SYRACUSE VAMC REMODELED
The following pictures show recent upgrades to the Syracuse VAMC areas dedicated to inpatient psych care.
Photographs coutesy of the Syracuse VAMC
VETERANS SACRIFICE
The following is excerpted from a lengthy article which recently appeared in the Congressional Quarterly. The entire article is available on-line by mouse-clicking on the following hyper-text:
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For years, when lawmakers spoke about the need to cut government spending, they always hastened to add that they weren’t targeting funding for the nation’s veterans.
Indeed, it’s been a banner decade for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has seen its budget jump from $61.8 billion in fiscal 2004 to $109.6 billion in fiscal 2010, according to the Congressional Research Service.
But those days appear to be over. Lawmakers have made it clear that despite two wars, the VA won’t be getting the kinds of increases it’s gotten used to — and the department will be lucky to hold its budget near current levels. Indeed, some key lawmakers in the GOP-controlled House say the VA could actually see painful cuts in the coming years.
Slashing benefits for veterans would seem to be an extremely politically risky thing to do, but in an age of tea party fervor and growing concern about the national debt, even those programs may no longer be spared from the chopping block.
The man in the middle of all this is Florida Republican Jeff Miller, the new chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, who now has to walk a tightrope to prove himself a committed friend to the nation’s vets while still keeping the House majority’s commitment to deficit reduction. In a sign of where his priorities may lie, he says he believes veterans are willing to “sacrifice again.”
“It is very clear that they understand where this country is financially, and the last decade we’ve been able to provide record increases in veterans spending,” Miller says. “But that would not be the case in the future as we try to rein in our deficit. And dealing with the vet community, they have all pledged, while continuing to serve their memberships and constituencies, to work with the committee to find ways to help deliver the services that many of them participate in.”
In 2011, Miller became the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is responsible for authorization and oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA.) ...
End quote
The Chapter asks veterans to remain vigilant during the current emotionally charged political climate that has developed from a need to deal with an increasingly perilous national financial situation. It is in our collective best interest to closely monitor the activities and expressed intentions of those who control veterans benefits and the budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs -- and to make those individuals aware of your keen interest.
For those inclined to contact Congressman Jeff Miller via email regarding his views on veterans sacrifice, his web page, with included email link, is available by mouse-clicking on the following hyper-text:
View Page 2 of the February 2011 Newsletter
View Page 3 of the February 2011 Newsletter
View Page 4 of the February 2011 Newsletter
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