Christian Farlin

Professor Wisland

English 109-H

24 November 2021

Veterans’ Rights

A strong standing army represents America’s commitment toward protecting its citizens

from threats--both domestic and abroad. In fact, Dwight D. Eisenhower espoused his support of

our armed forces in his Inaugural address: “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to

the weak or the timid” (Haggard). However, since the aftermath of World War II, support for the

brave men and women who have sacrificed limbs, friends, and years of their lives to protect our

nation has drastically dwindled. In the last twenty years “post-9/11 veterans [have] a 43% chance

of having a service-connected disability, after accounting for differences in demographic and

social characteristics among veterans”, which is “significantly higher than that of veterans from

other periods” (Census.gov). Veterans suffer from undiagnosed mental issues and physical

impairments--alongside struggles to readjust to civilian life--and efforts toward supporting our

brave veterans have been ignored by our elected officials in favor of “popular” stances that are

self-serving for re-election campaigns. In order for Veteran’s needs to be met, civilians must

understand what veterans have experienced; why elected officials ignore Veterans’ Rights; how

official neglect has worsened the state of many veterans; why our current efforts are not enough;

and why the Veteran’s Rights Movement is imperative to assist our struggling heroes. Thus,

addressing Veterans’ Rights means that our citizenry must force the Federal Government to
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atone for its inactivity by passing legislation that will justly help veterans overcome their mental

and physical combat-induced issues.

Veterans face many long term challenges post-service, where the predominant issue that

veterans face is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is “the primary cause of

reported physical health decline in military trauma victims...because PTSD fosters both increased

reporting of physical health symptoms and direct triggering of physical health declines, including

neurologic, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal complaints” (Gade). Unfortunately, many

mental or physical hardships that veterans endure are undiagnosed. Moreover, the Department of

Veterans’ Affairs (VA) is under-funded, and cannot allocate more resources toward addressing

the ever-increasingly diverse range of issues that veterans face. A study conducted on a group of

veterans who completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan categorized Veterans’ combat-induced

trauma into “musculoskeletal problems, mental health conditions and ‘non-specific signs and

symptoms’ [which] include fatigue, somatic, and cognitive complaints (memory, attention and

concentration difficulties)” (Spelman). However, the in-depth research and treatments for these

issues prompted by studies akin to Spelman’s are largely ignored by the Federal government.

Permanent trauma sustained during active service effectively strips veterans’ abilities to live the

rest of their lives peacefully, as “deployment to a war zone is an experience that may profoundly

impact a veteran’s health and personal life, carrying the risk of long-term physical,

psychological, and social impairments” (Spelman) that prevents them from re-integrating into

society.

The lack of Veteran services and resources are a direct result of the historical lack of

Federal funding. Unfortunately, the lack of Federal fundings continues, as President Biden’s

proposed $6.011 trillion 2022 budget appropriates 65% of all funding toward “mandatory
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Entitlement Programs”--which include the Medicare, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance (S.N.A.P) Programs (Amadeo)-- and ignores veterans’ issues. In fact, veteran-centric

services are thrown in with discretionary, or removable, spending--almost as an afterthought.

Federal discretionary spending “forecasted to be $1.688 trillion” (Amadeo), forces Veterans

programs and associative executive bureaucracies to compete with other military departments,

such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense, in addition to “Health

and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development” for appropriated funds

(Amadeo). Why are the approximately 18 million veterans’ (CensusBureau) needs in the

discretionary spending portion of the appropriations bill, when the needs of 18 million

LGBTQ+-identifying Americans are in mandatory spending (Cikaric)? Without the required

appropriations, Federal, State, and Local veteran-assisting entities cannot provide medicine,

treatment, and other essential services to veterans, and are thus unable to care for the soldiers that

sacrificed immensely for our nation’s tenets.

As Thomas Friedman reveals in “Have We Reshaped Middle East Politics or Started to

Mimic It?”, politicians no longer run on platforms that include Veterans Rights due to their

simplistic “us-versus-them mind-set” (Friedman). Republican candidates--aware of the

Democratic candidate’s ability to paint the Republican candidate as a historically unfavorable

pro-war candidate if he employs a military-based platform--strive to form moderate platforms

that will conjure enough moderate and liberal-leaning votes for election, and re-election if they

are the incumbent. Democratic candidates, aware of their party’s anti-military stances,

understand that their endorsement of pro-military policy may result in the loss of endorsements

by prominent Democrats, funding for their political campaigns, and votes from Democrats and

liberal-leaning moderates. Thus, in an effort to retain members of their “tribes”, Major Party
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candidates run campaigns centered around these partisan stereotypes (Friedman). However,

veterans have recently successfully mounted campaigns into House seats, such as Representative

Dan Crenshaw and Arizona House hopeful Eli Crane. The issue that Veterans Rights brings to

the stereotypical platforms endorsed by both Majority Parties is that it combines the ideologies

and stances held by both parties.Veterans Rights is traditionally a Republican stance; however,

Congress could aid veterans through spending programs, which is traditionally Democratic.

