VETERANS DEVALUED
11/11/2003
ANY VETERANS Day that comes in the year before a presidential election will inevitably be marked by accusations that the administration in power is not doing enough to honor the nation's debt to those who defended it. This Nov. 11 is no exception. Democrats charge the Bush administration with sacrificing veterans' benefits, especially health care, to the budget deficits caused by the Bush tax cuts. Medical costs for veterans have skyrocketed as the World War II generation ages and needs more care. Last year Senator Kerry and others blasted the Department of Veterans Affairs for telling its hospitals to stop outreach encouraging veterans to avail themselves of VA aid.
The administration's program to concentrate more resources in states where more veterans reside has resulted in the closing of some health facilities elsewhere. As sensible as that effort may be in theory, it should not leave veterans in other areas with no convenient VA centers.
President Bush responds to criticism by noting that his proposed 2004 budget contains the largest increase ever for veterans' health care. For the first time, veterans with a prescription from a private physician will be able to get it filled at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility, a reflection of the long waiting lists for medical consultations at many VA health centers.
But the administration's least defensible money-saving moves affecting service members concerns their children's education. The administration has proposed closing or transferring control of 58 schools the Defense Department operates on 14 military bases. In addition, it tried to get away with cutting the assistance that civilian school districts get when they educate the children of service members, but Congress flatly rejected that increased burden on communities.
Closing base schools is a mistake particularly when the nation is at war, as it is now, and many parent soldiers are overseas. They want the assurance that their children are with teachers and staff who are fully aware of their family circumstances.
The base schools are one of the best benefits the military offers. Staffers are typically highly paid and well trained; commanding officers encourage their subordinates to take an interest in their children's education; and curriculum is standardized to make frequent transfers easier on the students.
At a time when maintaining morale in the services is increasingly difficult, the last thing the administration should do is create new and unneeded uncertainty in the military family.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
