Eric Massa, Democratic candidate for Congress in NY-29, unveiled his Veterans Plan at a press conference today, challenging his opponent Randy Kuhl to debate him publicly on the issues and also calling out Kuhl for his votes against veterans even as he holds press conferences purportedly supporting veterans.  Massa pointedly criticized Kuhl and other politicians for “standing in front of veterans at press conferences and photo ops but then refusing to stand behind us.  Supporting these troops is a lot more than a Fourth of July slogan and a magnetic sticker on the back of an automobile.  It is a promise made to these men and women.”

When I asked Massa if he was concerned that his opponent and other Republicans will refer to his plan as an entitlement rather than a promise for their service, Massa said they already are saying that and they can “Bring it on.”  He said that stories like the one of Joseph Dwyer, who was photographed in 2003 carrying a disabled Iraqi child but who later went onto commit suicide, have mobilized Massa to fight even harder for veterans’ care.  Massa said “I watched my father’s generation come home from Vietnam being largely ignored.  Today it is much the same.  There’s talking the talk and writing the check.  My opponent, by refusing to support the G.I. Bill, showed his true colors.”  You can read the entire plan after the fold.

The basics of it are mandatory full funding of the V.A., allowing veterans to receive medical care wherever they are and from any medical facility at home or abroad.  Massa said “The days of veterans turned away from ERs because it’s not a V.A. are over.”  When I asked about the logistics of this, especially abroad, Massa said it would be much the same as the practice with private insurers.

When asked about financial penalties for disabled vets, Massa said “Today Social Security is decreased if a soldier has a disability rating.  [We must] eliminate financial penalties on disabled vets and their survivors.  As a country we must now expand the scale of treatment of PTSD and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).”

Massa also said we must honor our National Guard and Reserves by providing the “same benefits our regular enlisted enjoy.  This president has sent them in unprecedented numbers.”

Massa also advocated for federal funding of veterans’ career training.  When asked by Bob Ricotta of The Leader about costs, Massa referred to the money we’ve borrowed from China and said a 1.5% 0.5 % tax increase on those making $500,000 or more per year would help pay for it and he pointed to studies by The Brookings Institute and others.  Massa also said that “supporting our veterans is a matter of political will.”

When asked by Rottenchester at Fighting 29th about the educational component, Massa said that he is in support of the Webb G.I. Bill on that issue and had no differences.

I asked Massa if the idea of utilizing veterans’ services at the closest facility for routine care such as physical therapy would eliminate the need for centralized V.A. Medical Centers, Massa said “Not at all.  The demand at V.A.s far outstrips their capabilities.”

You can read Eric Massa’s Veterans Plan after the fold.

From the press release (I’ve bolded the highlights):

Eric Massa on the Issues - SERVING OUR VETERANS
“Since October 2001, about 1.64 million US troops served in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. Supporting these troops is much more than a Fourth of July or Memorial Day slogan. It is a sacred promise made by this nation to the brave men and women who have defended this country. Regardless of differing opinions on the war, it is the duty of Congress to ensure that we have programs available to help soldiers transition into civilian life by creating an environment where they can find good jobs with solid benefits in today’s economy and successfully move back into civilian life. These veterans stood up for us, now we must stand up for them.”
—Retired Navy Commander Eric Massa

