The new 113th Congress is now seated. The 112th Congress failed to recognize veterans of the Vietnam War.
House Bill HR-3612 and Senate Bill S.1629, to restore The Agent Orange Equity Act did not make it out of committee. In all probability, these bills are dead and must be re-introduced.
There are 435 members of House of Representatives and 100 members of the Senate.
In the 112th assembly of both Houses, only 126 representatives co-sponsored the House bill and 14 senators co-sponsored the Senate bill. What does this say about those legislators who ignored the bills?
We veterans of the Vietnam War are low priority. We have become a liability for budget dollars. Our quality of life means little to our House and Senate. What is a veteran’s life worth, who honorably served country and clag? Freedom Is Not Free.
Every day, another veteran falls ill to a disease attributed to the deadly herbicide Agent Orange. Every week approximately, 400 to 500 sick Vietnam veterans die. The legacy we leave behind is that our government does not care.
We advocates for Vietnam veterans must start over to convince our legislators to do what is right.
We are groups who volunteer our time to help sick veterans gather evidence required by the Veterans Affairs for submission of claims.
We do the legwork, we meet with members of Congress in support of veterans. Our only reward is knowing we helped a veteran.
What we do is not enough unless we have support from the Congress.
We ask all Americans to urge our legislators to pass laws that will provide equitable VA health care and compensation for sick Vietnam veterans so they may realize a better quality of life.
John J. Bury
U.S. Navy, retired, Vietnam War veteran
Media, Pa.
Letters
Will Congress continue to ignore our Vietnam veterans?
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
In the June 2 Times-News, R. Steele Selby (“Just how free are we?) defines freedom as “the capacity to do whatever he or she wants to do” and asserts that this definition is “most likely nearly universal.”
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What Maryland calls the Fair Share Act isn’t fair at all
The Fair Share Act was passed in 2009. This law allowed for service fees to be part of the collective bargaining process.
The law does not mandate that service fees be negotiated, it simply provides that they can be. -
We have lots to show for our education dollars
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Judith Weller’s latest anti-education diatribe, “The money they already have isn’t being spent wisely,” (June 3).
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Western Md. Veterans continues its mission
My name is Dan Brashear, I am the founder and director of Western Maryland Veterans.
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Maybe the cyclists and casino workers should be armed
Again, unfortunately I have to remind Don Carns Jr. of Beans Cove, Pa., on his latest repeatedly inaccurate letter published June 10 in the Cumberland Times-News (“Township is nothing like either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia”).
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Let’s all kick in $1 to help save Frostburg’s Palace Theatre
As a former resident, I have many fond memories of the Palace Theatre (“Theater wall crumbles: Palace exterior collapses, unfit for entry: officials,” June 6 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Develop the waterway
Since the debate over removing the dam started about four years ago, I have been concerned about the effect the dam removal would have on the area’s welfare.
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Living center marks national nursing assistants week
Golden Living Center will join in the celebrations honoring the hundreds of thousands of nursing assistants across the country during National Nursing Assistants Week, June 13-20.
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West Virginia, Johnny Cash, coal miners honored on stamps
While this most likely won’t fall under the category of the most earth-shattering letter to the editor you will read today, it is still big doings for those of us here at the U.S. Postal Service.
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If you build a whitewater play spot, they will come
Regarding “River Project Prospects: Experts reveal benefits, challenges at Allegany Museum” (June 7 Times-News, Page 1A):
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Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
