Rep. Johnson Issues Plea to Veterans in Wake of VA Scandal

Press Release

REP. JOHNSON ISSUES PLEA TO VETERANS IN WAKE OF VA SCANDAL

U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson today announced a renewed effort to gather personal accounts and testimonials from Iraq and Gulf War veterans who have experienced complications with the nation's military health care system.

Rep. Johnson is encouraging veterans to contact any of his four offices in the 15th District with their experiences. Staff members will collect personal information. Depending on the situation, cases may be taken up with the Adjutant General's office, or the Veteran's Administration or where appropriate, forwarded to the House Armed Services Committee, which is holding hearings on the issue. In some cases, privacy release forms may be required if individuals wish the congressional office to intervene directly on their behalf.

"We work with veterans on a daily basis and have had substantial success in negotiating the Veterans Administration bureaucracy and with branches of the military on many people's behalf," Rep. Johnson said. "That service will continue as always. But in light of the grievous findings reported in the Washington Post and elsewhere, I wanted to make a special effort to reach out to the men and women who have served and who have suffered in these conflicts. They need to know we continue to stand beside them and will take their concerns up the chain of command.

"I fear there may be many more veterans whose health has been neglected and put at risk, but until this episode have been reluctant to speak out. I want to hear from them.

"This is not a time for more grandstanding," Rep. Johnson continued. "It's a time to get behind our veterans and make the changes that need to be made. Our debt to these people doesn't stop when they return home. It's a lifetime commitment the country has made to them and I will do all within my power to fulfill that promise."

Since taking office in Congress in 2001, Rep. Johnson has backed a 50 percent boost in GI benefits. He also supported a 16 percent increase in veterans' medical care funding in the last session of Congress and a 6.3 percent increase in mental health care funding. The total VA budget increased from $66 billion in FY05 to $78 billion in FY07.

"We are providing more resources in a variety of ways, but this appears to be more than a problem of money," Rep. Johnson. "In some cases, we're talking about basic civility to fellow human beings and a bureaucracy run amok. We have to do better."

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