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Taking Care of Our Veterans
John Lenotte, American Legion
(03/06/07)

We have seen in the national news recently about the deplorable conditions at a part of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This from a facility that is one of the best in the country and the world. Congress, the Department of Defense, the American Legion and other groups are investigating and I am sure this will get corrected in a very short time.

Is it not sad that this had to get to the national media before it was fixed? And that it even got to the level of disrepair that exists? On a brighter note, President Bush has in his fiscal year 2008 budget proposed $87 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This does contain monies for long overdue new facilities that have been promised in Denver, Orlando and Las Vegas. However, there are provisions that seek to charge enrollment fees and increase prescription co-pays for some categories of veterans.

This while there remains a backlog of claims processing and long waits for medical appointments. This is an injustice, given the aging of many of our veterans and the creation of a new generation of wartime veterans who will need assistance for many years to come. And I will note that the VA is a premier health care system. But if it is not funded properly, it cannot do the job it is tasked to do.

Our Congressional delegation must ensure that the funding for the VA is mandatory, NOT to have some of it as discretionary funding. We all know what happens to discretionary funding; it is apt to get spent elsewhere. We need to let our leaders, like Marty Meehan, know how we feel about this important issue.

In Massachusetts, we are fortunate that the state Legislature is overall very veteran friendly, led by Rep. Verga and Sen. Brewer. In the Merrimack Valley, Rep. Lantigua and Sen. Baddour have introduced veteran friendly legislation and are to be commended for doing so.

I trust their fellow legislators will support them and the other legislation that is proposed. There has been controversy over the appointment of non-veterans within the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Affairs. This is being watched and protested where need be, by the American Legion and other veterans organizations in the state.

We are also fortunate to have two well-run state Soldiers Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke. The superintendent of the Holyoke facility is our current National Commander of the American Legion, Paul Morin. On February 10th, members of the Haverhill Legion Family put on a musical show for the residents of the Chelsea Soldiers Home. This is the second year in a row and the show just gets better each time. There were approximately 80 residents of the home in attendance. Representatives of the Legion Family from Manchester, Methuen and Middleton were also there to assist getting wheelchair-bound residents to and from the show.

Others stepping up to the plate are some of our local veterans agents who have banded together to work more closely with families of troops serving overseas. This was reported in last month’s Valley Patriot. We are fortunate in the Merrimack Valley to have such dedicated agents. And not to be forgotten is the Northeast Outreach Veterans Center in Haverhill, led by John Ratka. Kudos to all of them. I expect we will hear more from them in the future.

Please, let our government officials know how you feel about the treatment of our veterans. Let your voice be heard not only among your friends and neighbors, but in the halls of the legislatures, both state and national.

John Lenotte, the American Legion District 8/Essex County Commander and Post 4 Haverhill Adjutant.  You can Email him at JohnLDistrict8@verizon.net

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The March 2007 Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007
, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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