From The Associated Press, 1/13/05:
http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/208839-4528-093.html

Buyer calls for limits to VA care

Associated Press

Rep. Steve Buyer suggested today that federal budget constraints do
not always allow every former service member to have full access to
Veterans Affairs medical benefits and the government instead should
focus on first serving its disabled and indigent "core constituency."

Buyer, installed by House Republican leaders last week as chairman of
the Veterans Affairs Committee, also criticized veterans advocates
whom he did not identify for engaging in partisan politics and
promoting a national health care system for veterans.

"Some of the veterans service organizations, they are having this
belief that everyone should have open access to the VA system, when in
fact I believe that the VA system should follow its core constituency
and the intent of Congress when we laid out our priorities, and that
was in fact to take care of our disabled and indigent veterans first,"
he said.

Congress in 1996 reorganized access to the VA system, assigning
veterans one of eight priority levels.

Already, priority 8 veterans, those who rank lowest, have been dropped
from the VA system so it could stay within its budget, and former VA
Secretary Anthony Principi said last month that Priority 7 veterans
might be dropped as well.

Buyer, R-Ind., held a news conference at the Indiana War Memorial, a
memorial to World War I veterans that stands across a plaza from the
national headquarters of the American Legion.

Legion officials, in interviews later, said all veterans are entitled
to federal medical benefits.

"I would like him to identify in ... the U.S. code where 'core
constituency' is identified," said Steve Robertson, the Legion's
legislative director in Washington.

"The system was designed to treat the needs of veterans."

Veterans groups opposed the change in leadership of the Veterans
Affairs Committee, praising outgoing chairman Rep. Christopher Smith,
R-N.J., as a strong advocate for veterans.

The heads of at least eight veterans groups, including the Legion and
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, had written House Speaker Dennis Hastert
to keep Smith as chairman.

However, Smith had bucked the caucus leadership at times, especially
when he felt Congress and the Bush administration were not adequately
funding veterans programs.

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Imagine if the Democrats did something like this? Wow!

Harry