Candidates seek votes of veterans
By PATRICK JACKSON
Dover Bureau reporter
07/29/2004After years of being in the rear echelon of American politics, veterans have found themselves in the front line of this year's electoral battlefield. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and President Bush are reaching out to veterans and organizing their own veterans groups to help sell their messages. Pete Keenan of Fenwick Island has already been enlisted in Kerry's campaign. "He's a true blue veteran," said Keenan, who served on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga during the Vietnam War. "He understands the issues that are important to veterans and is committed to taking care of them." Kerry won the Bronze Star, Silver Star and three Purple Hearts as patrol boat commander in Vietnam, and most of the speeches to delegates at this year's Democratic National Convention have emphasized Kerry's heroism under fire. But Wayne Nelson, a retired Air Force colonel living in Camden, said Kerry's antiwar protests upon his return from Vietnam have turned many veterans against him. "I was still flying missions over there when he did that," Nelson said, adding that he supports Bush because he believes the president is a strong leader. "I could never support someone who did that." While he's still undecided on who will get his vote, Bob Corsa of Millsboro said Kerry's front-line and postwar experience have caused mixed feelings among veterans. "John Kerry served in combat and George Bush was in the National Guard," said Corsa, who was with the Marine Corps in Vietnam and now heads the state Vietnam Veterans of America. "A lot of people came back and protested the war. But when he was called, he served." Although many veterans groups can't actively take part in partisan politics, veteran leaders say Delaware vets are getting involved this year. "I think veterans are seeing that they have a voice and they are getting into politics," said Corbit Goff, the American Legion's Delaware commander. "From our efforts to get a veterans home to the national and state campaigns, we're seeing that if we speak up, the politicians will pay attention." While both presidential candidates are promising increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, improved veterans health care and help for homeless veterans, Kerry and Bush are speaking to a shrinking segment of the population. Since the nation ended the draft and set up an all-volunteer military in the 1970s, the number of veterans has been dwindling. Census data shows that vets now make up about 12 percent of the national population. In Delaware, that number is higher - about 14 percent. However, studies show that more veterans tend to vote than much of the population. University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said the impact of veterans transcend their raw numbers. "To a lot of people, veterans also symbolize the active-duty military, which can't take part in partisan politics," he said. "Besides being an important voting block, they also have an important symbolic value because of that." And for the first time since the 1960s, Sabato said, Democrats have a presidential candidate with a serious shot at winning veteran support or at least making inroads in the Republican's traditional dominance among vets. "They are making a point of John Kerry's status as a war hero and his understanding of veterans issues," Sabato said. "I don't know if it's enough to help him win the veterans' vote, but it will be close this year." While some veterans are firmly in one camp or the other, many veterans, including Corsa, are still listening to what the candidates have to say. Corsa said he wants to hear how Bush and Kerry want to address traditional veterans' issues and how they plan to help veterans who are returning to civilian life from current battlefronts. "We already have a commander-in-chief, the president of the United States, and we can look at his record and see what he has delivered," he said. "If he's done a good job, we'll bring him back. If he hasn't, we'll look at someone else." Reach Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 or pjackson@delawareonline.com.

Edwards on the attack: VP nominee blasts Bush over veterans' health care
By Andrew Miga and David R. Guarino
Wednesday, July 28, 2004John Edwards, staking out aggressive new ground on war and defense, ripped President Bush [related, bio] tonight for turning his back on America's stricken veterans.

     ``Men and women who used to take care of themselves, they now count on others to see them through the day,'' Edwards told a packed FleetCenter crowd. ``They need their mother to tie their shoe, their husband to brush their hair.''

     The Democratic vice presidential nominee lashed Bush for lacking the compassion to care for fallen veterans - showcasing a combative tone on the eve of Sen. John F. Kerry's formal acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination.

     ``The word hero was made for them,'' Edwards said. ``And they deserve a president who understands that on the most personal level what they have gone through - what they have given and given up for their country.''

     Eager to prove to voters he's more than just a pretty face, Edwards devoted most of his prime-time acceptance address praising Kerry's war combat record and seeking to reassure skeptical voters he's ready to take over as chief executive.

     But his address was heavily laden with bursts of optimism, offering to strained workers and cash-strapped parents that ``hope is on the way.''

