Editor:
When you place a comment to the editor, you never know where it will lead. On Tuesday, Feb. 27, I received two telephone calls regarding my comments.
The first was from a man in Dove Creek. He had been in the service and was in the same position I was. However, he had been injured while in the service and therefore does receive treatment from the VA.
In the afternoon of the same day, I received a call from the current commander of the American Legion here in town. He stated to me that he had been in about the same time and that he had been sponsored by a member in Wyoming. He had also stayed in the National Guard, so they worked around things and got him in the Legion.
During our conversation, I asked why things had not changed over the years. What he told me next was somewhat new to me. It appears that the Legion was founded after the end of World War I. But heres the catch. The Legion falls under the Veterans Administration and gets funding from them.
In plain English, its under the umbrella of the VA, so to make any changes it has to go to the House and Senate and be signed by the president. So the Legion has a constitution and bylaws to follow. The commander indicated to me that in a way, if there was a bill regarding the VA and additional funding, it could be struck down three different ways: the House or the Senate voting it down, or the president vetoing it.
There have been two times that this issue was addressed in the past few years. One was by the Clinton administration, when he vetoed it. The second time was under the Bush administration. Bush was in favor of it but the Senate would not pass the bill.
In plain English, political football at its best. Funny how you find out things as you dig for the facts.
Dave Bensmiller
Cortez