As a 24 year retired Navy Commander, Eric Massa understands the issues facing our veterans today.  Returning veterans want to reintegrate into society and earn good jobs, but we need to stop stacking the deck against them. Supporting the troops should not be a partisan issue…
Eric will:
• Introduce legislation requiring mandatory full funding of the Veterans Administration.
• Honor our veterans by allowing them to receive medical care wherever they are. Until we can achieve mandatory full funding for our VAs, we need to allow our veterans to use their Veterans Access Service Cards to receive health care at local medical facilities when there are no VA facilities in the area. This way, veterans can receive instant access to healthcare, and mental care without having to drive sometimes hundreds of miles for decent medical attention. There must be medical and psychiatric facilities available to treat our veterans - 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Eliminate financial penalties on disabled veterans and survivors who also receive Social Security. Disabled veterans are provided with disability benefits, as they should be; however, their disability benefits cause their Social Security benefits to be reduced by a 35% to 55% offset. This reduction in benefits, referred to as a “concurrent receipt,” is unfair.  Disability benefits have nothing to do with Social Security benefits. They must be treated as separate entities. The family members of disabled or deceased veterans also receive a stipend. While receiving the stipend, they also suffer from a “widow’s tax” in which their
Social Security benefits are significant reduced. Massa would propose legislation to stop this
practice.

• Expand VA Hospital services. Iraq war veterans are returning with record high rates of traumatic brain injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. VA hospitals, specializing in this field, are in high demand, but continue to close due to lack of funding. These problems aren’t going to solve themselves, so we must increase programs that deal with these types of injuries, not decrease them.
• Greatly expand the scale and quality of services to treat psychological and cognitive injuries.  Experts stress that the Afghan and Iraqi wars have taken a serious psychological toll. Multiple tours of combat stress cause disproportionately high psychological disorders, compared to the physical injuries from combat. Our veterans are more often psychologically affected by war, than physically.  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is causing the rates of suicides and depression to skyrocket.  These conditions are often slow to emerge and hard to detect. The current health care system has gaps and conditions like PTSD that are often poorly understood. A recent RAND Corporation study suggested that as many as 620,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, or major depression. Another study suggested that one in five service members who returned from Iraq or Afghanistan reported symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Eric Massa calls for a massive national effort equal to the scale and seriousness of these conditions. There is also evidence that the VA’s expenditures on such care vary widely, with some centers spending only a fraction of the amount spent at others. The Department of Veterans Affairs has more than 100 PTSD clinical teams, but the funding is inconsistent. According to the study, the clinic in the Bronx had a cost of $2,521 per veteran. San Jose’s clinical team spent $215 per veteran and the Canandaigua facility, in our own district, reported an expenditure of $1,000 in fiscal year 2006. Eric Massa believes that we need to provide equal high quality psychological care for American veterans everywhere.
• Honor our National Guard and Reserves by providing them with the same benefits that the regular military enjoys. Veteran’s health care programs and educational support should fully cover the National Guard and Reserves. Guardsmen and Reservists make the same sacrifices as our everyday military, but are not allowed the same benefits. This has to change now.
• Make Health Care Available to all veterans and their families. A recent Harvard university study suggests that nearly six million uninsured Americans are veterans or family members. Some 12.2 % of the 47 million Americans without health insurance are veterans or members of a veteran’s household. According to this study, published last December, there are 1.8 million veterans without health coverage. This number has increased by 290,000 since 2000. Of the 1.8 million uninsured, 645,628 are Vietnam-era vets and 1,105,891 are vets serving in other “eras” including Iraq and the Gulf wars. Nearly 2/3rds of uninsured vets are employed. This data shows the link between the failure to provide care for our vets and the larger problem, the need for national health care reform.  Ultimately, each of these problems contributes to the other and common solutions are required.
• Expand federal funding for veteran’s career training programs. The basis of a smooth transition from military service to a civilian life is a good job. Eric Massa believes that veterans must be equipped with all of the possible resources to obtain a good job with solid benefits in their civilian life…Local VA facilities should organize regular job fares and informational session on these training and educational opportunities.

Massa’s plan is comprehensive and it is what our veterans need to readjust to civilian life.  We can’t expect our soldiers to come out of hell—and that is what war is—and then just walk merrily back into their civilian roles if they experienced trauma.  To continue to believe so is to fail our soldiers.  Democrats like Massa live in the real world.  Those who talk about patriotism at photo ops and then do nothing are living in a fairy tale.  This fall, Americans will vote our government back into reality when they send Democrats to Washington.