Can Congress get its act--and heart--together for our veterans?

WASHINGTON--Generations of Pvt. Ryans have laid their lives on the line for America.

They stormed the beaches on D-Day. They marched on frostbitten feet across war-torn Korea. They waded through swamp water in the Mekong Delta, rescued refugees from rooftops, intercepted missiles, flew reconnaissance missions, swabbed decks , and removed tyrants from power.

They may have earned a place in the Veterans Day parade--but far too many are denied access to VA medical care.

The decision to lock VA's doors to all but those with service-connected disabilities or economic hardship is not what America wanted or expected.

It's not what veterans deserve.

In 1996, Congress wisely reopened VA medical facilities to all veterans. Upon enrollment, they were placed into priority groups. There used to be seven. Now there are eight.

Group 1 receives the highest priority of care, Group 8 the lowest. In January 2003, the VA secretary suspended new enrollment of Priority Group 8 veterans, effectively capping the system--leaving out in the cold anyone in that category who came looking for a VA doctor after that deadline.

At a press conference Friday in Indianapolis, House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer, R-Ind., was clear about one thing: The Group 8 suspension is not going to be lifted anytime soon, probably ever.

Because VA health care has not been properly funded to meet the expectations of the 1996 law, veterans who fought proudly for America are denied the thanks of a nation that believes they earned the benefit of VA access.

Who are these Priority Group 8 veterans? They come from all walks of life. They may or may not have seen combat. They might make less than $30,000 a year. They might have 10 or more prescriptions a month.

VA defines them, not so simply, as "Veterans who agree to pay specific copayments with income and/or net worth above the VA Means Test threshold and the Housing and Urban Development's geographic index."

These veterans are further divided into two smaller fractions: "non-compensable, 0-percent service-connected disabled veterans" and "non-service-connected veterans."

Through such definitional haze, veterans are divided and conquered, one priority group at a time, for the sake of not having to pay for them.

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