Wellsville Daily Reporter Challenged
for Kuhl' s Lip Service To Veterans

Monday, March 12, 2007

From: Gene D. Simes, President VFVC / National Chairman OFFE
Subject: Fwd: Wellsville Daily Reporter -- Kuhl looking at health care benefits

Dear Ms. Ross,

 I saw your article in the Wellsville Daily Reporter and as a Veteran who has been working to improve benefits for the past 10 years I felt that I needed to respond to your reporting and to the statements by Representative Kuhl.  I have had the honor of establishing Veterans to Veterans Connection, a grassroots organization that has been dedicated to the mandatory funding of the Veterans Administration.  Our team has traveled to Washington DC and has been able to champion passage of resolutions in several Cities and Townships including the Town of Brighton and the City of Chicago as we work to draw attention to the need to shift funding for the VA from the discretionary budget to the Mandatory budgetary process.

Last year when Congressman Kuhl was approached by Mr Bob Fink, one of our activists, the Congressman's response to the need for mandatory funding was - and I quote - "you are asking for too much".  This was reported by the press in Rochester.  Kuhl stood in front of the Canandaigua VA and announced as part of his 2006 campaign, that the facilities there would not be closed and that new construction would replace aging buildings.  He flatly denied reports that were circulating from workers at the VA that the in-patient mental health care facility would close.  When those rumors continued he stated that new facilities for out-patients would replace any in-patient beds that would be closed.

Two weeks ago we learned that the in-patient hospital would close and Kuhl reacted by stating that he had written the Secretary of the VA but had not heard back.  Under increased pressure he then stated that he was going to write the President and that he disagreed with the closure.  In short he once again said anything that he felt he needed to say to satisfy Veterans who were demanding action - not words.

On Monday this week the Canandaigua VA closed the doors of its Acute Psychiatry Unit with the promise it would improve the veterans care, in the past 48 hours eleven veterans have been referred to the facility for inpatient care, unfortunately only three veterans could be found vacancies in the VA system. The remainder of those veterans needing care now wait in private facilities costing the taxpayer far more than the cost of VA services. Congressman Kuhl denied he had any knowledge of the VA’s plan to close the unit, a decision made over four years ago.

 Congressman Randy Kuhl cares not one bit for Veterans or the unique problems that they face and to report on his own self promoting so called concern lacks the investigative professionalism that is due to this subject.  The red tape and constant threat of being reevaluated for continued disability ratings are both well known and common issues all Veterans face in the VA system and to act as if this is a surprise is Kuhl all over again.  Randy Kuhl invited President Bush to visit Canandaigua and failed to even do a drive by of the VA facility - we knew then that services would be closed and scaled back.

Please feel free to contact me directly for the rest of the story about how Congressman Kuhl has walked away form Veterans for years and continues to do so.  That is why the Disabled American Veterans gave him a rating of 0 for his first year in congress and a rating of 6% for his second year.  It is also why the Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee endorsed his challenger in the last election - they track the Veteran votes of all members of Congress in a non-partisan manner and rejected Representative Kuhl.

 Gene Simes.

Veterans for Veteran Connection
Operation Firing For Effect Campaign 2008 Mandatory Funding