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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Craig praises plan as Murray urges changes now

A high-ranking Northwest Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee said Monday he supports a White House plan to study problems with the military and VA medical systems. But a high-ranking Northwest Democrat on the same panel said the nation can’t wait for another study by another commission.

“We’re not going to wait around for a bipartisan commission to come up with a report that nobody’s going to read or do anything about,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who has been warning about shortcomings in the VA and military medical systems for years.

Rather than wait, Democratic leaders in the Senate are expected to announce a package of legislative reforms of the system today, said Murray, who serves as the caucus secretary.

Sen. Larry Craig, of Idaho, the committee’s ranking Republican, praised President Bush’s plan for a bipartisan commission as a “call to action” to address recent problems highlighted by Washington Post stories about Walter Reed Army Hospital and ABC News reports of inadequate coverage of veterans with brain injuries.

“VA hospitals have consistently been ranked as some of the best in the country,” Craig said. “This new panel may be able to point out ways we can do things better.”

A spokesman for Craig said spending on VA programs is up 83 percent since 2001, when Bush took office, and a recent survey by Harvard University shows high patient satisfaction.

“That doesn’t mean the system’s perfect, but it’s better than it used to be,” said Jeff Schrade, who works for Craig on the Veterans Affairs Committee. “No matter how good any agency is, there’s still room for improvement.”

Murray countered that funding is up only because Congress has consistently given the VA more money than the administration has requested. She said the VA is still “billions of dollars short” of what projections show it could need to handle a new wave of injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The nation actually has two parallel but separate systems, one within the Defense Department for wounded men and women still in service, and another for former members after they leave the service, Murray said. After initial care on the battlefield and at places like Walter Reed, injured service members “get lost in a chasm” between the Defense Department and VA systems as they are returned to civilian life, she said.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson announced Monday the VA would hire 100 patient advocates to help returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans cut through bureaucracy and get services.

“Help with paperwork is good,” Murray said. “But what is that – two in every state? It’s a baby step forward.”