     ``In the weeks ahead, we know what's coming, don't we? More negative attacks,'' Edwards said. ``Aren't you sick of it?''

     Edwards' boyish good looks and all-American family have captivated many voters, but Democratic strategists realize the freshman North Carolina senator must prove he can be a strong leader able to stand up to the terrorist threat.

     In his first nationally televised speech, Edwards, 51, a multimillionare trial lawyer, praised Kerry's Vietnam War combat heroics and the veterans who are fighting today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

     Democrats are seeking to blunt Bush's advantage on national security issues, making it the core theme of their four-day convention. Strength is the convention's watchword for Democrats. Images of Kerry, who arrived in Boston flanked by his Navy crewmates, during his combat days as a young man dominate the gathering.

     Polls show Americans trust Bush more than Kerry in safeguarding the country. Those same voters are sharply divided over Bush's handling of the Iraq war - a split the Democrats hope to exploit.

     ``Decisive, strong,'' Edwards enthused. ``Aren't those the traits you want in a commander-in-chief?''

     Echoing another, more muted, convention theme, Edwards also took a broad swipe at his GOP foes.

     ``The Republicans are doing all they can to take this campaign for the highest office in the land down the lowest possible road,'' the senator complained.

     A few weeks ago, Bush pointedly suggested that Edwards lacked the qualifications to be president, saying that his own running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, was well-prepared to become commander-in-chief.

     Kerry's selection of Edwards, a dynamic speaker whose Southern working-class roots help him connect with voters in economically strapped swing states such as Ohio, has energized the Democratic ticket.

VETERANS

In Battle of Patriotic Symbols, Veterans Muster in Kerry Camp

By DAVID M. HALBFINGER

Published: July 27, 2004

OSTON, July 26 - They rolled in on wheelchairs or hobbled on canes, wore one-sleeved shirts or breathed through tubes, decked themselves out in biker vests or American Legion hats. Hundreds of military veterans - many bearing the physical and emotional scars of the Vietnam War - mustered here on Monday to enlist as John Kerry's shock troops in a campaign to win the hearts and minds of independent voters and nullify Republicans' traditional advantage on issues of national security.Before them, beneath a mammoth American flag, sat the crewmates who served under the young Lieutenant Kerry as he skippered their Swift boats through the treacherous Mekong Delta. There was Jim Rassmann, the Green Beret whom Mr. Kerry pulled from the water under enemy fire. And there was Max Cleland, the triple amputee and former Democratic senator from Georgia whose defeat in 2002 - by an opponent who ran commercials linking him to Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden - has become a rallying point for Democrats determined not to let Republicans who avoided combat bludgeon them with patriotic symbols. Advertisement



"That flag is our flag," declared Gen. Wesley K. Clark, another combat-wounded Vietnam veteran and now retired, as those who could stand jumped to their feet and those who could not just hollered. "We served under that flag. We've seen men die for that flag. And no John Ashcroft or Tom DeLay or Dick Cheney is going to take that flag away from us."A party known more for protesting peaceniks than for flag-waving warriors, the Democrats are putting military veterans front and center throughout their convention. They are allowing Mr. Kerry to brandish his combat experience to bolster his credentials as a would-be commander in chief in a time of war, when voters' natural impulse is to keep the incumbent in office. And they using it to answer Republican accusations that he is too soft on defense, too vacillating for a country needing decisive leadership.To be sure, veterans are hardly united behind Mr. Kerry, who antagonized many active soldiers and veterans of earlier conflicts with his searing antiwar testimony in 1971, and who remains a symbol of the chasm that the Vietnam War opened up in American society. For many veterans, their fury is still fresh at the fellow combatant who gained fame by saying he, and they, had been guilty of "atrocities" in Vietnam.So it was all the more striking, organizers said, that more than 1,000 people turned out on Monday for the first-ever Democratic veterans caucus. More than 500 veterans are among the convention delegates.Members of his Vietnam Swift boat crew are giving prime-time speeches and speaking at countless off-camera functions all week. One, the Rev. David Alston of Columbia, S.C. , told the convention Monday night that Mr. Kerry was a man of courage and conviction who never lost his cool. The veteran-lionizing culminates on Thursday with addresses by Mr. Rassmann and Mr. Cleland, who is to introduce Mr. Kerry as the party's nominee.Democratic officials said that they had even tried to find an old Navy Swift boat they could ship to the convention hall to use as a backdrop, but that the idea proved too expensive.There is plenty of martial imagery on display, however, and it serves many purposes, Democrats say, not least by letting them retell the story of Mr. Kerry's early life, when he was decorated for valor in Vietnam and then returned home to help lead the opposition to the war.Indeed, Mr. Kerry has used his war record - and the fellow veterans who bear witness to it - to answer nearly every conceivable attack. Weak on national security? He trots out his three Purple Hearts. A flip-flopper? He runs commercials featuring Del Sandusky, a former crewmate, saying Mr. Kerry's decisiveness under fire "saved our lives." His combat duty also gives Democrats their most potent line of personal attack at Mr. Bush - one that veterans feel free to press here, despite Mr. Kerry's professed desire that the conventioneers stick to more positive themes .But perhaps the most important function that veterans are serving is in testifying to what they call Mr. Kerry's bravery, his character and even his oft-questioned personal warmth."He's not aloof and standoffish," Jim Wasser of Kankakee, Ill., another former crewman on Mr. Kerry's boat, assured the delegates at the caucus. "He's a caring, compassionate, courageous, man's man."Veterans have helped Mr. Kerry again and again in his political career, but it was in 1984 that they first melded into an effective political brigade on his behalf

