[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 46 (Monday, April 25, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS PRESENTS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

                                 ______


                      HON. G.V. (SONNY) MONTGOMERY

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 25, 1994

  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, on March 2, Mr. Richard E. Marbes of 
Green Bay, WI, national commander of the Disabled American Veterans, 
appeared before the joint House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees 
to present DAV's legislative priorities for the 2d session of the 103d 
Congress. I would like to share with my colleagues excepts from his 
very eloquent statement.

  Statement of Richard E. Marbes, National Commander of the Disabled 
                           American Veterans

       Messrs. Chairmen and members of the Veterans Affairs 
     Committees: On behalf of American Veterans and its Women's 
     Auxiliary, it is indeed an honor and privilege to appear 
     before you today to discuss the major concerns of our 
     nation's service-connected disabled veterans and their 
     families.
       At the outset, Messrs. Chairmen, I wish to thank you and 
     your Committees for the support you have given to veterans, 
     their families, and to the veterans' programs that have 
     enhanced their lives during the first session of the 103rd 
     Congress.
       Messrs. Chairmen, DAV was founded in 1920 and chartered by 
     Congress in 1932 as the primary advocate for America's 
     service-connected disabled veterans, their dependents and 
     survivors. Major policy positions of the DAV and the 
     framework of our national legislative program are derived 
     from a number of resolutions adopted by the delegates to our 
     annual national conventions. Our 1994 mandates, which cover a 
     broad spectrum of VA programs, have been made available to 
     your Committees and to individual members of your staffs.
       With your permission Messrs. Chairmen, I would like to 
     digress for just a few moments to talk about a couple of 
     subjects of great importance to the members of the DAV.
       As the Committees are well aware, last year one of our very 
     own, Jesse Brown, was tapped by President Clinton to serve as 
     his Secretary for Veterans Affairs. A combat-disabled Marine 
     and true advocate for veterans, Secretary Brown has dedicated 
     his entire adult life to serving America's veterans and their 
     families.
       Quite naturally, we in the DAV are extremely proud of Jesse 
     Brown. We wish him ``God speed'' as he fulfills VA's mission, 
     which, as so eloquently stated by President Abraham Lincoln, 
     is ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for 
     his widow and his orphan.''
       Although we miss Jesse, our management staff at our 
     National Headquarters, and our Service and Legislative 
     Headquarters are lean and efficient; they are experienced and 
     dedicated, and they direct an organization whose financial 
     viability makes it possible for us to continue our commitment 
     to providing direct services to disabled veterans and their 
     families through our corps of 236 National Service Officers 
     located at 69 offices throughout the country.
       We pledge to you a redoubling of that commitment to 
     service.
       Messrs. Chairmen, in a few short months our nation will 
     celebrate the 50th anniversary of D-Day. It gives me great 
     pride to note that a number of men who helped carry out one 
     of America's most brilliant military operations are seated in 
     this very room today. We as a nation owe them--and all 
     veterans--a great debt of gratitude.
       These D-Day warriors--like the millions who served in our 
     military before them and the millions who served in our 
     military after them--gave their all, no questions asked, when 
     our country needed them in its darkest hours.
       In return for sacrificing their limbs and sometimes their 
     lives, all that these veterans ever asked in return was that 
     our nation honor its commitment to help them and their 
     families in their darkest hours. This sacred covenant between 
     our nation and its uniformed defenders has been both implied 
     and implicit since our nation was founded.
       Regrettably, Messrs. Chairmen, there are those in positions 
     of immense political power who wish to break or severely 
     weaken this sacred covenant between our nation and its 
     defenders of democracy. These power brokers--these barons of 
     the budget--have little regard for the time-honored 
     commitments of the past.
       And in their zeal to win a few extra votes and grab a few 
     extra headlines, these barons of the budget have mistakenly 
     chosen to place dollars over decency when it comes to funding 
     veterans' programs.
       DAV members are justifiably concerned about the tax exempt 
     status of their compensation benefits and we applaud the fact 
     that bills have once been introduced in the Congress by 
     Veterans Affairs Committee Chairmen Rockefeller and 
     Montgomery to clarify the tax exempt statute of VA benefits.
       The issue of the concurrent receipt of VA disability 
     compensation payments and military longevity retirement pay 
     without a deduction from either payment continues to be of 
     great concern and we urge you to seek a resolution to this 
     injustice.
       Messrs. Chairmen, despite our most impassioned pleas to the 
     President, the trade embargo against Vietnam was recently 
     lifted. This issue is vitally important to our members 
     because members of our Armed Forces have always taken into 
     combat with them an unwritten, unspoken, but unbreakable 
     contract of the battlefield. A contract from our government 
     that simply states: We will leave no one, dead or alive, in 
     the hands of the enemy.
