Chafee Balancing the Budget on the Backs of Veterans?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Governor Lincoln Chafee’s budget calls for residents of the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol to pay all of their net income towards the cost of their care—a plan that has stoked outrage and disappointment among veterans.
“The sad part of it is that it always comes down to money,” said John Weiss, president of the state council of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “They’ll send you to war, but 30 years later they’ll look at you and say, ‘We can’t afford to have you.’”
The proposed budget would raise the amount veterans contribute towards their care from 80 percent to 100 percent of their net income. (Click here to view the budget, scroll down to page 227 in the PDF.)
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“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous and it’s wrong,” said retired Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the former head of the Rhode Island National Guard. “We shouldn’t be targeting veterans, especially at the Bristol Veterans Home.”
The increase takes away money veterans at the home use for everything from toiletries and clothes to gifts for their families, according to veteran advocates.
“Now they’re not going to have the money to do that, so I don’t know what they’re going to do. It’s just not right,” said Tony DeQuattro, the president of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, which cares for homeless veterans and their families. “They don’t have much time left—let them enjoy life. Don’t take their money from them.”
Veterans would still receive a $150 monthly stipend for spending money.
Chafee ‘spreading around the shared sacrifice’
A spokesman for the Department of Human Services said in a time of budget deficits and economic recession, everyone has to bear some of the burden. “It’s not balancing the budget on the backs of any particular group,” said spokesman Fred Sneesby. “It’s spreading around the shared sacrifice as much as possible.”
The Veterans Home currently has 182 residents and a capacity for as many as 245 veterans. Sneesby said the additional funds would pay for more staff at the home and cover the cost of planning for a new building. The state also plans to bring the current facility up to full capacity.
The current cost of caring for a patient at the Veterans Home is $305 a day for nursing care—for which the state receives a $70 reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Less intensive nursing care costs $256 a day with a $36 reimbursement from the VA, according to the Rhode Island Division of Veterans Affairs.
Raising $1 million more from veterans
The additional charge on veterans is expected to raise about $1 million. However, 80 percent of that money will be pooled with general revenues—just 20 percent will go into a restricted account for the Veterans Home, according to state budget documents.
Centracchio said veterans have already sacrificed enough for their country. “The veterans cannot be a revenue source for the shortcomings of the state’s budget dilemma,” Centracchio said. “It’s just depressing that we have a situation in this state where the veterans are looked upon to bear another sacrifice after so many years of service.”
Sneesby conceded there are no easy choices in the situation. “In some sense, budget-makers face real Sophie’s choices where the decision is between two bad choices,” he said. “People could pick out any slice of the population and make an argument why they should be spared the shared sacrifice.”
Chafee’s father a veterans advocate
The additional costs for veterans perhaps comes as more of a surprise given that Chafee’s father, former Senator John Chafee, was a decorated veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War. The elder Chafee was singled out for praise by former President Bill Clinton in a Veterans Day speech just weeks after his passing in 1999:
“One of those who served at Guadalcanal was a 19-year-old Marine lieutenant named John Chafee. He went on to fight in Okinawa, to lead troops in Korea, to serve as governor of Rhode Island and Secretary of the Navy, and then, for more than 20 years, as a United States senator,” Clinton said. “His fights for health care helped millions of veterans live better lives. Yet he was so humble that when he received a distinguished award from the Marine Corps Foundation last year, he hardly spoke about his wartime service.”
Yesterday, Governor Chafee’s office referred all requests for comment to Sneesby. Also, retired Brig. Gen. Rick Baccus, declined comment.
The proposal to increase charges on residents at the Veterans Home is scheduled to come before the House Finance Committee today for a hearing.
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Veteran photo credit: George Joch /Courtesy Argonne National Laboratory
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