Posted on Wed, Jul. 28, 2004

 

Bunning promises to seek quality health care for veterans

 

BRUCE SCHREINER

Associated Press


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning promised Wednesday to push for the best health care available for veterans during a visit to a Veterans Affairs hospital with the Senate's top leader.Bunning was accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a heart surgeon who reminisced about performing operations at VA hospitals.Bunning, a Republican who is seeking a second term this fall, said he would use his assignment to the Veterans Affairs Committee to "make sure that the best care is available for our veterans.""We've been working very hard to make sure that the facility here and all other veterans' facilities have the equipment and the dollars that are needed for their progress," Bunning said at a brief news conference.Bunning is being challenged by Democratic state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo, a surgeon from Hazard.Frist, R-Tenn., said he was impressed by the VA hospital's use of electronic technology. One feature is bar coding of medicines."It gives the very best service to our veterans," he said. "It's the heart and soul of where we're going in health care in the future - right here already existing."Mongiardo also has advocated incorporating electronic technology to cut costs and improve health care.The Louisville hospital treated about 38,000 patients last year, officials said. The Louisville hospital serves a 35-county area in Kentucky and Indiana that has 154,000 veterans, VA officials said. The state's other VA hospital is in Lexington.A study on whether to build a new VA hospital in Louisville is expected to be completed by year's end. The study will include the estimated cost and will look at possible sites for a new hospital.Les Beavers, commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, said he thinks the case has been made for a new hospital, partly because of high demand for services among the area's veterans.Bunning is pushing legislation to allow the state to buy or lease the current hospital and use it as a nursing home if a new hospital is built.Mongiardo said that Bunning and Frist "say the right things in Kentucky but vote the wrong way in Washington."In a statement, Mongiardo said the proposed 2005 federal budget will leave veterans' programs at least $2.6 billion under budget, including a $46.2 million shortfall for veterans' health care in Kentucky."The crisis in veterans' health care is indicative of a broader failure by the politicians in Washington when it comes to health care," Mongiardo said.Meanwhile, Frist had little to say about the messages offered by Democrats at their national convention this week in Boston. He said Republicans will offer their vision at their convention later this summer.After the VA hospital tour, Frist spoke at a fund-raiser for Bunning.
Courting the veterans vote
by Bob Collins, Minnesota Public Radio
July 27, 2004


Very few delegates to the Boston convention, and fewer than 100 veterans, showed up at the rally to honor veterans at Boston's Bunker Hill monument. (MPR Photo/Bob Collins)

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Boston are hearing an emphasis on Sen. John Kerry's war record. Convention organizers are hoping to portray Kerry as someone strong on defense. But it may be a tough sell among at least one group of voters -- veterans.

Boston, Mass. — Large photographs throughout the convention hall display Vietnam images with John Kerry in fatigues, on his gunboat, surrounded by his so-called Band of Brothers. But Kerry also headed Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a fact Republicans are only too happy to use to paint Kerry as "soft" on defense.Longtime Democratic pollster Peter Hart acknowledges it's a challenge for Democrats to appeal to veterans. "The active military person is usually more likely to be a Republican, certainly with the officers," says Hart.

