The average age of all veterans is 47 years. The remaining Spanish-American war veterans, who number less than 700, are more than 96. World War I veterans average over 81 with many in their 90's. World War II veterans average over 56. Korean veterans average 45 years of age and the youngest of all are the Vietnam veterans who average 30. Two million two hundred thousand veterans are in receipt of compensation for their service-connected disabilities and dependency and indemnity compensation is paid to 484,000 widows and children of veterans who were killed in action or died as a result of their service-connected disabilities. Pension is paid to nearly one million veterans whose nonservice-connected disabilities have rendered them unable to adequately support themselves and death pension is received by 1.2 million widows and children of such veterans with wartime service. All pensioners must meet a strict income means test annually.

A grateful nation through the wisdom of the Congress of the United States has recognized its obligation to those who have rendered a special service to our Republic during periods of war and hostilities by serving in our Armed Forces and to their survivors.

"The only thing necessary for evil to succeed IS for good men to do nothing."

We are all familiar with the anti-veteran forces and social planners who would do violence not only to the Veterans Administration hospital and health care system but to all veterans' benefits. We also know the shift in national sentiment from veterans and their survivors to social welfare programs has historically been the handmaiden of peacetime. This, we of the V.F.W. expect and have acquitted ourselves well in dealing with the past 77 years. However, most recently high officials within the government have taken stands to reduce our hard-fought-forand-won veterans' benefits and to relegate our needy veterans and their widows to the welfare rolls.

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The proposed Administration's budget for the Veterans Administration for the Fiscal Year 1977 was wholly inadequate and unfeeling. Not only did this budget fail to provide cost-of-living increases in the benefits programs but would have dictated the termination of pensions for more than 43,000 veterans and widows and severely reduced the pensions of all others on the rolls effective October 1, 1976. Also, no funding was included for eight previously programmed new VA hospitals and no money needed to correct deficiencies throughout the VA hospital system.

Additionally, through the introduction and passage of negative legislation to reduce other existing benefits, the Administration was desirous of further paring the VA budget.

Through the nationwide effort of the V.F.W. and its national officers, the Congress became aware of this transparent budget and took the necessary action to increase the amount. Had the Administration's recommendations prevailed, the veterans' share of the national budget would have been only 4.3 percent instead of the present 4.7 percent. By comparison, 20 years ago, veterans' benefits and services accounted for over seven cents of every tax dollar, yet in this period from 1956 to 1976 the veteran population has increased by over 30 percent.

In a surprise announcement in May 1976, President Ford indicated his decision to proceed immediately to provide design funds for all eight previously programmed new VA hospitals and construction funds in the Fiscal Year 1977 for two of the new hospitals. In the past year, legislation surfaced in Congress to tax veterans' benefits and disability retired pay and the V.F.W. spearheaded a fight that helped kill this proposal.

Among options submitted by the Congressional Budget Office to the Congress of the United States were the elimination of the nonservice-connected pension program on the grounds that pensioners' current financial position bears no relationship to past

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military service and that other programs will provide income assistance to needy veterans. Also, termination of eligibility for free medical benefits for nonservice-connected disabled veterans, and, the most horrendous of all, the phasing down of VA hospital operations with care provided to serviceconnected disabled veterans through contracts. In other words, do away with the VA hospital system as such and relegate those receiving pensions to the welfare rolls.

Another proposal, which if successful, would merge veterans' functions for budget purposes with functions of other programs administered by other agencies, i.e., HEW, HUD, and so forth, which had all the earmarks of consolidating veterans' programs with other federal agencies. Historically, the V.F.W. has opposed the splintering of veterans' benefits by other departments and agencies. V.F.W. opposed this action and, at least temporarily, it has died.

Additionally, members of the House Budget Committee were proposing the VA educational function, for budget purposes, be shifted to the education function handled by HEW. V.F.W. opposed this and advised the chairman of the House Budget Committee we could only view such action as the prelude to transferring the jurisdiction for VA educational benefits to HEW.

Even more recently, legislation was introduced in the Congress containing language which would have permitted the transfer of the Veterans Administration hospital and health care system to HEW. V.F.W. discovered this covertly worded legislation and protested vigorously to the author thereof. As a result, the sponsor of this legislation submitted new bills superseding the previous ones specifically exempting the Veterans Administration from his legislation. Additionally, the author stated it was not his intent to permit the transfer of such VA facilities to HEW.

