VA secretary opposes legislative changes, for now, to shrink veterans benefits

The Bush administration on Tuesday backed away from sweeping legislative changes it had suggested that would have reduced disability benefits to some veterans.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi said the administration and Congress need more time to study the far-reaching consequences that such changes could have on veterans, especially lower-ranking, enlisted members.

A wise move. We want to reward our disabled veterans, not penalize them. And a word here about the families of our service people who are killed in the theater of war in the Mideast: please compensate them as if they were the families of FEDERAL EMPLOYEES who die while still employed. An active duty service person should be equivalent to a federal employee.

In other words, give the families a pension, a living pension.

Lefties?

If you are a vet, you better be getting a little more information before you head to the polls. IT is the repubs who have hung us out to dry, mate.

Ex1: congress repeals prohibition on concurrent receipt - bush fails to add it to budget and fund it. Did not hesitate to find 1.6 trillion in tax cuts (nost for the top1%)

ex2: House passes a "motion to instruct" conferees to accept senate version of CR. Hastert refuses to follow it, and house majority refuse to even question him about it.

ex3. Senate passes resolution to accept house version of Cr - hastert instructs majority members NOT to attend conference as they could not refuse to accept their own version of the NDSS

ex4: bush/rumsfled/chu have cited reports that do NOT include disabled retirees to tell how well off we are. Runsfeld budget did NOT want increases in IDP/FSA to continue - even with troops dying in the middle east.

I could go on and on, but you really need to do the research. The bush administration is the problem - not the "lefties" as you seem to think.

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