Tom Harkin: “I might just quote here from the Vietnam Veterans of America: VVA has long held the principle belief that the health…”

“I might just quote here from the Vietnam Veterans of America: VVA has long held the principle belief that the health care and benefits needs of veterans are an ongoing cost of our Nation's defense. I think that is the problem around here. We have a defense budget, then we have a veterans' affairs budget--as if somehow they are separate and distinct and have no connection with one another. I think this sentence really says it clearly: . . .the benefits needs of veterans are an ongoing cost of our nation's defense. We cannot separate the two. Your amendment will carry forward with assurance of the Nation's commitment to veterans' military service-related health care needs. The letter from the Vietnam Veterans of America, Incorporated, goes on and says: Some of your colleagues have argued that attrition of the veterans population through deaths of World War II veterans is an indication that VA needs less money to operate. However, this narrow perspective fails to take into account the rising costs of medical care, and more importantly, the current demographics of the veterans population. VA health care users are older and sicker than the overall American public. Vietnam veterans now represent the largest group within the veterans population. Many of the Vietnam veterans and a growing population of Persian Gulf war veterans have complex problems relating to herbicide, chemical and other environmental exposures.…”