Senator Obama got off on the wrong foot (in the eyes of this household) by voting to confirm Condiliar Rice, tempering some of our enthusiasm for him. However, more statements like this one would ameliorate our ambivalence, slightly.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama chided President Bush on Monday for proposing a federal budget that Obama says falls about $4 billion short of honoring the nation's commitment to veterans.Trib“Four billion dollars is a lot, but it's not a lot when you consider the overall [Department of Veterans Affairs] budget or the fact, for example, that the president is looking to borrow one trillion dollars in order to finance his Social Security scheme,” Obama told reporters in Chicago.
Obama said Bush's budget would slow down a claims system already plagued by backlog. He also criticized the administration's proposal to charge some veterans a $250 enrollment fee for health-care coverage, and he cited a number of cuts in funding for veterans nursing homes. Obama noted that some veterans will see their prescription drug co-payments rise under the Bush plan.
“This budget tells our veterans that if they want increased funding for the VA they'll have to pay for it themselves,” Obama said.
... Richard Fuller, national legislative director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said Bush's budget is “the worst budget we've seen.”
