Strickland, veterans to sue VA secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Rep Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, said Wednesday that he and a Vietnam veterans group will sue Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi for failing to publicize information about health-care benefits and services for veterans and their families.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has stopped most efforts aimed at enrolling new veterans into the health-care system because of a budget crunch.
Citing a tight budget and overwhelming demand, the department said in a July 2002 memo that marketing health-care services at health fairs, open houses or veterans meetings was inappropriate. It also banned mailings and newspaper ads encouraging veterans to enroll.
Veterans have been enduring waits of up to two years for appointments since demand increased after the VA opened its medical facilities to all veterans in 1998.
Strickland, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said a congressional mandate requires the agency to perform outreach activities. He said he has written to and met with Principi about the issue and decided to file the lawsuit only as a last resort.
Phil Budahn, a VA spokesman, said when the memo went out that there were 300,000 veterans waiting more than six months for an appointment. The waiting list has since decreased to about 30,000.