April 22, 2006
Radnofsky already having an impact
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, the Texas Democratic Party's candidate for US Senate, has been waging a well fought PR campaign against Kay Bailey Hutchison, the current Republican Senator from Texas (best known for voting for a bankruptcy bill that made it easier for creditors to force a borrower to give up their homes and for supporting cuts to Veterans benefits), based on Hutchison's lack of support for Texas Veterans. Apparently it's having an impact as Hutchison has recently began supporting two measures that Radnofsky was already strongly supporting.
The first is $75 Mn in funding for UT Southwestern in Dallas to study 'Gulf War Syndrome'. Granted it's not much but it's a start and desperately needed by the 100,000 Texas Gulf War vets. The second item has been a MAJOR Democratic cause, keeping VA hospitals open, this one is in Big Spring. Still no word on South Texas but with BAR continuing to make it an issue, we can expect that sometime soon Hutchison will do the right thing.
Posted by mcblogger at April 22, 2006 02:18 PM
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As a Life Member of the VFW in Texas, I know that there is no more supportive member in the United States Senate than Kay Bailey Hutchison when it comes to veterans issues. She has always surrounded herself with veterans on her staff to work these issues for her and it is laughable to suggest that that the candidacy of some naive big city lawyer who never visited a VA hospital in her life before announcing as a candidate would have any influence on actions Senator Hutchison took years ago.
Gulf War Syndrome funding was something the Senator has fought for from the beginning, often as the only voice in the Senate. Over six years ago, at her request, Senator Specter held hearings on Gulf War Syndrome and funding levels. The record shows that the Clinton Administration official testified that they believed Gulf War Syndrome was caused by stress and that it wasn't a real medical problem. After the hearing, she was approached by the Pentagon's Undersecretary for Personnel who threatened that he would personally kill her attempt to add funding of $5 million for Gulf War Research. He was unable to do so and that year marked the first of many increases in funding for Gulf War research at the Senator's request.
When the Bush administration came in, one of her first meetings was with the new Secretary of the VA, Anthony Princippi who she challenged to take the issue more seriously than the Clinton Administration had and to look seriously at those in the VA who opposed Gulf War research. Princippi did just that and turned the attitude around completely at the VA.
As for the hospital in Big Spring, I recall that she opposed that closure from the start. When she met with the VA over 4 years ago and when the VA told her the Big Spring vets could receive care in El Paso if the hospital closed, she pointed out that that was like closing a VA hospital in Maryland and expecting the vet to drive to New York City and then offered to provide a map of Texas to the VA. She has never wavered in her support for the Big Spring VA hospital.
Posted by: David Davis at June 20, 2006 02:10 PM
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