Bernie Sanders Goes Off And Calls Trump Scheme To Privatize VA An Insult To Veterans

[portlander23]

Bernie Sanders Goes Off And Calls Trump Scheme To Privatize VA An Insult To Veterans
Jason Easley
Politicus USA

In a statement, Sen. Sanders said:

Privatizing the VA would be an insult to the more than 22 million veterans who risked their lives to defend our country and it would significantly lower the quality of health care they receive. Our goal, shared by The American Legion and other major veterans’ organizations, must be to improve the VA, not destroy it. When men and women put their lives on the line to defend us, the president must listen to them, not to the Koch brothers and their extreme right-wing, anti-government ideology. We will vigorously oppose any and all efforts to privatize the VA.

The president-elect should listen to American Legion Executive Director Verna Jones, who recently said the nation’s largest veterans’ organization ‘would like the Trump administration to know that we value our Department of Veterans Affairs’ because ‘dollar-for-dollar, there is no better care or value available anywhere in the United States – period.’

The president-elect should listen to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. ‘Politicians, pundits and politically-motivated organizations are using the national crisis in access to care at the Department of Veterans Affairs as justification to dismantle and privatize the VA health care system, with some even proposing that veterans be charged for their service-connected care. The VFW says no! Veterans must not stand idle as politicians who never served or use the VA health care system dictate when and where veterans can receive care.’

The president-elect should listen to Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America who said, ‘The worst case scenario within the vets community is a total dismantling of everything they worked generations to create. There is a growing fear it is all going to get burned down.’

The veterans’ organizations are right. We must protect the VA, not destroy it.

Sen. Sanders was spot on. Major veterans groups do not want the VA privatized. Conservative ideologues like the Koch brothers and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) champion privatization based on ideology, not concrete proof that a privatized VA would perform better. What is looming in the future for veterans group is a privatized VA where vets will get their healthcare through capped vouchers in the private market.

[lsewpershad]

1. This peo-tus

Should be careful. He is begging for a revolt of our armed forces and vets.

[CentralMass]

2. K&R

[sarcasmo]

3. The Koch brothers are pushing the VA privatization.

[democrank]

4. Thank you, Bernie Sanders.

Thank you for standing up for our vets....yet again.

[HoneyBadger]

5. Hard to know what the solution is

From all reports, WW2, Korean, Vietnam, Iraq veterans that I have met or am related to, the VA has been a failure for 60+ years. I doubt that there is a quicker fix other than starting over. Had an uncle pass in 2015 in a VA hospital, cursing it to the end.