Kerry's Band of Brothers

Tuesday's plan to salute veterans got off to a rocky start. Beneath dozens of flags and towered over by the Bunker Hill monument in Boston, the Democrats hoped to stage a rally that would show them as a party committed to -- and supported by -- veterans.But peel away the speakers, the senators and House members and reporters, and fewer than 100 attended out of a convention of 6,000 delegates. That's indicative of how hard it will be for the Democrats to convince voters they are the party heavily supported by veterans.Pollster Hart says it's worth the effort."I think if Sen. Kerry can get over 50 percent of that vote, it's going to be a good sign for Democrats, because what it's going to say is, 'This person is strong enough to be able to lead.' These people care about the strength and direction of the nation," says Hart.But according to a CBS poll last month, Kerry is nowhere near getting 50 percent of the veteran vote. President Bush leads Kerry among veterans, 54 percent to 40 percent.

Pollster Peter Hart

In their opening salvos Monday night, Democrats focused more on promoting Kerry than savaging Bush. One exception was former President Jimmy Carter, who questioned how much time the president spent with the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War.And that's fertile ground for veterans like Jim Bootz of Chaska, who thinks this time, it should be the Republican whose wartime service is questioned."We haven't heard anything about George Bush's crewmates. I don't know if there were any," says Bootz. "We haven't heard anybody coming forward saying, 'Oh, yeah, I remember serving with him,' or speaking out -- his heroics or anything."A squad of Republican politicians arrived in Boston on Tuesday to respond to the Democrats. They included Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who criticized John Kerry's votes on Iraq."He's had seven different positions in a short period of time. Funding the $87 billion on body armor for our troops. In the end people aren't dumb, they're smart. They're going to focus on the record," Coleman says. "They're going to decide whether he has the strength and consistency to do what Joe Lieberman said, to make the tough decisions in the fight against terrorism."

Wesley Clark

The mention of Iraq has been relatively scarce in Democratic speeches so far. Officials have eliminated references to it being a mistake. But a sizeable Democratic base believes it was, and Kerry forces face a challenge marrying the so-called peace element of the party with the veterans, who polls show support the decision to go to war.Enter former Democratic presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark, who answered, "Who linked support for the war as a patriotic requirement?" by invoking the soldiers who stood against the British on Bunker Hill."They fought for freedom. They fought for the right to assemble, to dissent, to speak out, to give their views," Clark says. "And in a time of war, it is the highest form of patriotism to speak out and give those views across this country."But as delegates streamed into Boston FleetCenter for the second night of their convention, it's Vietnam -- not Iraq -- that campaign officials want to discuss, largely -- it would appear -- with the occasional subtle jab of what Bush was doing while Kerry was serving. To underscore the atmosphere of the '60s, the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary perform Tuesday night.

 

Signatures Gathered For Veterans License Plates

 

POSTED: 9:31 am PDT July 28, 2004
The state Department of Veterans Affairs is collecting signatures on a petition to the Legislature, asking for special license plates for veterans.
More Info

WA State Department Of Veterans Affairs

Signature Sheet



Only 2000 signatures of support are needed to present the request to the 2005 Legislature.
The plates would carry the emblems of each branch of the military.The proceeds would help pay for services to homeless veterans, memorials and possibly the maintenance of a future state veterans' cemetery.Copyright 2004 by KIROTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Seattle
Nation/World
Posted on Wed, Jul. 28, 2004
Veterans gain prominence in party
DEMOCRATS SPOTLIGHT MILITARY SERVICE, KERRY'S COMBAT ROLE

