Printer Friendly Page
WHAT PROMISE TO VETERANS? -- by Larry Scott --
It’s the great American myth; an urban legend
of epic
proportions. But, there was no promise made, so
there’s
nothing to keep. Now, it’s time for a new,
in-your-face attitude:
WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS -- YOU OWE US!
Story below:
Page 2 of 2
(1) (2)
back
-------------------------
continued from
Page 1
Veterans have been accepting the constantly-changing hodge-podge of laws
and regulations that, sometimes, provide disability compensation and
care. And, “sometimes” is the operative word. A check of federal
regulations covering veterans’ benefits shows an abundant use of the
phrase “the Secretary may.” The “Secretary” is the Secretary of
Veterans’ Affairs who “may” or may NOT provide the benefit listed in the
specific regulation.
But, could there be a promise to veterans buried somewhere in mountains
of laws or hidden deep in the recesses of the Federal Code? The
Herculean effort to see if such a promise existed was undertaken by
David F. Burelli, a National Defense Specialist for the Congressional
Research Service. Burelli’s research paper is titled Military Health
Care: The Issue of “Promised” Benefits. The 23-page paper makes this
determination: “Many…military retirees…state that they were promised
‘free health care for life at military facilities’ as part of their
‘contractual agreement’ when they entered the armed forces. Efforts to
locate authoritative documentation of such promises have not been
successful. Congressional report language and recent court decisions
have rejected retiree claims [of] a right or entitlement.” While
Burelli’s paper deals with military retirees, it can be extrapolated to
include non-retiree veterans, as well.
Others, realizing Burelli’s findings to be accurate, have tried to
reframe the language of a promise to veterans. Dave Autry of the
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) likes to use the concept of a “moral
obligation” to veterans. That high-minded verbiage has been used
thousands of times by politicians, authors and veterans’ advocates. But,
it still doesn’t equate to a promise. And, it assumes that Congress, who
supplies funding for veterans’ care and disability compensation,
understands what is “moral” and has the fortitude to commit to an
“obligation.” Those are two dangerous assumptions.
But, this verbal posturing leaves us where we began. There is no promise
to veterans. The government can’t keep a promise that was never made.
And, it’s not realistic to assume that they are breaking a promise they
never made.
Will there ever be a promise to veterans? A real promise that is
codified? A document that positively states what veterans will receive
for their service to country? Not unless we, as veterans, force the
issue. No politician is brave enough to step forward and say, “We lied
to you,” so it’s up to us. We must raise hell about the issue.
I, for one, am tired of the hand-in-glove relationships our veterans’
service organizations (VSOs) have established with Congress and the VA.
Every year the VSOs go to Capitol Hill and grovel for next year’s VA
budget handout. When the budget is passed and doesn’t meet their
expectations, the VSOs politely thank the politicians for doing a good
job and then politely urge them to do better.
Whatever happened to in-your-face, do-it-or-else political lobbying? We
pay our VSO dues so they can represent us on Capitol Hill. They are
failing in their mission. They allow politicians to ramble on about a
promise to veterans and never ask the questions: What promise is that,
politician? The one you never keep? And, the politicians keep playing us
for fools. As long as veterans buy into the myth of a promise, the
politicians win.
We, as veterans will continue to scrap and fight for our justly-deserved
benefits. But, it’s time we adopt a new attitude. It’s time to stop
accepting piecemeal legislation that gives a few budget dollars to slap
a Band-Aid on a chronically-underfunded VA healthcare and benefits
system. It’s time we stop accepting the nonsense of politicians who
openly view VA benefits as charity, to be handed out only to those who
fit their warped definition of the deserving. We owe it to all of our
Brother and Sister veterans. And, let’s be honest, we owe it to
ourselves. This is not the time to be humble.
It’s time for the in-your-face type of confrontation that our VSOs are
incapable of providing. We must take our elected representatives to task
and demand that they stop talking about a promise and actually give us
one. We must tell Congress what we want. We must tell the American
people what we want and that we earned our benefits through our service.
Most “civilians” live under the assumption that “the VA takes care of
it” when it comes to veterans’ benefits. It’s time they were educated.
It’s time to stop asking and start telling. No more “Yes sir” and “No
ma’am” and “Thank you very much” for what little we get. If we don’t
force this issue, we can only blame ourselves.
The next time my Senator or Representative holds a town hall meeting in
my area I’ll be there asking about the promise. I want them to tell me
what the promise is and where I can find it in writing. They won’t be
able to do that. But, maybe, just maybe, they’ll listen as I tell them
it’s time to make a real promise and it’s time to really keep it. And,
I’ll be wearing the T-shirt with this slogan printed in large letters:
WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS – YOU OWE US!
***** END *****
Page 2 of 2
(1) (2) back
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
