Source: Bloomberg.com
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20071110/pl_bloomberg/as9gbfgvv7m
Published: Nov 13, 2007
Author: Holly Rosenkrantz
Post Date: 2007-11-13 13:40:35 by packrat1145
Ping List: *Objective and Rational*
2 Comments


President George W. Bush urged Congress to pass legislation that would help American veterans, including a measure to improve the medical care they receive and funding for the Veterans Affairs Department.

Bush, speaking ahead of Veterans Day ceremonies tomorrow, said he is committed to modernizing health care based on recommendations from a bipartisan commission that investigated problems at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

``Our wounded warriors and their families are counting on it,'' Republican Bush said in his weekly radio address. ``I urge Democrats and Republicans to come together and pass it as quickly as possible.''

Senate Republicans last week blocked a Democratic effort to force Bush to accept a $10 billion increase in domestic spending by merging it with funding for veterans' programs.

Democrats failed to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican objections that combining the two measures violated ethics rules adopted earlier this year barring lawmakers from adding provisions to bills just before the final vote.

Republicans, citing administration threats to veto the legislative combination, said the Democrats' tactics would needlessly delay getting funding to veterans' programs.

Representative Joe Sestak, a former three-star Navy admiral, said in the Democrats' weekly radio address today that his party will work with Republicans to pass veterans legislation. Troops now serving in U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan must be assured that they will be taken care of when they return home, the Pennsylvania congressman said.

Democrats Back Veterans

``Democrats in Congress are working together with the president to see that veterans -- aging and young -- and their families receive the benefits they need and deserve,'' Sestak, 55 and the son of a World War II veteran, said.

Bush formed a presidential commission, led by former Senator Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, after revelations of shoddy conditions and poor follow-up care at an outpatient facility that is part of Water Reed.

Among the commission's proposals were creating a clear division of responsibilities for wounded soldiers between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and changes in the way disabilities are assessed.

Bush said the bill he's sent to Congress would enact the commission's recommendations and that, with four days left on the legislative calendar before Congress breaks for the Thanksgiving holiday, ``the time to act is running out.''

``The best way members of Congress can give thanks to our veterans is to send me a clean bill that I can sign into law,'' Bush said.

I agree......