Bush admin screwing Vets.
A top official at the US Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered local VA administrators across the country to stop marketing their health care services and recruiting new veterans to use them because of tight finances and the risk of increasing already long waiting times for services.
''Even though some sites might have local capacity, as a national system, all facilities are expected to abide by this policy,'' wrote the official, Laura J. Miller, deputy undersecretary for health for operations and management, with the approval of the Veterans Affairs secretary.
Disclosure of the July 18 memorandum prompted Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, to send a letter yesterday to President Bush seeking a reversal of the policy, as well as Miller's resignation.
Kerry, a Navy veteran of Vietnam and possible 2004 presidential contender, complained on the floor of the US Senate: ''The resources don't have to be exceeded. That is a matter of budgeting priority of this administration. And there are many areas where it's obvious the administration has decided it's more important to put money than to put it into veterans in order to keep the promise to the veterans of the country.''
UPDATE: Josh Marshall also posts on this and has a copy of the memo.
