GovernmentExecutive.com

Twenty years ago, I had a friend who was staying temporarily at the VA hospital in Dayton, OH. They were have the same problems then with filth, disrepair and mismanagement. It seemed like they were always losing records and not giving patients the right medicine. At that time, Veterans were complaining to their Congressional representatives about the conditions at the hospitals and lack of funding to provide needed care for Veterans. The Veterans got a polite response and nothing happened.

Now, with the VA facilities needing millions of dollars of repairs, the Congress acts like it just found out. That's crap.

What's more, there are thousands of Veterans from as far back as WWII needing home care as well as medical care. But, the VA says they don't have enough money. So, where has money gone? When is the Congress going to quit blowing smoke and do something productive? Does the military expect new people to volunteer so they can be cast aside and ignored later? It's shameful.

Why doesn't someone ask Vietnam Veterans how their stay at Walter Reed was? I can tell you some horrendous stories I've heard about the conditions there 40 years ago. It makes me wonder if all the fuss is just polictics.