May 28, 2004
Washington, D.C. – On the eve of Memorial Day
Weekend, Democratic National
Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe was
joined at a press conference by
several Veterans to highlight George W. Bush’s
plan to cut nearly $1 billion
from the Department of Veterans Affairs –
should he win a second term in
November.
“This weekend, we as a nation will honor those
who made the ultimate sacrifice
in their service to our country,” DNC Chairman
Terry McAuliffe said today. “And
while now more than ever, we should ensure that
promises made to our Veterans
are promises kept, we discover that President
Bush has a secret plan that far
from honors those who served. In fact, he
actually has a secret plan to ambush
America’s Veterans if he wins in November.”
An internal White House memo surfaced yesterday
revealing that the Bush
Administration quietly notified various
government agencies that should Bush
win a second term he would cut spending for
virtually all agencies in charge of
domestic programs, including the Department of
Veterans Affairs. Specifically,
Bush would cut the VA budget by nearly $1
billion. This comes after three years
of continually shortchanging vets: squeezing
the veterans’ health care system,
closing VA hospitals, and imposing new costs on
and denying benefits to vets.
Chairman McAuliffe also outlined Bush’s record
of failure on Veterans’ issues
and detailed the following cuts and rising
costs Veterans have been forced to
shoulder under George W. Bush:
• Funding for Veteran’s Health Care –
shortchanged by George W. Bush. Bush
shortchanged the Veterans healthcare by more
than $2.6 billion.
• Cost of Prescription Drugs for Veterans –
tripled under Bush, wants to
further increase costs.
• Veterans’ Enrollment Fees would increase
under George W. Bush and will cost
veterans over $2 billion over the next five
years.
• Eleven VA Hospitals will close or partially
close under George W. Bush, even
in the face of waiting periods for medical
care.
“President Bush likes to talk about the
tremendous sacrifice offered by
American veterans to defend this country, but
words are all he's offered,”
McAuliffe said. “John Kerry is the only
candidate in this race with a real
commitment to honor and keep America’s promise
to our veterans.”
