"Instead of Austerity and Slogans, Vets Need a Fully Funding and Accountable VA" (The Nation)

From "The Nation" John Nichols 
http://www.thenation.com/blog/180007/instead-austerity-and-slogans-va-needs-full-funding-and-accountability#

The Republicans want their cake and eat it too.  They want to slash funding for our vets and criticize the Democrats for the vets not getting good care.

(I)ndependent Senator Sanders summed it up to the Republicans, “If you think it’s too expensive (to fund veterans programs), then don’t send them off to war.”

“When we look deeper into this issue of extended wait times for veterans to receive an appointment, we have to recognize that understaffing is a major culprit,” explains AFGE president J. David Cox Sr. “All around the country, medical facilities are understaffed, with numerous frontline care positions going unfilled. How can the VA expect to keep up with the growing needs of our nation’s heroes if it doesn’t properly staff its facilities?”
Republicans get blamed for advancing the austerity agenda, but it is important to remember that more than a few Democrats have compromised with it. And the difference between those who promote austerity and those who make the compromises that allow for austerity means very little to Americans who are stuck on the waiting lists that are created by budgeting that owes more to Ayn Rand tomes than accounting textbooks.

Senate Veteran Affairs Committee chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, tried to get ahead of a host of issues concerning veterans in February, when he proposed comprehensive legislation to improve VA healthcare, education and job-training. Though it was strongly backed by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and other organizations representing vets, the measure was blocked when most Senate Republicans opposed it. To Republicans who suggested the measure was too expensive, Sanders said, “If you think it’s too expensive (to fund veterans programs), then don’t send them off to war.”

Some might figure that the Republican's reluctance to help vets is due to the fact they want to damage the Democratic Administration as much as possible.  While that is obviously true, research will prove that the Republicans were voting down funding for veterans even during the Bush decade, even during the Republican War.

The bottom line is that Republican Party and Blue Dog Democrats have no respect for our veterans.