Government Employees Union Calls On McCain To Fully Fund Veteran's Affairs

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/8533

A union representing federal workers is calling on Republican Presidential candidate John McCain to support full funding the Department of Veteran Affairs. Jesse Russell reports:

Just five days after endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President, the American Federation of Government Employees has called on Republican Presidential Candidate Senator John McCain to provide full, mandatory funding for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. McCain is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and AFGE President John Gage said in a statement that the Senator is in “a position to do something that will have long range impact on the health care of his fellow veterans.” McCain has been pushing for a voucher plan so they can receive health care at private facilities out of the jurisdiction of the Veteran’s Health Administration. AFGE has launched a series of ads that suggest such a program could undermine the VHA and would result in the privatization of veteran’s health care. To bring the issue to the public the federal employee union has launched a series of ads in key swing states.