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Veterans services are on the chopping block when other military programs seem immune to cuts
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-veterans-20130401,0,7083800.storyVeterans services are on the chopping block when other military programs seem immune to cuts
3:45 p.m. EDT, April 1, 2013
I applaud the Call of Duty Endowment for its funding of employment services for veterans ("Amvets awarded $250,000 grant to open veterans career centers," March 20). But private generosity alone won't close the 5 percentage point employment gap between young vets and their civilian peers.
Yet as with so many other necessary functions of government, gridlock in Washington imperils services for veterans. Budget cuts mandated by the sequester will de-fund housing aid, job training and other services veterans require.
The sequester cuts could more than triple military retirees' insurance premiums, undercutting private-sector efforts like those in your report. This "one step forward, two steps back" budgeting simply isn't good enough for our vets.
Why are veterans on the chopping block when other military programs seem immune to cuts? Your newspaper has reported on the budgetary "death spiral" afflicting the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is now projected to cost $1.5 trillion over its lifetime.
