Back to the veterans issue:
[Q]False Statement About Veterans
At one point the ad shows Bush saying ?we must provide the best care? for veterans, then shows a graphic saying: ?200,000 veterans cut off from health system.? It cites the Department of Veterans Affairs as the source. But the statement is false.
In fact, no veterans have had benefits cut off under Bush. Quite the contrary, as we?ve previously noted , spending for veterans benefits has grown 27% since Bush took office, and the ranks of veterans drawing benefits have increased by more than 1 million.
The Kerry campaign says the ad is referring to a proposal in Bush?s budget for fiscal year 2005, which begins Oct. 1. But that proposal has not been enacted and, in fact, a similar proposal was rejected last year. Congress is expected to reject it again this year.
Furthermore, the proposal would not ?cut off? veterans as the ad says. It would instead raise the cost of the VA?s popular prescription?drug benefit. The VA estimates this would cause an estimated 200,000 veterans to leave the system -- voluntarily -- because they have better benefits from other sources. The drug benefit currently requires no payment to gain coverage, and a $7 co-payment for each one-month supply of prescription drugs. The Bush administration proposes to charge $21 per month for coverage, and to raise the co-payment to $15 per one-month supply of prescription medications.[/Q]
Fact check is pretty good at slamming both sides and their misleading ads.
http://factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=149
[Q]False Statement About Veterans
At one point the ad shows Bush saying ?we must provide the best care? for veterans, then shows a graphic saying: ?200,000 veterans cut off from health system.? It cites the Department of Veterans Affairs as the source. But the statement is false.
In fact, no veterans have had benefits cut off under Bush. Quite the contrary, as we?ve previously noted , spending for veterans benefits has grown 27% since Bush took office, and the ranks of veterans drawing benefits have increased by more than 1 million.
The Kerry campaign says the ad is referring to a proposal in Bush?s budget for fiscal year 2005, which begins Oct. 1. But that proposal has not been enacted and, in fact, a similar proposal was rejected last year. Congress is expected to reject it again this year.
Furthermore, the proposal would not ?cut off? veterans as the ad says. It would instead raise the cost of the VA?s popular prescription?drug benefit. The VA estimates this would cause an estimated 200,000 veterans to leave the system -- voluntarily -- because they have better benefits from other sources. The drug benefit currently requires no payment to gain coverage, and a $7 co-payment for each one-month supply of prescription drugs. The Bush administration proposes to charge $21 per month for coverage, and to raise the co-payment to $15 per one-month supply of prescription medications.[/Q]
Fact check is pretty good at slamming both sides and their misleading ads.
http://factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=149
