Sorry, Charlie: Your Time Is Up

President Bush is scheduled to submit his budget request for the 2007 fiscal year to Congress on Feb. 6, and the country's largest, most influential veterans groups are already on the offensive, saying they are being shortchanged again.

Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee Steve Buyer, R-Ind., has implemented new rules: Veterans groups must submit their written testimony for budget requests and policy initiatives to the committee by noon on Feb. 6. Two days later, veterans groups will present their testimony to the committee -- but, for the first time in 60 years, they'll be constrained by a three-minute limit.

"The revised schedule for hearings and the change in format amount to a slap in the face to individual veterans as well as the groups that represent them in the public policy arena. Chairman Buyer has slammed the door in the face of America's veterans," says Paul Jackson, National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a 1.3 million-member group that works to improve the lives of disabled veterans.

"Buyer should not silence the voice of American veterans in the very committee that's charged with ensuring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has what it needs to care for American veterans," adds Peter Gaytan, director of the veterans affairs and rehabilitation division for the American Legion, a 2.7 million-member veterans organization.

Joe Violante, national legislative director with DAV, says veterans groups are traditionally given 10 minutes to convey their budget needs, and the time constraints have never been strictly enforced. "What we do is give Congress a perspective on what's actually happening out there because we hear from our members about the problems they face on a day-to-day basis," he says.

During wartime, it only seems appropriate to give veterans groups even more time to articulate their needs. What can be accomplished in three minutes? "It just seems so different now," says Violante. "During past wars, Congress has been more liberal with veterans' benefits. Now we're seeing the exact opposite. They're looking at ways to cut our programs and limit spending levels on veterans programs. It's an entirely different atmosphere."

Five national veterans groups, including DAV, American Legion and Paralyzed Veterans of America have all called on Chairman Buyer to rescind the new rules and allow them to speak for the usual 10 minutes. So far, the only request he has granted is to give the groups 10 minutes to speak on legislative issues, but the three-minute rule still applies to budget testimony.

Chairman Buyer's office responded to questions about the time change, although Buyer did not make himself available for an interview. Former and current Republican members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee did not respond to interview requests.

Media coverage might cause politicians and the public to pressure Chairman Buyer to give veterans the time they deserve -- if the mainstream media would cover the changes.

"Media coverage of veterans issues is getting better, but overall, it's been pathetic," says Larry Scott, a four-year Army veteran and operator of VAWatchdog.org. "The media reports say Bush increased the veterans budget by 57 percent, but people are being misled by that statement. The majority of the VA budget is mandatory. The money is just put in there. The problem is that the health care side is not mandatory; it's part of a discretionary budget. It goes to Congress. It gets argued. It gets cut. When you analyze the VA health care budget, the actual increase is 2.6 percent, but you have to look at the rate of inflation in the health care sector, which averages 5.6 percent."

The quality of care at the VA has never been better; the problem is that it's not accessible to those who need it. "The VA needs to be able to hire more full-time employees and needs a budget that is not only adequate but arrives on time," says Gaytan. "The delay in approving the budget for the VA in the past three years has prevented the VA from hiring employees to provide vets with care."