I consider myself lucky. As a former Marine Corps reservist and veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, I've only had occasion to visit a VA hospital twice: Once for the standard post-Gulf-War screening, and another time on an emergency basis with outpatient followup.

Many veterans are not so lucky. Some of them are disabled or have ongoing health problems which the government has obligated itself to address. And friends, my impression is that many of these veterans are getting screwed.

I'm still in the process of investigating the best ways to address veterans' issues, and this paper will be updated as I proceed, but I'd like to hit on three main points to begin with ...

Standard of Care

The Veterans Administration hospital system has been broken for decades, if it ever worked at all. Veterans wait in long lines for the care they were promised. Overworked VA staff struggle with obsolete facilities to provide that care. Because of geographical allotment requirements, some VA hospitals add luxurious amenities (for example, I understand one VA hospital in Hawaii has an 18-hole golf course) while others go without enough beds to admit patients in need of them.

The solution seems pretty simple to me -- instead of providing the care directly, the federal government should take bids on a group rate (for a VERY large group!) for comprehensive private sector health insurance at least equal to the benefits it has obligated itself to provide, and pay the premiums, co-pays, etc. for such a policy for each entitled veteran. Let our veterans avail themselves of the best health care America can provide instead of relegating them to the worst. As your representative in Congress, I'll work to put together exactly such a plan and see it implemented.

Full Concurrent Receipt

Imagine that, as a private sector worker, you had invested a portion of your paycheck each week in a 401(k) and, upon retirement, had purchased an annuity.

Now imagine that you become disabled, apply for benefits from your insuror ... and are told that for every dollar in benefits paid to you by that insuror, a dollar will be subtracted from your retirement paycheck!

That's how it works for veterans. Retire after 20 years in the military, collect benefits ... but if you have a disability claim, every dollar in disability benefits is taken out of your retirement check. Survivors of military personnel in combat are also screwed out of a portion of promised benefits in this way in a scheme usually referred to as the "widow's tax."

That's just wrong, and while Congress has eased the situation somewhat, it's time to go all the way: FULL concurrent receipt for our veterans. They earned their retirement benefits, and they were promised other benefits if disabled. One should not cancel out the other. As your representative in Congress, I will seek to end this outrage.

End the Feres Doctrine

If a federal prisoner -- a convicted criminal -- slips on an unmarked wet floor and breaks his arm in prison, he can sue the government for damages. If a member of the armed forces does the same thing ... well, sorry, Charlie.

The "Feres Doctrine" (from the Supreme Court's ruling in Feres v. United States) exempts the military -- and, in practical application, VA facilities, military contractors and subcontractors -- from the Federal Tort Claims Act. Under that doctrine, the government escapes liability for injuries to active duty military personnel, no matter how outrageous the negligence involved may be.

Once again, this is wrong. Why should military personnel (who ultimately become veterans if they survive their service -- and let me remind you that many do not) be less entitled to seek compensation for injury due to negligence than anyone else? As your representative in Congress, I'll work to overturn the Feres Doctrine by amending federal tort law to specifically allow damage suits by injured service personnel.

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Libertarian for US House