This article is right on the mark.  I know, because I am one of those veterans.  I’m not too proud to say that I used my benefits, and Im thankful for the help I’ve received…...and am still receiving…...for all these years.

Many veterans complain about the system…..which is imperfect, of course; it does have its flaws and is in constant need of funding.  The funding, of course, is provided by Congress; if the Department of Veterans’ Affairs submits their budget to Congress but doesn’t receive what they say they need in order to adequately meet their responsibilities to the people they serve, veterans and their families are going to suffer…...and believe me, they do!

Part of the problem lies within the Congress itself.  Far too often, I find that the same congressmen and women who write the legislation providing funding for the VA have never served a single day in uniform, and therefore have never had the interests of the veteran in mind…..and don’t now.  It takes personal testimony from members of veterans’ organizations such as the one of which I am a proud Life Member…..the Disabled American Veterans…..family members, or of the veterans themselves.

Veterans should NEVER have to go hat-in-hand to Congress…..or anywhere else, for that matter…..to ask for help from their own countrymen.  It shouldn’t have to be that way.