By Jim Puzzanghera

Mercury News Washington Bureau


BOSTON - With Iraq a major campaign issue and presumptive presidential nominee John Kerry a decorated Vietnam War hero, veterans are enjoying newfound cachet at the Democratic National Convention.More than 500 are here as delegates, a record for a party known more for peaceniks than paratroopers. The attention being showered on veterans also provides a powerful political image -- a reminder of Kerry's own combat service and a sharp contrast to President Bush, who opted to serve in the National Guard during Vietnam.They have been feted in hotel ballrooms and in an elaborate ceremony Tuesday at the base of the Bunker Hill Monument. Kerry's Navy crew mates from Vietnam have received prime-time speaking roles and will join him for a boat ride across Boston Harbor when he arrives today.Anyone with a military background is making sure to tout it, from Hollywood lobbyist Jack Valenti (a World War II fighter pilot) to Democratic strategist James Carville (a former Marine corporal).``We're all a member of John Kerry's `Band of Brothers,' '' former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark told about 1,600 veterans and their families at a standing-room-only reception Monday. ``He's the man we want as commander in chief. We're veterans. We know what it takes.''The Kerry campaign is hoping his Vietnam war record and focus on veterans health care and benefits will make inroads into what has traditionally been perceived as a Republican voting bloc.It also could be a productive image for Kerry as he tries to undercut what polls have shown is Bush's biggest strength, his perception as a strong leader, said John Mueller, a political-science professor at Ohio State University, who has studied wartime presidents.``They'd love to get votes from anybody, obviously, but it's more a matter of doing the tough thing and showing he's a hero,'' Mueller said.Contrast to BushVeterans at the convention like Kathleen Morgan, 43, of Palmdale said Kerry's war background sets him apart from Bush in a time of terrorist threats.``He knows what it's all about,'' said Morgan, who served in the Persian Gulf War and recently retired after 23 years in the Air Force. ``I think he's less likely to jump on the bandwagon to send us off to defend something that's not worth doing.''Opposition to the war in Iraq is a major factor behind the support of many veterans. And although Kerry voted in the Senate to authorize the war in Iraq, his opposition to how it has been conducted has drawn support from veterans who opposed the war from the start.``We went in for the wrong reasons,'' said Chalk Norton, 54, a firefighter and Vietnam veteran from Shawnee, Okla. ``We need to get our people home. I don't think Bush has got the plan.''There are about 26.5 million veterans nationwide, and they could make a difference in competitive states in November.``We're looking to bring in veterans in large, substantial numbers, and I think we can do it,'' said John Hurley, Kerry's national veterans coordinator. ``It's certainly not just an image thing.''Support from veterans, drummed up by some of Kerry's Vietnam crew mates like Del Sandusky of Clearwater, Fla., helped resuscitate the Massachusetts senator's primary campaign last winter.``Based on what we did in Iowa and New Hampshire, I think we're going to make a difference,'' said Sandusky. ``A vet will communicate faster with another vet. Bush can't compete with that . . . he doesn't have a veterans support group like we can gather.''Bush camp's letterStill, the Bush campaign released a public letter to veterans from 24 Medal of Honor recipients Tuesday who charge Kerry with making false accusations that Bush has cut veterans benefits, and slamming him for voting against the $87 billion appropriation in 2003 to fund troops in Iraq. Kerry said he supported an alternative version of the funding that included more accountability.``We are disturbed that John Kerry would try to scare veterans with his false accusations, and we are disappointed in his lack of support for today's troops,'' wrote the medal winners, who urged veterans to support Bush.Hurley dismissed the criticism and noted that the Bush campaign released a letter earlier this year with the support of 49 Medal of Honor recipients. He asked, ``What happened to the other 25?''Former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam, said veterans are moving to Kerry because he has supported their causes.``Vets are Republican. They tend to be oriented toward the military, toward patriotism, and in so many ways, the Democratic Party has neglected that side of itself,'' said Cleland, who will formally introduce Kerry at the convention Thursday, another sign of the party's embrace of veterans this week. ``But now you have the real deal. You have a real American hero.''Contact Jim Puzzanghera at jpuzzanghera@krwashington. com or (202) 383-6043.

