Its the Republicans Democrats Who Walk-the-Talk on Veterans' Health Care

The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC) is based at the Vietnam Veterans of America offices in Washington D.C. They report on the newly proposed Healthy Troops Act of 2004.

Voice of a Veteran has reported often over the last 6 months that military health care is broken, including important elements of Veterans Administration care, except that many vets refuse to believe that this is possible.

It took a Georgia Democrat to finally get something done about the mistreatment of our returning troops, based on the vast number of ignored vets needing medical care from Gulf War I. Unbelievably, it’s taken almost 15 years to get something done for all vets.

A Voice of a Veteran Salute to:

Congressman Sanford Bishop (Democrat - Georgia)
2429 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-3631


Congressman Bishop’s website says this:

Putting a priority on the health of American servicemen and women, Congressman Sanford Bishop introduced the Healthy Troops Act of 2004 today, which, if enacted, would guarantee that all service members receive a clinical medical examination before and after deployment.

“It is beyond irresponsible to base the health of our troops on their ability to self-diagnose. Not only is this an inaccurate way to record health status, it is an ineffective way to detect many conditions that do not present obvious symptoms,” said Congressman Bishop. “Yes, a medical exam will be more expensive than a written questionnaire, but we are asking these men and women to put their lives on the line. The least we can do is put our focus on their health.”

Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) highlights this story today and says:

The need for such a system was demonstrated after Operation Desert Storm, when veterans began complaining of symptoms later identified as “Gulf War Syndrome.” Without both pre- and post-war documentation it was impossible for veterans of the first Gulf War to prove that their deployment had in fact caused their symptoms. Without verification that symptoms were war-related, claims for medical compensation were denied.

Email your thanks to Congressman Bishop and your representatives to get their support for this very important bill.