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VETERANS DIVIDED OVER SEN. LARRY CRAIG'S LEGACY
ON VA -- "Larry Craig has not exactly been
loved
in the veterans community."
For more about Sen. Larry Craig and his fall
from grace, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/
sessearch.php?q=larry+
craig&op=ph
Story here...
http://thehill.com/leading
-the-news/veterans--divided-over-se
n.-craigs-legacy-on-va-2007-09-07.html
Story below:
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Veterans divided over Sen. Craig’s legacy on VA
By Roxana Tiron
As Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) fate remains uncertain in the Senate,
some in the veterans community say he will not be missed as the ranking
member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Over his years as the panel’s chairman and then as top Republican, Craig
— a fiscal conservative — did not ingratiate himself to some groups
seeking to boost funds for veterans’ healthcare. Other groups, however,
say that they appreciated his work, or at least his willingness to hear
all sides.
One organization happy to see Craig go is the Disabled American
Veterans, which constantly “butted heads” with Craig on funding issues,
said Joe Violante, DAV’s national legislative director.
“He was an outspoken critic of our efforts to change the VA [Veterans
Affairs] healthcare funding from a discretionary program to a mandatory
program,” Violante said. “He’s a staunch fiscal conservative.”
Craig did win some favor for backing legislation that would give
veterans the right to hire an attorney to fight denial of their claims
with the Department of Veterans Affairs. But Violante argued that
“veterans should not have to pay a fee to get their entitlements from
the government.”
“Larry Craig has not exactly been loved in the veterans community,”
agreed Larry Scott, an Army veteran and the founder and editor of
VA Watchdog.org. “A lot of
things he has proposed in the past few years have raised the hackles of
the veterans community.”
At the top of Scott’s list is Craig’s comparison of veterans spending to
Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, which are all funded by
mandatory spending. “His arguments are ridiculous and show contempt for
veterans and their service,” Scott wrote on his website. “There is no
cap on the number of wounded who come back from our wars.”
Craig also received criticism from veterans for proposing to privatize
the VA healthcare system.
Despite these policy disagreements, however, several high-profile
veterans groups say they enjoyed working with Craig over the years and
that his contributions to the community would be missed.
Steve Robertson, the legislative director of the American Legion, said
that Craig was always open to listen to all points of view.
“You look into windows of opportunity to discuss issues and he has been
open to discussion,” Robertson said. “We deal with issues and not with
personality.”
Calling Craig “one of the best” as a lawmaker and an advocate for
veterans, Robertson added that Craig, as panel chairman, conducted many
more hearings than his predecessors.
“Sen. Craig has always been fair and equitable to us. You can’t ask for
anything more than for people to level with you and give you a straight
answer,” said Richard Weidman, executive director for policy and
government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America. “Not everybody is
going to be with you on everything.”
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Larry Scott --