Published Wednesday
July 28, 2004More tap into veterans' aidBY MARTHA STODDARD  


WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Aid given to Nebraska veterans has exceeded income from the Nebraska Veterans Aid trust fund for eight years - at a time eligibility requirements were eased. A 1997 state law expanded benefits to peacetime veterans, largely covering those in active military service during the Cold War years. The law also eliminated a five-year residency requirement for veterans seeking assistance. State Veterans Affairs Director John Hilgert said Tuesday that he introduced the law and still supports the expanded eligibility. Veterans who served after 1990, including the current Iraq war, are considered wartime. Peacetime veterans accounted for about 20 percent of those seeking assistance during the fiscal year ending June 30, according to state figures. That was up from about 17 percent in 2002-03. "I certainly will not be making a recommendation to anyone that we change that law," Hilgert said. As for new limits on veterans who received general rather than honorable discharges, Hilgert said he stands with Gov. Mike Johanns, who has asked veterans affairs officers to hold, rather than deny, applications from those veterans while the Legislature studies the situation. Johanns also says any legislation providing benefits for veterans with general discharges should be made retroactive. The Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee will hold hearings on the issue Oct. 8 in McCook and Oct. 27 in Omaha. Testimony to the Veterans Affairs Advisory Commission on Tuesday indicated a split among veterans about giving benefits to those with general discharges. Joe Ballweg, veterans service officer from Adams County, said veterans he talked with believe it was right to ask for the attorney general's opinion on whether veterans with general discharges were eligible. The veterans commission sought the opinion because of shortfalls in money available for aid. The state trust fund can help veterans with certain emergency expenses, medical needs and funerals. Ballweg said veterans believe the attorney general was correct in concluding that a general discharge should not be treated as the equivalent of an honorable discharge. Many veterans are concerned that providing benefits for those with general discharges would diminish the value of their honorable discharges, said John Hurst, veterans service officer from Cass County. "There is no lack of due process if that person wants to challenge a general discharge," Hurst said. But Jim Cada, a Lincoln attorney and Vietnam War veteran, said there are many reasons people got general discharges, some significant and some not. He suggested changing state law to provide benefits to those veterans, as has been done for the past 60 years or so, along with adding money to the trust fund so it would produce sufficient income to meet the needs. The fund is worth $29.6 million. It yielded income of nearly $908,000 in the fiscal year just ended, but the state provided more than $957,000 in benefits. Contact the Omaha World-Herald

Veterans losing access to promised level of quality health care Australia

28 Jul 2004
Veterans losing access to promised level of quality health care Australia

28 Jul 2004





AMA (Australian Medical Association) PollAn AMA doctors’ poll shows that Australia’s war veterans will find it harder to access the high level of quality medical care promised to them by the Government unless urgent funding is provided to the Local Medical Officer (LMO) Scheme.

An AMA survey of 335 doctors who participate in the LMO Scheme indicates that 60 per cent of GPs are on the verge of withdrawing from the Scheme if the Government fails to increase funding.

Managed by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), the LMO Scheme provides veterans with free medical care and treatment. Participating GPs bulk bill the DVA the cost of providing the high quality service, but Medicare Plus incentives for bulk billing have eroded the value of an LMO consultation.

AMA President, Dr Bill Glasson, said today that the LMO Scheme promises veterans the same level of access and standards of health care as a private patient, but the Government is failing to provide the funding to deliver on their stated commitment to the care of our war veterans.

“Our veterans are getting older and their health needs are becoming more complex, but the LMO fee does not reflect the fact that that our veterans have serious and sometimes multiple ailments that require special care and much longer GP consultations,” Dr Glasson said.

“There are currently 298,607 veterans eligible for care under DVA programs – with more than 150,000 of these veterans aged 70 and over.

“These veterans made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their fellow Australians, but are now being short-changed on the level of health care promised them in their retirement years because their Gold Cards no longer offer them the benefits to which they are entitled.

“The Government must do the right thing by our veterans and fund the LMO Scheme appropriately. If not, GPs will reluctantly opt out of the Scheme and ready access to promised high quality medical services and care will be denied our veterans,” Dr Glasson said.

Of the GPs polled, 86 per cent said veterans have more complex treatment needs than other patients, while 81 per cent said their DVA patients required considerably more paperwork and red tape, cutting into available time for other patients.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Australia’s Health 2004, states:

“...49 per cent of veterans with a DVA health care entitlement card rated their health as either fair or poor, compared with about 33 per cent of males of equivalent age in the general community...veterans report poorer health and more health problems than people of the same age in the general community, and war widows and widowers.”

Australian Medical Association
Neugebauer, Principi will visit hospital

Odessa AmericanU.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will visit the Big Spring VA hospital Aug. 24.
Veterans forums have also been scheduled that day in Big Spring an

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Low Level Radiation Campaign response to
SCIENCE OR SCIENCE FICTION?
Facts, Myths and Propaganda In the Debate Over Depleted Uranium Weapons
Dan Fahey; March 12, 2003
(Fahey's paper can be read at: http://www.antenna.nl/wise/uranium/pdf/dumyths.pdf)

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