(Host) Congressman Bernie Sanders is urging President Bush to increase spending on health care programs for veterans.
Sanders says the president’s new budget plan calls for less than a two percent hike in spending for these programs. He says this means many veterans will have to wait months before receiving proper medical care.
Sanders says a recent analysis by the Veteran’s Administration shows that an increase of at least 10 percent is needed to insure that all veterans receive the care they need in a timely manner.Sanders says the president’s budget proposal also calls on veterans to pay more than two billion dollars over the next five years in larger co-payments and health related fees.
He says the president’s treatment of veterans is a disgrace:
(Sanders) “they’re coming home in body bags, they’re coming home wounded today, they’re not getting the treatment that they need at the VA hospitals today so our veterans are already sacrificing and have sacrificed very much. It’s not them who should be asked to sacrifice more, maybe some of the billionaires who are receiving millions and millions of dollars in tax cuts might be asked to forego those tax cuts before we tell the veterans they have to pay more for the prescription drugs that keep them alive.”
(Host) Sanders hopes to work with a bipartisan group in Congress in an effort to boost spending for these programs.