There will be many teary speeches today regarding the indebtedness we Americans have to OUR veterans. OUR hearts will swell, and we will become misty eyed. But as the day closes and we lay our heads down on our pillows, the facts will not change. One in four homeless people are veterans http://edition.cnn.com/... 1.8 million veterans lack health insurance http://www.medicinenet.com/... And, our present wars(Iraq and Afghanistan) are making new veterans with more severe problems than ever before.
This is outrageous! It is completely unconscionable to leave men and women that have fought for their country, that have put their lives on the line, that may have sustained injury either physically or mentally unprotected. The citizens of the United States owe them this. They were not mercenaries fighting for pay only to be forgotten after they were paid. THEY fought for US under OUR flag. This means that THEY are OUR responsibility.
I know that the citizens of this great country are a moral and compassionate people. Because of this, I am calling upon them to do something about the dire straits of so many veterans. Call your Congressperson Tuesday morning when they go back to work and tell them that you want ALL veterans covered by Tricare. Tell them that you want ALL veterans to have access to mental health services no matter how long it has been since they served. Tell them that you do not want any veterans excluded because of so called "pre-existing" conditions http://www.stltoday.com/... Don't accept their excuses.
Yes, our treatment of veterans has improved in some aspects in recent years. The armed forces acknowledges in words if not necessarily in deed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I do not fault the armed forces completely for this because responsibility for funding services to veterans lays with Congress. It is OUR responsibility to make sure that Congress does its job.
I am not a veteran. I have never served in the armed forces, but I understand responsibility. If I ask someone to do a job that puts life or limb at risk, I have a responsibility to make sure that that person is cared for. Our veterans fought for us. They deserve to have health insurance. They deserve to have mental health care. They deserve substance abuse counseling. THIS is OUR responsibility. When we fulfill this responsibility, THAT will be a real thank you to the veterans.
For more information regarding my campaign, you can check out http://www.tonybarr2008.com .