       In our view, the U.S. government--dating back to the end of 
     World War II--has failed miserably in meeting the terms of 
     this contract. It is a great national travesty that we still 
     have not accounted for nearly 90,000 American patriots since 
     the end of World War II.
       I assure you that every DAV member has a standing 
     obligation to press our national leaders to develop policies 
     consistent with this unwritten, unspoken, but 
     unbreakable contract of the battlefield in order to ensure 
     that American fighting forces are never again used as 
     political pawns.
       Messrs. Chairmen, recent revelations that our government 
     conducted secret radiation testing on some of its 
     unsuspecting citizens and soldiers is appalling to most 
     Americans. The DAV is outraged that a former VA Chief Medical 
     Director classified the existence of VA's atomic medicine 
     division as confidential. His actions were taken, we're told, 
     supposedly out of concern for the problem the VA might have 
     with potential service-connected disability compensation 
     claims resulting from radiation tests performed on patients 
     in VA hospitals.
       We applaud the Administration's efforts to shed light on 
     this dark era of American history and call upon your 
     Committees to continue to investigate this situation and to 
     compensate these individuals fairly.
       The DAV is also deeply concerned about the problems facing 
     our Persian Gulf War veterans, especially those veterans who 
     still suffer from the mysterious ailments commonly referred 
     to as Persian Gulf Syndrome.
       We also remain deeply committed to providing assistance to 
     our nation's homeless veterans. DAV chapters and departments 
     all across the country have developed local programs to deal 
     with this pressing problem, while the DAV Charitable Trust 
     has allocated nearly $340,000 to assist homeless veterans 
     since 1988.
       As a continuation of our deep concern about the unique 
     problems facing women veterans, the DAV will soon be hosting 
     a women veterans health care forum here in Washington. The 
     forum, which is being designed by a special DAV Women 
     Veterans Advisory Committee, will bring top executive and 
     legislative branch officials face-to-face with women veterans 
     to address problems in VA's delivery of health care to this 
     growing segment of the veteran population.
       Speaking of health care, Messrs. Chairmen, our nation is 
     now engaged in a great debate about how to reform and 
     reconfigure our entire health care delivery and financing 
     systems. Clearly the VA--as the nation's single largest 
     health care system--has a vested interest in such a debate.
       And just as clearly, America's veterans--especially 
     America's disabled veterans who are the single largest 
     consumer group using the VA health care system--also have a 
     vested interest in the outcome of this great debate. 
     Consequently, the DAV has embraced the role identified for VA 
     in President Clinton's National Health Care Reform Plan.
       In our analysis, the President's vision for VA actually 
     mirrors, in large part, DAV's plan for VA health care laid 
     out in the ``American Veterans Health Care Reform Act of 
     1992.'' This legislation was introduced during the 102nd 
     Congress as S. 2248 and H.R. 4278.
       The VA health care system is at a critical juncture and 
     there is an absolute, vital need for VA to move swiftly down 
     the road of reform regardless of what happens to national 
     health care reform. We urge your Committees to carefully 
     consider and expeditiously act upon the necessary legislation 
     that will give the authority and flexibility needed to 
     successfully navigate the road of reform.
       Messrs. Chairmen, perhaps the most challenging issue facing 
     our nation today is finding a way to put our nation's fiscal 
     house in order. Certainly none of us wish to unfairly saddle 
     our children and grandchildren with our debts.
       Regrettably, in order to reduce federal expenditures, the 
     barons of the budget--often over the strong objections of you 
     Committees--have in recent years taken hard-earned dollars 
     directly out of the wallets of America's veterans.
       During the decade of the 80's, for instance, VA was 
     required to identify more than $2 billion in savings.
       Still unable to reduce the spiraling federal deficit, in 
     1990, the barons of the budget once again placed veterans and 
     veterans' programs squarely in the cross-hairs of their 
     deficit-reduction rifle. The shot that was fired became known 
     as the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990. When 
     OBRA was signed into law, VA benefits and services were 
     required to be cut by some $3.6 billion through Fiscal Year 
     1995.
       Last year, veterans were wounded yet again by the deficit-
     reduction rifle when OBRA of 1993 was passed. This measure 
     requires an additional $2.6 billion in cuts through 1998 and 
     extends many of the OBRA 1990 cuts. Among other things, this 
     law eliminated the Montgomery GI Bill COLA for Fiscal Year 
     1994 and reduces it by one-half for Fiscal Year 1995. It also 
     freezes discretionary spending over the next five years at 
     the FY 1993 level.
       We are now faced with the reality that the discretionary 
     spending freeze, coupled with deep cuts mandated by the 
     Fiscal Year 1995 budget, will further erode VA's ability to 
     provide quality health care and benefit determinations to 
     America's veterans in a timely fashion.
       Quite frankly, Messrs. Chairmen, enough is enough. It is 
     time that the barons of the budget recognize that freedom is 
     not free. It is time that the barons of the budget understand 
     that caring for America's veterans is a legitimate, 
     continuing cost of war.
