Drafter
Clerk 08/31/2005
Title
A MOTION establishing as a top priority for the King County council's state and federal legislative agendas as urging the President of the United States and the Congress as well as the Governor of Washington State and the Legislature to provide full funding for health care and relief programs for veterans in the United States.
Body
WHEREAS, the veteran population in the United States and Puerto Rico is 26,549,704, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs year 2000 census, of which approximately 641,000 live in Washington State and 180,900 live in King County, and
WHEREAS in 1995, the United States government reneged on its promise of free lifetime health care benefits for soldiers and their dependents, and
WHEREAS, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs ("DVA") says it is struggling to keep up with health care costs because those costs are increasing and veterans, on average, are older and sicker than the general population, and
WHEREAS, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that 23 percent of the homeless population are veterans and that there are approximately 500,000 veterans homeless at some time during the year. Yet, the DVA reaches only 20 percent of those in need leaving 400,000 veterans without supportive services, and
WHEREAS, the federal Task Force to Improve Health Care Delivery for Our Nation's Veterans on May 26, 2003, identified insufficient funding as a major obstacle in meeting the nation's commitment to veterans, which, if left unresolved, will delay access to care and threaten the quality of health care for veterans, and
WHEREAS, with the rising cost of health care and insurance premiums, veterans have been seeking alternative ways to pay for their health care causing a growing number of veterans to seek health care from the DVA, and
WHEREAS, the 2006 federal budget had proposed raising veterans' health care copayments and eligibility requirements, and...

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