Issue Position: Veterans' Rights

Issue Position

Total US homeless population 2005 Estimate: Approximately 744,313 people homeless on a single night. This includes 56% in shelters, 44% unsheltered; 59% single adults, 41% in families (98,452 families counted); 23% chronically homeless (171,200 disabled and long term or repeatedly homeless). The 172,000 chronically homeless use up 50% of the services.

Of the total homeless population, 66 % (491,000) are males; 93% (456,700) of homeless males are 25 or older;

The total population of the United States:

As of February 20, 2008: 303,477,991 According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

The total male population over 25 is 92,800,000.

The total population of veterans: 26,403,000, of which 24,810,000 are men and 1,593,000 are women as of census 2000.

Total estimated spending for veterans: $234 per veteran.

55% of the cities required homeless families to breakup in order to receive emergency shelter (The expression on the face of the little girl wearing the purple and white jacket says it all.)

Homeless Veterans:

54% of cities required the people to evacuate homeless shelters during the day.

Homeless veterans:

There are 200,000 homeless veterans on any one day, up to 400,000 during any year; 97% of the homeless veterans (194,000) are male, and 3% (6,000) female on any one day. These are the VA's best estimates. No one is really counting. 56% (112,000) are African American or Hispanic.

Of these 45% (86,000) suffer from mental illness and (with considerable overlap) 73% (146,000) suffer from alcohol and substance abuse.

43% of homeless males 25 and older are veterans.

FACT -- 1.8 MILLION VETERANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: "The new study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, estimated that in 2004 nearly 1.8 million veterans were uninsured and unable to get care in veterans' facilities." [New York Times, 11/9/07]

FACT -- NUMBER OF UNINSURED VETERANS INCREASED BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004: "Just under two million veterans (12.7 percent of non-elderly veterans) were uninsured in 2004, up 290,000 since 2000, the study published in the December, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health found." [Harvard Science, 10/30/07]

FACT -- NEARLY 20 PERCENT OF VETERANS RETURNING FROM IRAQ HAVE MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES: "Screening efforts show 10% to 20% of Marines and soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq may have suffered this wound, according to the Army. The task force last May found that "major gaps' in identifying and treating the injury "were created by a lack of coordination and policy-driven approaches.'" [USA Today, 1/18/08]

FACT -- NUMBER OF PTSD CASES INCREASING DRAMATICALLY: "The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 -- almost 70% -- in the 12 months ending June 30, VA records show." [USA Today, 10/18/07]

Total estimated spending for veterans: $234 per veteran per year

Veterans' Rights

I believe that the ill-advised and illegal actions of the United States administration have unnecessarily put our troops in harms way. I further believe that the dangerous burden of fighting the unnecessary war in Iraq and the wars that may follow, due to both the Democrat and Republican Party's overly narrow and militaristic response to terrorism is disproportionately borne by families of lesser means. Those who are required to carry out militaristic policies, often with great hardship to themselves, their families, and even the risk of their lives, deserve our respect and our commitment to adequate compensation and benefits.

54% of cities required the people to evacuate homeless shelters during the day.

IF ELECTED I WILL INTRODUCE LEGISLATION THAT WILL:

Enact a new GI Bill, similar to the one that began after World War II and ended in 1981, to provide tuition grants for four years of college or other educational opportunities, low interest loans for housing or business start-ups, and free medical care for military personnel and their families for ten years following separation from the armed forces.
Increase the current pay levels, including monthly combat pay, imminent danger pay and family separation allowances for those risking their lives in combat zones.
Provide better care for the wounded, sick and injured soldiers. Restore full funding for veterans' health programs. Ensure that the Pentagon takes all steps necessary to fully diagnose and treat the physical and mental health conditions resulting from service in combat zones, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Support increased funding for additional clinics to provide services which now are too often delayed or denied throughout the Veterans Affairs system because of over­crowding and budget constraints.
Ensure that all pre-deployment physicals are completed within the standard allotted time period, and that medical follow-ups are routinely given to all soldiers.
Honor all laws concerning time limits on deployments.
Ensure a smooth transition from active military service to civilian life by providing counseling, housing, emergency management, job protection and other support systems.
Many of those U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who served during U.S. Wars in the past two decades have been exposed to nuclear, chemical and possibly biological warfare agents. We insist that the Veterans Administration not ignore the suffering they have experienced since coming home from the war. The Congress should fund and the VA should implement a comprehensive program to survey Vets and the impacts of Gulf War Syndrome on them and their families and to provide the best possible medical treatment available to minimize the suffering of these men and women and their families.
Veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being unfairly discharged from the service with PTSD and other injuries caused by stress, trauma and head injuries, under trumped-up behavioral charges, as a means of military budget cost-cutting. As Greens we insist that all U.S. combatants are entitled to medical and psychiatric health care by the VA, after serving any time in a combat zone. Service members serving in combat zones are subjected to assorted variations of permanent physical and mental damage and are entitled to treatment by the Veterans Administration. This nation has a moral obligation to provide health care services and disability entitlements to its veterans. We support funding for additional clinics to provide services which now are too often delayed or denied because of over-crowding and budget constraints throughout the VA system.
Provide recognized, independent veteran organizations with access to military personnel to ensure they are being informed of their rights, including those who are hospitalized due to service related injuries or illnesses.
Establish a panel of independent medical doctors to examine and oversee the military policies regarding forced vaccinations and shots, especially with experimental drugs. Insist that the military halt the practice of testing experimental medicines and inoculations on service members without their consent.
Enact a new GI Bill, similar to the one that began after World War II and ended in 1981, to provide tuition grants for four years of college or other educational opportunities, low interest loans for housing or business start-ups, and free medical care for military personnel and their families for ten years following separation from the armed forces.
Support a transparent and democratic conscientious objection process free of harassment, imprisonment, or deployment to war zones for conscientious objectors. Defend the right of individuals in the military service to modify or completely separate from military involvement because of conscientious objection.

Source