The email below is from Richard Allen Smith, a CREDO activist in Washington, D.C. Richard started a petition on CREDO Mobilize, where activists can launch their own campaigns for progressive change. Will you help Richard pressure Senator McConnell to stop blocking funding for veterans' healthcare by signing his petition and sharing it with your friends and family?
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| Tell Senator McConnell: Stop blocking funding for veterans' healthcare. | ||
Dear Jim,
It is outrageous that veterans are reportedly being denied timely medical care at some Department of Veteran’s Affairs facilities -- and the problem needs to be addressed without delay.
But the bigger scandal is that Republicans in Congress -- led by Senate Minority Leader McConnell -- have blocked funding for VA programs and facilities. They are robbing our veterans of the medical services they need, earned, and deserve.
This is personal for me. After I came back from Afghanistan, I bought my first home using a VA loan. VA GI Bill benefits paid for my undergraduate degree, and are paying for my masters at Johns Hopkins University right now. For years, my only access to health care was through VA.
As a disabled veteran, it pains me to watch Mitch McConnell block funding that my fellow veterans are depending on. That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com, which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, says the following:
In February, Senator McConnell blocked the Omnibus Veterans Spending bill from receiving an up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate, preventing veterans from receiving expanded healthcare benefits, educational opportunities and access to job training programs. His excuse for blocking the bill was that it didn’t include unnecessary sanctions on Iran, which are totally unrelated to veterans’ benefits.
Providing adequate health care to our veterans shouldn’t be dependent on Republicans’ ability to insert unrelated saber-rattling provisions into spending bills – but with Senator McConnell in charge of Republicans’ strategy, this type of obstruction is all too common.
On Fox News recently, Senator McConnell attacked President Obama over the problems at the Department of Veterans affairs, saying he needs to “step up to the plate” and take responsibility. But he didn’t take any responsibility for his own role in blocking funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and denying healthcare to our veterans.
The veterans’ spending bill Senator McConnell blocked in February would have improved health and dental care services and allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to open 27 new clinics and medical facilities. Let’s make sure Senator McConnell knows that blocking veterans from receiving the health care services they deserve is unacceptable.
Thank you for your support.
Richard Allen Smith
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