POLAND Congressman urges veterans to speak out about funding

Rep. Ted Strickland wants an increase in money for veterans' health care.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
POLAND -- U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland urged veterans to flex their political muscle to stop major cuts to Veterans Affairs health-care service.
Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, told a group of about two dozen veterans at the American Legion Post 15 in Poland to refuse to allow their picture to be taken with politicians who don't vote in favor of veterans' issues, and to express their displeasure with those elected officials by calling their offices and writing letters.
"Veterans have got to start speaking out," Strickland said Wednesday. "It's important for veterans at the grass roots level to speak out."
In Ohio alone, veterans make up about 10 percent of the population and could have a lot of influence over politicians who need their votes to get elected, he said.
Budget woes
While some veterans groups lobbied Congress to lessen a $15 billion budget cut over the next 10 years to veterans health care, proposed by President Bush, the cut ended up being $6.2 billion over the same time period, Strickland said. That cut could be deeper, he said, because Congress agreed to make $128 billion in discretionary spending cuts over the next decade and some of that money could come from veterans programs.
Also, Bush's plan calls for a $250 annual enrollment fee on veterans who don't have service-related disabilities and have incomes above $22,000, Strickland said. Also, Bush's plan would cut services for about 425,000 veterans, including 40,000 in Ohio, Strickland said. Congress would have to pass legislation to implement those changes, he said.
Seeking more funds
Instead of cutting services, Strickland wants to see an increase in veterans health-care funding of about $1.8 billion annually over 10 years.
"The solution isn't to ration care or put additional fees on veterans, but to put more money into the system," said Strickland, a member of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
skolnick@vindy.com