Friday, February 09, 2007

Out of Iraq in 6 Months Flat! PART 3
















January 27, 2007 - Washington DC Peace March. Protesters including an injured soldier. Photo by Megan Keefe © 2007 (Click photo for larger image)

ARTIST'S NOTES can be found at the end of this post.

CONTINUED TEXT OF HR 508* Submitted to Congress by Representative Lynn Woolsey.

SECTION THREE:
Part 1

Part 2

TITLE III--GUARANTEED HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM AND OTHER CONFLICTS

SEC. 301. ASSURANCE OF ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR VETERANS HEALTH CARE.

(a) In General- Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

Sec. 321. Assured funding for veterans health care

(a) Availability of Funds- For each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the amount determined under subsection (b) with respect to that fiscal year. Each such amount is available, without fiscal year limitation, for the programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration, as specified in subsection (c).

(b) Amount- (1) The amount applicable to fiscal year 2008 under this subsection is the amount equal to 130 percent of the amount obligated by the Department during fiscal year 2006 for the purposes specified in subsection (c).















January 27, 2007 - Washington DC Peace March. Iraqi war veterans march against the madness. Photo by Maarja Vigorito © 2007 (Click photo for larger image)

(2) The amount applicable to any fiscal year after fiscal year 2008 under this subsection is the amount equal to the product of the following:

(A) The sum of--

(i) the number of veterans enrolled in the Department health care system under section 1705 of this title as of July 1 preceding the beginning of such fiscal year; and

(ii) the number of persons eligible for health care under chapter 17 of this title who are not covered by clause (i) and who were provided hospital care or medical services under such chapter at any time during the fiscal year preceding such fiscal year.

(B) The per capita baseline amount, as increased from time to time pursuant to paragraph (3)(B).

















January 27, 2007 - Washington DC Peace March. Detail of fallen soldiers banner. Photo by Michael Ferrante © 2007 (Click photo for larger image)

(3)(A) For purposes of paragraph (2)(B), the term `per capita baseline amount' means the amount equal to--

(i) the amount specified in paragraph (1), divided by

(ii) the number of veterans enrolled in the Department health care system under section 1705 of this title as of the date of the enactment of this section.

(B) With respect to any fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide a percentage increase (rounded to the nearest dollar) in the per capita baseline amount equal to the percentage by which--

(i) the Consumer Price Index (all Urban Consumers, United States City Average, Hospital and related services, Seasonally Adjusted), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor for the 12-month period ending on the June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal year for which the increase is made, exceeds
















January 27, 2007 - Washington DC Peace March. Banner with names of fallen US soldiers. Photo by Michael Ferrante © 2007 (Click photo for larger image)

(ii) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period preceding the 12-month period described in clause (i).

(c) Use of Funds- (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the purposes for which amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) shall be all programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration.

(2) Amounts made available pursuant to subsection (a) are not available for--

(A) construction, acquisition, or alteration of medical facilities as provided in subchapter I of chapter 81 of this title (other than for such repairs as were provided for before the date of the enactment of this section through the Medical Care appropriation for the Department); or

(B) grants under subchapter III of chapter 81 of this title.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

321. Assured funding for veterans health care.






















Photo by Greg Mano © 2007 (Click photo for larger image)


ARTIST'S NOTES:
Greg Mano This photo is from the 9/24/05 Anti-Iraq War Demo and I think the crosses were set up by the folks with Camp Casey. Cindy (Sheehan) and her folks were there in force. My boots shot is from the same demo. My sentiments: End Bush/Cheney's illegal war of choice in Iraq. No war on Iran. Impeach, try, and imprison.

Michael Ferrante took photos of the long banner with the names of soldiers who've died in Iraq.

Photographer Maarja Vigorito lives in Washington, D.C., where she likes to do artistic as well as documentary photography. More of her work, including photos from the Sept. 25, 2005 march on DC as well as the Jan. 27, 2007 march. "The Jan. 2007 march had a more serious vibe than the 2005 march. In 2005, there was more of a festive atmosphere, and a lot of people were having fun with their clever signs. In 2007, there was less clever signage and more we mean business attitude."

Megan Keefe
Being at the anti-war march on January 27th in Washington, D.C. was surreal. The images and stories we collected that day illustrate the fact that the face of this Iraq anti-war movement is young, old, African American, Caucasian, Asian, Indian, Latin American, civilian, veteran and active-duty military; from D.C., from D.C., from Tennessee, from New York, from Wisconsin, Michigan, and California. We spoke with seasoned anti-war protesters who marched in 2003 as well as those who filled the streets in protest during the Vietnam war. And there were those who had come out for the first time to raise their voice in opposition to U.S. troops in Iraq.

One family I interviewed came from Michigan to protest on behalf of their son who was killed 5 months after deploying to Iraq in 2003. He joined the military after 9/11 to help win the war on terror. But like so many other American soldiers fighting in Iraq, he quickly realized we were not in this war for the right reasons. His mother told me how his last journal entry stated his opposition to this war was strong but that he continued to fight if only to protect his fellow soldiers, his friends.

But at the end of the day it all comes down to numbers. Big Media and Activist groups never seem to agree on the numbers and although it seems there was no "official count" for big media to report, UFPJ reported 500,000, FOX news was reporting 100,000 and no one in print media would give a solid estimate. They all seemed to hone in on the very safe estimate of tens of thousands, whatever that means. I believe it is going to take a lot more than tens of thousands to send a message to congress that they MUST bring our troops home now. And if that means we have to have one million people in the streets for Big Media to report only 500,000 than so be it. The next anti-war rally in D.C. is March 17, 2007. It's being organized by Answer and will be a march from the Vietnam War Memorial to the Pentagon.


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