Anti-military politicians argue that the Federal Government has already appropriated

enough funds for veteran assistance into The Department of Veterans Affairs, and therefore the

Federal Government has appropriately responded to the increasing cases of PTSD and other

combat-induced trauma amongst the veteran population. Due to both the lack of Federal

appropriations and Federal oversight, the Veterans Affairs’ inadequate care has resulted in

“levels of mental and physical problems [that are] higher in VA users” than in veterans who used

other healthcare providers (Sayer). If statistics didn’t predict that “military service variables and

probable traumatic brain injury independently predicted VA use” (Sayer), then anti-military

politicians could argue that the Federal Government was unaware of the severity and volume of

combat trauma incidents amongst veterans. However, that response is easily refuted due to the

fact that “emotional trauma related to combat was recognized during the Civil War, World War

I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam” (Gade). Thus, trauma related to service in combat has

been recorded--although specific conditions had not been researched and extensively studied

until the aftermath of World War II--since the Civil War. Therefore, our Federal Government has

had over 200 years to craft and implement programs, legislation, and bureaucracies to help and

support millions of veterans each year. Additionally our Presidents, who are as influential to the

legislative process as the voting electorate themselves, have been either silent or unable to
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adequately respond to veterans’ issues and needs. In 2008, reports of increasing Veteran suicides

reached the White House, when President Obama was elected to his first term. After four years

of inactivity, President Obama signed Executive Order 13625 in 2012, which placed public

pressure on Congress to help veterans through appropriating more funds to veteran programs,

passing legislation, or funding existing bureaucracies. However, “results reveal that the suicide

prevention provisions mandated by the order have not been fully and effectively implemented in

2021, and the goal of reducing military suicide[still] remains elusive” (Schuman).If President

Obama was able to pass landmark legislation--which notably includes the Affordable Care Act--

by rallying Congress to pass expensive legislation over a highly-controversial political topic, he

should have helped veterans through influencing and signing bipartisan legislation. Attempts at

local veteran programs have been established, but their inability to raise revenue or legislative

support at the State and Federal levels forces those programs to stay local. If the Federal

Government pieced together extensive legislation that provides public healthcare to large

percentages of America’s public, then they have the means, the funds, and the ability to pass

legislation surrounding Veterans Rights.

The Veterans Rights Movement is actively pursuing legislation focused on Veteran Aid.

One coalition, theMilitary and Veterans Service Organizations (MVSOs, has created the

framework for legislation that can be introduced by a Representative or a Senator. The lobbied

legislation addresses “issues related to disability evaluations and ratings with the Veterans

Administration and access to Veterans Administration services [and prioritizes] retirement,

education, housing assistance for veterans, and TRICARE benefits” (Jahnke). Veterans have not

received landmark Federal aid since The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, which helped

returning World War II veterans adjust to civilian life by providing a range of benefits, such as
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free college tuition or funds to attend trade schools. However, the GI Bill did not provide funds

for assisting veterans suffering from trauma induced from tours of service, and the subsequent

Department of Veterans Affairs’ programs has been unable to effectively help veterans due to the

lack of appropriated Federal funds.

The problem stemming from the Federal Government is not the lack of funds that could

be assigned to bolstering the Department of Veterans Affairs, but rather the Federal

Government’s reluctance to do so. Instead, our ineptitude at securing our borders and the

subsequent influx of illegal immigrants has caused “leftover” funds that could have been allotted

to veterans programs to be diverted to supporting illegal immigrants. However, Republican

President Donald Trump’s unfinished border wall project was costly and relatively ineffective,

and Democratic President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ lack of action has inflamed

the border crisis. Although President Trump’s unorthodox presidency contained questionable

policy and abrasive actions committed by Trump, his “America First” approach could have

possibly led to an influx of Federal aid toward veterans through bipartisan compromise. Instead,

the “total cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels

– was approximately $116 billion” in 2017, and continues to increase in cost due to President

Biden’s declaration of open borders and inability to fix America’s border crisis (O’Brien). Thus,

in addition to partisan friction in a divided Federal Government, their unresolved problems and

ineffective management of Federal appropriations are two major barriers that prevent legislation

centered around veteran aid from reaching the House and Senate floors.

Therefore, due to Federal inactivity, increasing numbers of veterans face undiagnosed

trauma, which additionally results in homelessnes. Veterans have sacrificed immeasurable

amounts of their lives toward protecting our country and its inhabitants, only for our Federal
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Government to simply disregard them once they return from service in favor of frivolous Federal

and State Pork Barrel Projects that solely serve incumbent politicians’ aspirations for re-election.

Lobbying, petitions, and grassroots movements can only take the Veterans Rights Movement so

far. Change must start with an informed electorate, who will hopefully vote in candidates who

support veteran aid into local, state, and Federal legislatures. Only then can the Federal

Government repay veterans for the invaluable time and efforts spent to protect our nation, our

people, and our Federal Republic.

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Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly, et al. “U.S. Federal Budget Breakdown”. thebalance.com. 20 October 2021.

Accessed 24 November 2021. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-

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Cikaric, Damjana. “33 LGBT Statistics for the Community and Its Allies in 2021”.

Medalerthelp.org. 04 July 2021. Accessed 24 November 2021.

https://medalerthelp.org/blog/lgbt-statistics/

Friedman, Thomas L. “Have We Reshaped Middle East Politics or Started to Mimic It?”. The

New York Times. 14 September 2021. Accessed 24 November 2021.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/opinion/america-democracy-middle-east-

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QRLejWfn6Glyt4DMjln7sW6RH831JbAGuhmqTWzYGezbe0umuf64hvYOn26WqzZz

XB2d1kxqZIydVyg32cahfuQSp4D0dZ_1P0rB5h9VG1AMHHM56-

0fk04bNaWbRjc6h01W_VbUFzRnN2c7LEHcmZCGA6MDSM_sStntoQqaJ5AN73_Lh

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Haggard, Zoe. “Recalling 9-11: Twenty Years Later”. Shelbyville News Gazette. 11 September

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Spelman, Juliette F., et al. “Post Deployment Care for Returning Combat Veterans”. University

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releases/2020/veterans-report.html