I've received a
note from Senator Kennedy's office that the Republican majority in the Senate voted last night to kill an amendment to the tax bill that would have rectified a $2.7 billion shortfall in the VA's budget by diverting a portion of the $70 billion cut in capital gains taxes to medical care and disability payments for veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The amendment, which was offered by Senators Kennedy(D-MA) and Dodd(D-CT), and endorsed by the American Legion, was intended to provide comfort and support for the 16,000 American troops who have been injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More, including Senator Kennedy's floor speech, below the fold:
The VA estimates that 20 percent of those injured have sustained head and brain injuries that will cost more than $5 million per person in care over the course of their lifetime and that 30 percent of troops have developed mental health problems that have contributed to widespread homelessness among veteran populations from previous wars.
Currently, 1/4th of all homeless Americans are veterans, and more than 500,000 veterans will be homeless during a given year.
Kennedy's floor speech, as redacted from SenateDemocrats.net
In his second inaugural address, President Lincoln reminded us of the solemn obligation that we have to those who fight our nation's wars. He said "let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle [and for his widow and his orphan.]"
Over 550,000 brave men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. A majority of them have served multiple tours fighting under dangerous conditions, and battling an unseen foe. We owe it to them to care for their injuries incurred in service of our nation.
As of today, over 16,000 of our troops have been injured in battle. Of those, over 7,500 were so seriously injured that they could not return to duty. We have seen the ravages of war in the wards of Walter Reed and Bethesda. While body armor saves lives, many soldiers and Marines have lost their limbs.
Others will survive with major injuries to their spine or brain damage. This summer, he Surgeon General of the Army reported that 30% of US troops have developed mental health problems within a few months of their return from Iraq. Twenty percent of the troops injured in Iraq have suffered head and brain injuries that require a lifetime of continual care that could cost as much as $5 million.
A recent study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 15 to 17 percent of Iraqi vets showed signs of "major depression, generalized anxiety, or [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]." But of those, only 23 to 40 percent are seeking help. Many of them will wind up homeless with no other options for their health care than the VA. After their service to our country, we should not leave them out on the street.
The increased use of the Guard and Reserve in this conflict has created an entirely new category of people who may now make use of the VA. The Guard and Reserve make up approximately 40% of the troops on the ground, and approximately 90,000 have sought care at VA hospitals.
Unfortunately, our current budgets do not reflect this reality. A recent study by Nobel prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes, found that the costs paying for the injured from these wars has not yet been budgeted. To our dismay, we learned that the Veterans Administration needed an additional $2.7 billion for this fiscal year to care for the veterans returning from the war.
Stiglitz and Bilmes found that, "the military values the cost of those injured by what their medical treatment cost and disability pay; and current accounting only reflects current payments in disability" not future payments.
Based on their calculations, it could cost as much as $18.9 billion to pay for these costs over the next five years. Of this amount, $6.9 billion for medical care, and $12 billion for increased disability payments. It would also provide funds to provide necessary improvements to hospitals that treat our military personnel and veterans.
This amendment Senator Dodd and I have introduced would rectify that shortfall and keep faith with our men and women in uniform. It would be paid for by elimination of the capital gains and dividends tax breaks for taxpayers with over one million dollars in annual income.
We owe it to soldiers like Sergeant Peter Damon, a son of Massachusetts who lost his arms in Iraq, and every other soldier, Marine, sailor, or airman who has put our security ahead of their safety.