The waiting times for veterans to get started in medical care at some VA Medical Centers is unconscionable and cannot be tolerated. It is disturbing that some employees have resorted to falsifying the data to obscure how bad it is.
Republicans are rubbing their hands in glee, while condemning President Obama and his administration for such a shameful neglect of those to whom we owe so much.
But wait just a minute. As unacceptable as it is, there are some things that should be understood before pointing fingers of blame.
1. The past 13 years of the Bush-Cheney, unpaid-for wars have generated an enormous number of new veterans needing medical care. One estimate is that new patients in our VA system have increased by 50% during this time, while the number of full-time doctors working for the VA has increased by only 9%.
Might that not be a major cause of the problem, not just incompetency?
2. While there has been some increased funding for the VA, much more is needed; and who is it that insisted on worrying more about the deficit than helping our people? It is the Republicans, more than the Democrats, who have blocked better funding.
Please, President Obama, do not just say "this is unacceptable, and we have to do better." Please give it back to the Republicans -- expose their hypocrisy. Face them down with their cutting funds and then blaming you, the president, for programs failing.
Just like they cut the security budget for our diplomatic facilities -- yes, including Benghazi. This is one of the oldest tricks in their playbook; don't fall for it.
Ralph
[Later Note: According to the AJC's fact-checker, congress did not "cut" funding for VA medical services; that has actually gone up. However, what they did was to pass a budget that reduced the amount that President Obama requested in every budget since 2010 -- so, in effect, given the overwhelming increase in need, they seriously under-funded it, even if they didn't cut it below what it had been.]
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