Bush's cuts on military and veteran benefits

[nonconformist]

Does anyone have a comprehensive list of all of the different cuts that have been made to military and veteran benefits since * took office?

Thanks in advance!

[bigtree]

1. This is a hard thing to pin down in a list

I trust the American Legion's priorities. They have a load of issues and a good presentation.

http://capwiz.com/legion/issues/?search.x=19&search.y=13

Here's Kerry on this:

George Bush has left nearly 90,000 veterans waiting for health care appointments. Current policy will exclude 500,000 veterans from the VA health care system by 2005. Bush has also proposed increasing fees and co-payments to shift the burden for care onto veterans. The President thinks a $308 million increase for the entire VA health care system is enough. Coincidentally, Congress provided that same amount of money this year to help defray the costs of new patients at Florida facilities alone. The President's budget seeks to close 8,000 nursing home beds nationwide, at a time when the demand for long-term care services is high.

Bush sought to roll-back increases in imminent danger pay and family separation allowances. The Administration wanted to cut imminent danger pay from $225 to $150 a month and the family separation allowance, which goes to help military families pay rent, child care or other expenses while soldiers are away, from $250 from $100 a month.

Many Veterans Trained in the Military Would Lose Overtime. Today, workers are not eligible for overtime protections only if they fall within the category of “professional employees.” Generally only workers with a four-year degree in a professional field can be classified as “professional.”

The Bush plan would do away with this standard requirement and allow equivalent “training in the armed forces” to be routinely substituted for a four-year degree. In other words, veterans who have received training in the military that is equivalent to a specialized four-year degree could be classified as “professional employees” and lose their overtime protection under the Bush proposal.

Employers Decide Who Gets Help: Also, under the Bush plan the employer makes the determination whether a veteran’s training in the military is “equivalent” to a four-year degree, with virtually no guidance from the Department of Labor.

More Veterans Would Lose Overtime in Years to Come: The Bush proposal would deny overtime protection to more and more veterans over time, since it explicitly anticipates that “he areas in which professional exemptions may be available are expanding.” As a result, the number of veterans who fall within the overtime exception for “professional employees” would grow over time, and the number of veterans disqualified from overtime protection would grow also.

Military Trains Many for Occupations: The military trains service members for hundreds of occupations, including lab technicians, other health care occupations, information technology, engineers, drafters, designers, planners, air traffic controllers, communications specialists, law enforcement, firefighters, security personnel, and journalists.

Bush Plan Undermines Recruitment: The armed services have traditionally used the training and experience acquired through military service, and the career opportunities they open up, as incentives for recruitment.

The Army, for example, offers new recruits a choice of over 200 occupations, each of which includes training and a listing of the civilian occupations for which training could help them find a job. The proposal would punish veterans with loss of overtime protection precisely because they have received the exact same training that is used as a recruitment incentive.

If potential recruits expect training in the armed services to deprive them of future overtime protection, they may find such training to be less desirable and may even be less likely to join the military.

[nonconformist]

2. Thanks!

I appreciate it.