       They must stop taking benefits away from veterans and their 
     families. They must stop the ever increasing delays veterans 
     must endure to receive their earned compensation benefits. In 
     some cases, we no longer measure claims decision delays in 
     terms of months but in terms of years. This is an outrage!
       These barons of the budget must stop cutting employees from 
     our VA health care facilities--especially at a time when we 
     are asking VA to compete in a new era of national health care 
     reform.
       The barons of the budget must recognize that veterans are 
     not the cause of our nation's fiscal crisis. VA entitlements 
     are not out of control and, in fact, are decreasing as a 
     percentage of total federal outlays for social welfare 
     programs.
       Even in view of the fact that VA benefits and services are 
     not the cause of our federal deficit, some continue to call 
     for cuts in veterans' entitlement spending. I recently read a 
     report prepared by the Concord Coalition which called for 
     eliminating disability compensation payments to veterans 
     rated less than 30 percent service-connected disabled.
       I found it ironic that such a proposal would come from a 
     group who takes its name from the famous Revolutionary War 
     battle in which many men died and were wounded so that our 
     nation could be free of tyranny.
       The Concord Coalition report goes on to say, and I quote, 
     ``entitlement program costs are rising rapidly. When the 
     nation promised these benefits and services, it 
     underestimated how much they would cost. Now, we must face 
     the unpleasant truth that we can no longer afford to keep 
     those promises fully,''.
       I submit that we cannot afford to forget the sacrifices of 
     those men and women who gave of their body, mind and spirit 
     in defense of this country. As a nation, we must honor our 
     commitment and adamantly reject calls from the barons of the 
     budget to take earned compensation payments away from our 
     service-connected disabled veterans.
       Please do not misconstrue our opposition to cutting and 
     eliminating veteran's benefits and services as an 
     unwillingness on the part of disabled veterans to help with 
     our nation's fiscal crisis.
       Actually, just the opposite is true when you realize that 
     thousands of veterans across the country give so freely of 
     their time and money so that the VA may continue to provide 
     some semblance of service to America's veterans.
       For example, from March 1991 to April 1992 more than 12,000 
     DAV and Auxiliary volunteers across the country donated more 
     than 2.3 million hours of voluntary service to the VA. This 
     is the equivalent of VA having an additional 1,200 full-time 
     employees with an estimated value of $28 million dollars. 
     Monetary donations during the same period totaled nearly $3 
     million dollars and other hospital and service related 
     donations came to $16.5 million dollars.
       The DAV also employs 170 Hospital Service Coordinators at 
     171 VA facilities. With more than 4,000 volunteer drivers, 
     DAV's National Transportation Network will log nearly 18 
     million miles and transport more than 400 thousand veterans 
     to VA health care facilities this year alone. DAV 
     departments and chapters, together with the national 
     organization, have also donated 317 transportation vans to 
     VA Medical Centers across the country at a cost of nearly 
     5 million dollars.
       Through the combined efforts of DAV National Service 
     Officers and Hospital Service Coordinators, over 500 thousand 
     veterans received information and assistance in filing VA 
     benefit claims.
       During our past 12 month reporting period, efforts of DAV 
     National Service Officers resulted in more than 244,000 total 
     awards to veterans and their families. Thanks to our 
     dedicated cadre of National Service Officers, the DAV has 
     made a tremendous impact on the lives of thousands of 
     veterans and their families.
       It's obvious that the members of the DAV are pitching in 
     and giving more than their fair share because we know first-
     hand of the sacrifices made by veterans and the problems they 
     face upon becoming disabled.
       Messrs. Chairmen, this morning I have attempted to outline 
     to the Committee DAV's observations regarding the state of 
     veterans' affairs in America. I have noted some criticisms of 
     the way veterans have been treated over the past dozen years.
       I have expressed the willingness on the part of DAV and 
     Auxiliary members to give of their time and resources so that 
     other sick and disabled veterans may receive a degree of 
     increased service at VA health care facilities. And I have 
     quantified the service provided to veterans and their 
     families by DAV National Service Officers, Hospital Service 
     Coordinators and our volunteers.
       But I must tell you in all candor that America's veterans 
     will no longer be pushed around by the barons of the budget. 
     And no longer will our nation's veterans tolerate elected 
     officials who would rather blindly cut every federal 
     program--regardless of the program's value or impact on the 
     national debt--than make the difficult political choices 
     necessary to right our nation's financial ship of state.
       Let me assure you that the DAV deeply appreciates the 
     efforts members of your Committees have made to persuade 
     those holding the power of the purse of the value of 
     veterans' programs and our nation's statutory and moral 
     obligation to provide adequate funding for those programs.
       May God bless each and every one of you as you deliberate 
     the fate of America's veterans and their families. And may 
     God bless America.

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