THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

64

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

Urging Congress to increase funding for veterans benefits and services and expressing disappointment in president George W. Bush's plans to reduce veterans benefits.

 

 

WHEREAS, members of the armed forces faithfully and diligently serve the people of the United States and have fought and died in numerous wars and conflicts around the globe to protect the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans; and

WHEREAS, numerous individuals devoted the prime of their lives to defend the United States, often putting careers on hold, delaying their college education, and leaving families behind, without hesitation, asking for nothing but respect in return; and

WHEREAS, these heroic individuals faced adversity which most citizens will never be able to comprehend, often giving their lives for their fellow citizens; and

WHEREAS, a large number of veterans have been severely injured and disabled in the performance of their duties, often resulting in financial hardship; and

WHEREAS, citing a tight budget and overwhelming demand for services after opening their medical facilities to all veterans in 1998, the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) began efforts to halt enrolling new veterans into its health care system; and

WHEREAS, a memo from the VA in July 2002, stated that marketing veterans health care services at health fairs, open houses, and veterans meetings was inappropriate and banned newspaper ads and mailings encouraging veterans to enroll in the veterans health plan; and

WHEREAS, this memo was sent out at a time when approximately 300,000 veterans had been waiting for more than six months for an appointment at a VA medical facility, some waiting as long as two years for services; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH) filed a lawsuit against the VA stating that the VA has a congressional mandate that requires the VA to perform outreach services and that the VA's failure to publicize information about health care benefits and veterans' services for veterans and their families is a violation of this mandate; and

WHEREAS, although Congress is currently considering a bill to allocate funding to the VA in the sum of $28.6 billion for the current fiscal year, this funding level is still not enough to help alleviate many of the medical plights facing our brave American service men and women; and

WHEREAS, a number of veterans groups have criticized the President’s budget submission for fiscal year 2005 as containing, "few legislative recommendations to improve, expand, or add new benefits for veterans," and that "along with gross funding deficiencies in practically every VA account, VA construction is to be dramatically and most detrimentally short-changed as well"; and

WHEREAS, these groups have also criticized the Bush administration's shortcomings in proposals with respect to the provision of benefits to veterans such as:

(1) Developing a mechanism that greatly reduces government obligations to compensate disabled veterans for service-incurred disabilities such as alcoholism and drug abuse;

(2) Asking Congress to enact legislation to deny compensation to a group of disabled veterans who suffer greatly from their service-connected disabilities because these disabilities were obtained during periods of non-combat such as during meal periods;

(3) Proposing legislation to limit veterans to a one-time home loan guaranty;

(4) Recommending a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for compensation based on a projected 1.3 percent increase in COLA and continuing the practice of rounding down COLA to the nearest whole dollar which, when done for many years in succession, will have a compounding effect in substantially eroding the value of the already modest rates of compensation; and

(5) Continuing to place restrictions on receiving both military retirement and veterans affairs disability benefits for certain veterans;

and

WHEREAS, this lack of support for those individuals who sacrificed so much for the freedoms the citizens of the United States all enjoy today is shameful and should be looked at as a disgrace by all citizens; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that this body expresses its utmost disappointment in the lack of support the current administration has shown toward veterans of our armed forces; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress is urged to increase funding for the continuation and expansion of veterans benefits and services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Urging Congress to increase funding for veterans benefits and services and expressing disappointment in president George W. Bush's plans to reduce veterans benefits.