Kerry speaks to veterans about health benefits, services
Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003 - By Susan Lunt Childress, Nashua Telegraph Staff
"We need to keep the faith with those who served this country," he said. Kerry criticized the Bush administration's cuts in veterans' services, proposed cuts in active duty pay and longtime policy of paying veterans' pensions and disability payments concurrently.
"We don't see people valuing the things they talk about. The (Bush) administration is not keeping the faith," he said.
"Twenty percent of all reservists have no health benefits," he said. "There are veterans waiting six months just to get their first-time visit to get their prescriptions from their doctors."
Kerry described the increased services he said veterans eventually began receiving after the Vietnam War, including an improved G.I. bill and better treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, a combat-related mental illness that affects roughly 500,000 Vietnam veterans. He said the same revitalization of services was needed now.
"We learned that veterans looked out for veterans," he said. But Kerry said the country needed to renew its commitment to caring for veterans...
Kerry will travel to San Antonio on Monday to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention.
Sunday, Aug. 24, 2003 - By Susan Lunt Childress, Nashua Telegraph Staff
"We need to keep the faith with those who served this country," he said. Kerry criticized the Bush administration's cuts in veterans' services, proposed cuts in active duty pay and longtime policy of paying veterans' pensions and disability payments concurrently.
"We don't see people valuing the things they talk about. The (Bush) administration is not keeping the faith," he said.
"Twenty percent of all reservists have no health benefits," he said. "There are veterans waiting six months just to get their first-time visit to get their prescriptions from their doctors."
Kerry described the increased services he said veterans eventually began receiving after the Vietnam War, including an improved G.I. bill and better treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, a combat-related mental illness that affects roughly 500,000 Vietnam veterans. He said the same revitalization of services was needed now.
"We learned that veterans looked out for veterans," he said. But Kerry said the country needed to renew its commitment to caring for veterans...
Kerry will travel to San Antonio on Monday to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention.
posted by Pamela J. Leavey at 9:09 AM
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