Congressman Jim Moran's News Commentary

Fourth of July celebrations will abound in Falls Church and the rest of Northern Virginia this weekend. It is a time for family, friends and relatives to gather in honoring our nation's historic struggle for independence and a chance to reflect on how far we have come and the obstacles ahead in order to preserve our democracy.

Right now, thousands of American men and women are off in foreign lands, trying to protect the peace and capture terrorists in hostile environments. Their July 4th, and the July 4th for their family and friends at home, will likely be one they will never forget. The patriotic feelings stirred up by this national celebration will reverberate with added significance for these Americans, as their experience of our struggle for freedom goes from history textbooks to their own living rooms.

I did not support giving President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. I believe he and his Administration have made a mess of the situation by their drive to topple the Saddam regime without first having United Nations inspectors completing their search for WMDs and later, their inability to cobble together sufficient international backing to go to war under the auspices of the international community. Despite this opposition, I feel strongly that we should be fully supportive of our troops in Iraq and elsewhere, and focus the criticism for going to war unilaterally on the Administration and President who sent them there.

This brings me to an area with which I am perhaps most upset with the Bush Administration. It is bad enough to send our sons and daughters to war based upon false pretenses, but this Administration's neglect of our servicemen and women once they arrive home is perhaps the most shocking. Each day, more and more Americans are being added to our veteran population. At a time when increasing numbers of men and women who have bravely served our country in battle return home to restart their lives and deal with the scars of war, this Administration is working to cut veterans' health care and benefits.

An Office of Management and Budget memorandum dated May 19, 2004 confirmed that, despite previous denials, the Administration plans to make deep cuts in many key government services after 2005. The Administration's plan will cut $910 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) discretionary budget in 2006, which currently provides funds allowing about 7 million veterans to enroll in the VA health care program. Such a cut will prevent the VA's ability to maintain the current level of health care services to all participating veterans.

The Bush Administration's record of underfunding veterans' programs is not new. In the President's 2005 budget request, funding for veterans' needs was $1.2 billion short of what the Secretary of Veterans Affairs asked for and $2.5 billion short of what the Veterans' Affairs Committee requested on a bipartisan basis.

These misplaced priorities are a slap in the face to the soldiers and their families. President Bush and his administration think they can get away with playing up themes of patriotism while quietly cutting away basic, concrete assistance for our veterans. I hope November proves that they were badly mistaken.