: Update and simplify the disability determination and compensation system; eliminate parallel activities; reduce inequities; and provide a solid base for the return of injured veterans to productive life. According to initial findings of a survey conducted by the Commission among wounded and evacuated members, the current disability rating system in both DoD and VA is poorly understood and a source of dissatisfaction. Just over 40% fully understood the disability evaluation process. Virtually all recent evidence has pointed to the need for major reform. 3. Aggressively Prevent and Treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury Recommendation: VA should provide care for any veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts who has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). DoD and VA must rapidly improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of both PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI). At the same time, both Departments must work aggressively to reduce the stigma of PTSD. Goals: Improve care of two common conditions of the current conflicts and reduce the stigma of PTSD; mentally and physically fit service members will strengthen our military into the future. DoD and VA have stepped up screening for these conditions with almost three-quarters of survey respondents reporting being screened for PTSD and TBI, and over 40% of them reporting symptoms of PTSD or other mental health problems 4. Significantly Strengthen Support for Families Recommendation: Strengthen family support programs including expanding DoD respite care and extending the Family and Medical Leave Act for up to six months for spouse and parents of seriously injured. Goals: Strengthen family support systems and improve the quality of life for families. Approximately two-thirds of injured service members reported that their family members or close friends stayed with them for an extended time while they were hospitalized; one in five gave up a job to to do so. 5. Rapidly Transfer Patient Information Between DoD and VA Recommendation: DoD and VA must move quickly to get clinical and benefit data to users. In addition, DoD and VA should jointly develop an interactive ‘My eBenefits’ website that provides a single information source for service members. Goals: Support a patient-centered system of care and efficient practices. Most of the time, the role of information technology is invisible to the service member. They often notice when information is not available. A common complaint is lost paperwork. For example, 40% reported having to resubmit paperwork during the disability evaluation process. 6. Strongly Support Walter Reed By Recruiting and Retaining First Rate Professionals Through 2011 Recommendation: Until the day it closes, Walter Reed must have the authority and responsibility to recruit and retain first rate professionals to deliver first rate care. Walter Reed Army Medical Center has a distinguished history and, with one in five injured service members going directly to Walter Reed, continues to play a unique and vital role in providing care for America’s military. Goals: Assure that this major military medical center has professional and administrative staff necessary for state-of-the art medical care and scientific research through 2011.

Why would the president not act on these recommendations, considering nothing
is more important than keeping faith with our soldiers and veterans? Expect
backtracking immediately.

However, if you look at Bush’s record on veterans issues, you don’t have to
just turn to Nicholson’s recent resignation to get the picture. Simply stated,
it’s not Republicans who are coming to the aid of our veterans. It’s the Democratic
Congress.

Senate Democrats Passed Wounded Warriors Bill to Upgrade Military Health Care and Ease the Transition from Military Health Care to Veterans Health Care. The Senate passed a bill to upgrade military health care and the transition of wounded soldiers from the Pentagon’s health care system to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation also included a 3.5% pay raise for our nation’s troops. [CQ Today, 7/24/07; Senate Floor Proceedings, 7/25/07] Democrats Passed Legislation Out of Committee Providing the Largest Increase for Veterans Affairs Funding in History. “House and Senate appropriators are both confidently moving forward with their proposals to give the Veterans Affairs Department its largest-ever budget increase to address the increasing health care needs of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed its version of the fiscal 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill (HR 2642) June 15 by a vote of 409-2. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 28-1, its draft version on June 14.” [CQ Today, 6/15/07] Iraq Supplemental Appropriations Bill Included Additional $1.8 Billion for Veterans’ Health Care. “The House and Senate approved the $120 billion package yesterday. The president had requested $103 billion, but Congress added additional spending requirements to increase veterans’ health care programs by $1.8 billion, military construction and realignment by almost $5 billion, and homeland security by more than $1 billion.” [VFW Press Release, 5/25/07] Senate Passes Long-Overdue Health Care Overhaul, Pay Raise For Troops

The VA still has a backlog of 600,000 veterans. It still takes up to five months
to have claims addressed. Veterans are still getting lost in the bureaucracy.
Then there’s the real shame that veterans still go homeless.

Mr. Bush has failed time and again to act on other commission reports. Will
he act on Dole-Shalala to get our veterans the help they have earned, need and
deserve? If past is prologue the answer is already written in the Administration’s
bankrupt policy on everything having to do with the military. It goes from sending
them into war ill equipped, without a plan to get out, without armor needed,
with continual redeployment, even when soldiers are not fully recuperated, some
even on Prozac, as well as what happens when they come home mentally scarred
or physically broken. Republicans have broken faith with our veterans so many
times no one is surprised that Mr. Bush’s spokesperson is openly saying they’re preparing to do it yet again.

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