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Broken Promises: Vietnam Veterans Hit Again

By VVAW

VET CENTER TO CLOSE?

The Reagan Administration—and Reagan in particular—is hesitating to sign the veteran's bill that would, among other things, give birth to 33 new veteran's outreach centers and guarantee the continued operation of 93 others. The centers currently in operation are not receiving necessary funds to pay operational bills. They have been instructed to take no new clients.

Never popular among V.A. bigwigs, the Vets Centers have, in many locations, faced continual problems with V.A. heavies who are at a loss to explain why simple things like electric, water and phone bills aren't paid regularly.

Last spring a wave of protests by 'Nam vets across the country made David Stockman back down from the proposed shutdown of the Vets Centers. No Stockman and the Reagan Administration are chipping away again. It may well be that large-scale demonstrations may again be needed to save this most useful of V.A. programs for the Vietnam vet—one of the few programs which has done any good.

VA ADMINISTRATORS: NAM VETS NOT WANTED

There may be some expert in bureaucratic in-fighting who can understand what's going on in the V.A. For those of us who would never get near the inner sanctum of the V.A., except when we force our way in to take it over, the shuffling at the top of the V.A. is one more indication of the Reagan administration's complete unconcern with the problems faced by vets.

It took until mid-July before Reagan could find someone to take over a V.A. director: Allen Clark, appointed to the number tow job in the V.A., stayed for 9 1/2 days before he split the scene. In mid-September, the number 3 and 4 men resigned.

Most vets have to deal with the 90% of V.A. workers who are doing all they can to help vets. Some vets are stuck with dealing with the turkeys who couldn't care less-they only want to impress the bosses. None of us have to deal with the top hierarchy of the V.A. (fortunately). But these are the people who set the policies and the tone which filters down to the receptionist who tells the vets how long they have to wait to see the person who can help them.

So what we've got is Captain Nemmo whose qualifications seem to be that he's an old Reagan crony, rich, a cattleman—and utterly ignorant of the problems faced by vets. Some of his early comments demonstrate that Nimmo is well in the mold of other Reagan appointees. " The mail I get from veterans all across this country—99% tell me they are pleased with the service they get from V.A. hospitals." This Nimmo comment proves one of four things: a secretary tosses out most of his mail; he only read letters he wants to read; he can't read; he's lying.

Or there's Nimmo's now notorious comment on Agent Orange: "Thus far, there is simply no body of medical evidence to suggest that Agent Orange causes anything other than what we call chloracne, which is very similar to teenage acne." Two tubes of Clerasil and all the problems of Vietnam vets will disappear—that and Nimmo's magic wand.

If Nimmo could make the problems of Vietnam vets disappear as easily as he seems to be able to make his top assistants disappear, Vietnam vets would erect a monument to him. Of course that's not about to happen because Nimmo is much more concerned about jockeying around his aides than he is in even learning anything about the problems of vets.

Besides presiding over mammouth cuts in funds available for vets, Nimmo has yet to show that his total lack of qualifications for the job is not a perfect prediction of what he can do on the job. Vietnam vets, who have gotten the short end of the V.A. stick for years, still have no representative anywhere near the top of the V.A. But Nimmo and the empty spots under him at the top of the V.A. are a perfect demonstration of Reagan's concern for vets. Given the performance of the V.A. over the years, vets might be better off if Nimmo were to quit and all the top jobs were left open!

VA BUDGET CUT

Reagan, Stockman & Co, Inc, are once again out with the ax to chop away at vets' benefits. In the much advertised " new round" of budget cuts for fiscal 1982, the V. A. is slated to lose $451.7 million. This is on top of the $110 million already chopped.

While the "new round" seems to be facing some firm opposition in the Congress, not wholly enchanted with Budget Director Stockman's blunders (like turning catchup into a vegetable, for instance), the prospect for the V.A. is that two-thirds of the cut would come straight out of medical care budgets. It would likely mean the cutting of 5,000 medical personnel from the V.A., and a reduction in daily patient population at V.A. hospitals of approximately 3,000 patients.

While running for president Reagan said: "To me it is unconscionable that veterans in need are denied hospital and medical care because of inadequate funding which has closed hospital beds and cut health care personnel within the V.A."

Certainly a man as interested in others keeping their world ( witness the air traffic controllers) would not go back on his, would he, Ronnie???