Veterans preference has come under attack from all sides. Women's activist groups are advocating complete repeal of veterans preference except for those veterans

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with combat incurred disabilities. Government agencies are disqualifying veteran applicants on the basis of their age. Federal agencies are contracting out services, opening jobs formerly reserved for veterans to nonveterans. The 1.8 million plus members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the 568,000 members of the Ladies Auxiliary have again mandated their national officers and staffs to join the membership in its justified fight to preserve veterans preference in all phases of federal employment. There is no right greater than the right to be a productive worker. The opportun; of veterans to have maximum employment exposure in a free enterprise is one of the freedoms that the veteran laid down his life to protect. To be denied this right to work following his sacrifice is an absolute disgrace to veterans of this great country.

Given the foregoing, the following priority legislative goals reflect both the deep concern of the V.F.W. for veterans' benefits and its aims for the justifiable expansion and improvement thereof.

"Together we will make it."

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Legislative Goals For 1977

FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED

DISABLED AND THEIR DEPENDENTS a. Increase rates for compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation. b. Authorize dependency and indemnity compensation to widows and orphans of 100 percent service-connected disabled veterans, regardless of the cause of death.

c. Authorize CHAMPVA to dependents of veterans 100 percent disabled at time of death due to service-connected disabilities.

PENSION

a. Support legislation to make permanent pension rate increases granted by Public Law 94-169.

b. Support restructuring of the pension program to benefit all recipients and not be more restrictive than present law.

c. Seek additional pension for our World War I comrades.

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
MEDICAL CARE

a. Provide highest quality medical care in all VA facilities.

b. Oppose intrusion upon or takeover of VA hospitals by National Health insurance and the dismembering or dismantling of benefits administered by the Veterans Administration.

c. Pursue correction of deficiencies cited in the "Report of Special Survey of Level of Quality of Patient Care at VA Hospitals and Clinics," dated July 31, 1974.

d. Oppose any attempt by medical school officials to interfere with the administration and medical direction of Veterans Administration hospitals.

e. Seek enactment of permanent legislation to establish salary levels more attractive to VA health care personnel.

f. Seek adequate funding to permit VA hospitals and clinics to dispense acceptable emergency care and treatment on weekends, holidays and after normal duty hours.

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VETERANS

ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS

a. Oppose any proposal which could be construed as dismembering, dismantling, or in any, diminishing the integrity of the Veterans Administration and its programs. b. Require any proposed change to the Veterans Administration Rating Schedule be submitted to Congress and subject to public hearings.

c. Oppose the inclusion of veterans benefits in any cyclical budgetary reauthorization commonly referred to as "sunset" legislation.

d. Oppose the further granting of VA benefits to other than those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during periods of war or hostilities, were drafted or mustered into federal service, or who served in a campaign or expedition.

VETERANS EDUCATION

a. Oppose repeal of the 2-year extension for completing educational benefits provided by Public Law 93-337.

b. Seek removal of restriction to undergraduate work imposed on the 9-months' extension granted by Public Law 93-508.

c. Support peacetime GI Bill if funded in its entirety by the Department of Defense and active duty personnel and administered by the Veterans Administration.

CEMETERIES

a. Provide a national cemetery in every state. b. Oppose elimination of the $250 Veterans Administration burial allowance.

CIVIL SERVICE AND EMPLOYMENT

a. Preserve and extend the Veterans Preference Act of 1944, as amended.

b. Pursue reduction of unemployment among veterans, particularly younger Vietnam veterans.

c. Propose and demand that the term "affirmative action" be interpreted or defined to mean true priority, thus guaranteeing that veterans in any economic category (CETA) would be offered employment prior to offers to non-veterans.

d. Upgrade the position now designated as

"Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to the Under Secretary of Labor" to "Assistant

PRIORITY

ment".

e. Require CETA planning councils established by Public Law 93-203 to include as voting members local persons designated by Congressionally chartered veterans organizations.

f. Restore Veterans Employment Service travel funds to at least the level of F.Y. 1975.

