[PhanthomOps]

As a Disabled American Veteran (70% USAF), I am appauled at the manner in which our so-called "servants of the people", our elected officials deny us Health Care.

At present, the Veterans Administration receives money through "Discrenary Funding" This means that if there is a shortfall in government meeting other designated projects, the money needed can be taken from the VA. This is atrocious and not to say "Thank You" to the Veterans many of whome have life-long disabilities and can only go to the VA for medical care.

The VA needs to receive "Mandatory Funding". Only in this way can they;
1) refirbush the existing medical centers,
2) purchase critically needed and updated equipment and supplies,
3) ensure that there is enough medical staff available to meet the ever growing need
4) be able to schedule appointments in a timely manner instead of 3 to 4 months in the future.

President Lincoln stated in his Second Inaugural Address, March 4,1865, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.

President (General) George Washington also stated "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their Nation."

General Colin Powell, while Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff remarked "We must not forget the past. We must not forget those who sacrificed, but we must also remember the reason for their sacrifice. They died so tyranny would die. They died to create a better world for those of us who followed them. Their sacrifice was not in vain".

General Douglas Mac Arthur said "And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable, are they brave, are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you; it is the story of the American man-at-arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefield many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then as I regard him now--as one of the world’s noblest figures, not only as one of the finest military characters but also as one of the most stainless. His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty he gave--all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy’s breast. But then I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism; he belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom; he belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements. In 20 campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other he has drained deep the chalice of courage".

In-as-much as 90%+ of our Armed Forces are volunteers (which makes for a better service as opposed to the draft), we need to say to those now serving and those who have served and are still alive "We appreciate your service and sacrifice", because without it we would not have our freedoms and way of life.

We need to our elected officials (who have medical coverage for themselves and family which is second to none)to stop filling their stupid "pork-barrels" and get down to the business of taking care America's Veterans.