A bipartisan group of 54 House members joined U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) to urge their colleagues to stop the Veterans Administration (VA) from unfairly cutting a veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compensation. The VA is preparing to review 72,000 individual cases of veterans who were rated at 100 percent disabled and unemployable within the last five years due to PTSD. The review comes after a Department of Defense Inspector General report found that the number of 100 percent PTSD ratings granted to veterans varied widely among regions across the country.
..."This is another cheap attempt by the Bush administration to save a few bucks at the expense of our veterans who put their lives on the line for us," said DeFazio. "Veterans should not be subjected to trauma and emotional stresses of proving for a second time the wounds they suffered on the battlefield. Nor should our veterans be punished for inconsistency and inadequate training at the agency. The review is limited to those who were granted full compensation, but completely ignores the tens of thousands of veterans who were unfairly denied compensation. In fact, there are probably more veterans whose PTSD ratings are too low, and stand to receive increased compensation, compared to those who are receiving unnecessarily high compensation. I am disgusted by this administration’s actions."
Text of the letter.
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