VFW AL Post 6224 - Abbeville

VFW Calls Lawmakers Out of Touch with War

Posted at 10:57 AM on Aug. 18, 2006 by Blogmaster

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006--The national commander of the nation's largest organization of combat veterans is calling the impending decision by the U.S. Congress to slash the budget of a government traumatic brain injury research center one of the worst possible decisions any lawmaker could make during a time of war.

"You either take care of the troops or you don't," said Jim Mueller, commander-in-chief of the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries. "This proposal to halve the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's budget clearly indicates that the Congress is out of touch with the realities and consequences of war."

In June, the U.S. House of Representatives approved cutting $7 million from the Brain Injury Center's budget as part of the larger 2007 National Defense Authorization Bill. The center, which is located at nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center, had asked for $19 million for the new fiscal year, which begins October. 1. Their current 2006 budget is $14 million. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on their version of the $468 billion defense bill after Labor Day. The Senate version also reduces the center's budget to $7 million.

"It is absolutely inexcusable that lawmakers would slash funding during a time of war for a research center that is earning its keep by addressing the exact types of injuries our troops are suffering," exclaimed Mueller, who will introduce a resolution at the upcoming 107th VFW National Convention to urge the government to increase its services to veterans with traumatic brain injuries.

"More than 12,000 servicemen and women have been exposed to horrendous explosions in Iraq and Afghanistan that have caused more than half of our casualties. Better tactics, body armor and battlefield medicine are saving more lives, but there's no safety net that's practical or employable that can prevent fragile human bodies from suffering traumatic and oftentimes lifelong injuries," he said.

"This entire war on terrorism is being carried on the backs of our brave servicemen and women, and no one else in America --except for their families who remain strong at home-- is sacrificing so much and is asking for so little in return," said Mueller, a Vietnam veteran from O'Fallon, Mo.

"For our nation's lawmakers to deny advance research that our military has earned with their blood, and for those same lawmakers to espouse patriotism and 'Support the Troops' rhetoric from the podium this election year, is shameful, hypocritical, and ignorant," he said. "This research center is an investment in the future potential of traumatically disabled soldiers. It is not an expense."

Mueller is now urging all Americans to contact their representatives and senators and tell them to increase the research center's budget to $19 million before the Senate and House consolidate their respective defense bills into one recommendation for the president's signature.

"My Vietnam generation vowed to never let this country turn its back on another generation of military men and women," he said, "and the first place we have to start is by educating Congress that the phrase 'from a grateful nation' means more than just a graveside condolence."

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