ARMED FORCES BENEFITS

a. Restoration of CHAMPUS benefits which have been curtailed or eliminated by DOD. b. Exempt Survivor Benefit Plan annuities as countable income for VA benefits and permit concurrent receipt of such annuity and DIC.

c. Oppose the transfer of the cost of military retired pay from the DOD budget to the VA budget.

d. Permit concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA compensation or pension without waiver of retired pay.

e. Passage of legislation to eliminate the "lock-in" provision of the Survivor Benefit Plan, reduce the marriage period from two years to one year and eliminate the Social Security offset for beneficiaries.

MISCELLANEOUS

a. Strongly support continuance of both the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee with sole jurisdiction over veterans legislation introduced in Congress as presently being referred to these committees.

b. Seek legislation restricting postal rates for qualified non-profit organizations to not more than 50 percent of rates established for non-preferred mail.

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AFFAIRS PROGRAM

Preamble

ON ISOLATIONISM

"The Veterans of Foreign Wars understands in their very bones that if we are unprepared to help defend places other than North America, we shall soon have nothing but North America to defend."

-James R. Schlesinger Former Secretary of Defense Remarks at the V.F.W.'s 77th National Convention

ON FREEDOM

"Genuine human freedom is inner freedom, given to us by God: freedom to decide upon our own acts, as well as moral responsibility for them that which was called in an age-old, and now quaint, word: Honor."

-Alexander Solzhenitsyn Nobel Prize-winning Soviet Political exile

YOUR V.F.W. AND FREEDOM

"Well, let there be no doubt in any corner. Your V.F.W. stands for freedom and against communism, and we're going to start speaking out for and with office holders from both parties who share our view and against those who don't...

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"And if being for freedom and against communism causes some to charge we're getting into politics,' well, meet 'Politician Number 1.'"

-R. D. Smith, Commander-in-Chief, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

(Acceptance Remarks, 77th National Convention)

The security problem of our beloved nation does not lie principally in the current size of the defense budget. The 94th Congress, in an historic reversal of its opening anti-defense rhetoric, voted a defense money bill of over $104 billion: 15% larger than last year's bill. (Even the liberal Brookings Institution is now calling for increased defense expenditures over the next five years.)

The basic security problem of the United States is that far too many of our people cannot bring themselves to believe that we truly have a valid security problem. One distinguished journalist put it this way: "Can there be a Hitler-time without a Hitler?"

The stark facts, well known to V.F.W.ers and to all serious students of international politics, would answer "yes:"

"The Soviet Union - secretly and openly has repeatedly committed deliberate acts that mock detente and threaten the free world... Clearly we must shed any lingering illusions we may have that the Russians have abandoned their determination to undermine Western democracy and impose their system upon the world."

-Former Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird

"Peaceful coexistence does not mean the end of the struggle of the two world powers. The struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, between world socialism and imperialism will be waged right up to the

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complete and final victory of communism on a world scale."

-Brezhnev, Pravda, August 22, 1976 "The United States is in a tougher power position than it has been since Valley Forge. Not since Valley Forge has any foreign country had the ability to destroy or seriously cripple the United States. That capability exists today."

-Lt. Gen. "Dick" Walters, USAR (Ret.) former Deputy Director, CIA (Remarks to the V.F.W.'s 76th National Convention National Commander-in-Chief R. D. "Bulldog" Smith laid it on the line in New York on August 20, 1976:

"No one person or organization is always right when it comes to questions of national security.

"But, I'll tell you one thing for sure right

now.

"Our V.F.W. has been on target more often than most people - and I specifically include those in high office within the State Department who are supposed to be smarter than we are on the subject of national security and foreign affairs . . .

DETENTE

"We say, and we're going to keep on saying, that the uncritical acceptance of 'detente' by millions of our hoodwinked fellow citizens started with a massive massage job on the common sense and resolution on the American people. We say where is the 'prudent' Soviet behavior that so-called 'detente' was supposed to usher in. Did the Soviets behave with 'restraint' in Angola? Are they behaving with common decency towards the captive nations of Eastern Europe? Have they stopped, or even slowed, the one-sided arms race that they not we started?

"To all these questions, the answer is clearly 'no' and, unless we Americans want to hang it up after 200 years, we better start to turn things around right now...

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