Senate Denies Returning Vets Badly-Needed Support
The New York Daily News reports on an internal Veterans Health Administration (VHA) study showing 120,000 U.S. soldiers — "more than one of every four who served in Iraq and Afghanistan" — have already sought VHA treatment. More than 30 percent were afflicted with some type of mental disorder, "mostly posttraumatic stress and depression." To better accommodate the returning vets, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) proposed an amendment last week to increase veterans’ health care spending, and pay for it with a rollback of some of President Bush’s capital gains tax cuts. Despite the American Legion’s support for the amendment, the Senate chose tax cuts for the wealthy over support for our troops.