Barnyard BOb wrote ...

Don't blame DoD.
Credit George Bush and Company.
While they praise our military publicly.....
they also continue to gut BILLIONS from VA
hospitals/medical programs across the land.
...

More crap from the horse's ass. But then it's generally pretty full
of it.

The true facts are that the VA budget has gone up by $15 billion since
Bush took office, a 30% increase. On top of that, Bush's budget for
FY2004 includes the largest discretionary increase for the VA _ever_
requested by _any_ president. He's asked Congress for $64 billion for
the VA effective this October. That's _another_ 33% over the last
budget ($48 billion). The VA budget has _never_ increased as fast in
its entire history. What's more, the VA is starting to make a lot
more efficient use of that money, using it for vets instead of its own
bloat - the new CARE proposal will modernize a lot of antiquated
facilities, consolidate duplicates and build some new ones in areas
where vet populations have increased. Five years ago, 3 million vets
were eligible for assistance. Today the number is 25 million, simply
because benefits have been extended to vets with mid-level incomes and
no service injuries. The VA has greatly increased access to care as
well, by following in the footsteps of the rest of the health care
industry. It's a lot less hospital based now and offers more
community clinics, private contracts, outpatient services, home care,
preventive care and wellness counseling than ever before.

1.30 x 1.33 = 1.73, a 73% increase and you claim they "gut BILLIONS".
As usual, you don't have a clue what you're talking about, you just
like to bitch & run your mouth. Well this time you're telling a good
bunch of guys that they're getting screwed, and that's not only a lie,
it's a mean-hearted lie that serves no purpose other than to **** on
vets. Well I happen to like vets, so **** off jerk.

Daniel