Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who is championing the Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act, said it is ironic that while U.S. troops fight and die overseas, “American veterans and military retirees have to fight for health care to which they are rightfully entitled.”

Van Hollen’s bill, reintroduced Feb. 2, would provide the lifetime free medical care that military retirees say the government promised them in recruiting literature. This would be done by waiving health-care enrollment fees for World War II and Korean War-era retirees with Medicare Part B coverage, a requirement for those using Tricare for Life benefits. The bill also would open the Federal Employees Health Benefits program to retirees and reimburse any expenses under that plan that would not have been incurred under Tricare. Improvements in pharmacy benefits also are included.

Previous versions of the same legislation have been partly responsible for lawmakers approving the Tricare for Life benefits program for retirees age 65 and older.

Along with Van Hollen, other primary co-sponsors of the bill, HR 602, are Republicans Jeff Miller of Florida and Randy “Duke” Cunningham of California and Democrat Chet Edwards of Texas.

Because of its sweeping provisions, the bill falls under the jurisdiction of four House committees. The Armed Services Committee, responsible for military health care, and the Ways and Means committee, which oversees Medicare, have the greatest responsibility — and also are the panels most reluctant to approve the bill, congressional aides said.

In an effort to gain support for the bill, military retirees and their families have been mailing empty brown paper bags to lawmakers with a message that retirees expect the government to keep its promises. Van Hollen said about 20,000 bags have been received.

The Bush administration has opposed making the military health care program more generous for retirees and their families, arguing that money spent on retiree care would have to be diverted from programs aimed at active-duty members.

In congressional testimony last year and in interviews this year, David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said spending more money on veterans and retirees is hurting national security.

Van Hollen said he does not think it is wrong to provide retirees with benefits they were promised. “The implications of Dr. Chu’s words are undeniable — that keeping the promises our country made to our military veterans and retirees simply is not a priority,” he said.

The message for retirees, he said, is: “They have served their need to America and are no longer needed.”

Those who served a career in uniform “to protect our freedoms are now looked upon as a burden on society,” he said.
 

Lost In the Fifties

Do you remember.....

Hide and go seek at dusk. 

One speed-bicycles.

Hopscotch, butterscotch, double dutch. 

Jacks, kickball, and dodge ball.

Mother May I?  Red Rover.

Hula Hoops, jacks.

When you picked up the phone and
the operator said, "Number please?"

 Wax Lips and Mustaches. 

Penny candy in a brown paper bag.

A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers.

Listening to Superman on the radio. 

Catching lightning bugs in a jar.

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. 

An ice cream cone on a warm summer night... 

A cherry coke from the fountain at the corner drug store. 

Cops and Robbers....Cowboys and Indians.

Running till you were out of breath.
 
When the only time you wore sneakers
was at school, for gym.

When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up,
 if you even had one.

When nearly everyone's mom was at
home when the kids got there.

When laundry detergent had free glasses,
 dishes or towels hidden inside the box. 

When nobody owned a purebred dog.

When a quarter was a decent allowance.

When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.

When girls never kissed on the first date.

The Draft.

When your mom wore nylons
that came in two pieces. 

When every adult had a title as
 Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am.  

The Mickey Mouse Club

When you got your windshield cleaned,
 oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking,
 for free, every time.
 And you got trading stamps to boot!
 And, you didn't pay for air. 

Drive In movies.

When homework assignments were a daily routine.

When being sent to the principal's office was
 nothing compared to the fate that awaited a
misbehaving student at home. 

Sitting on the back porch listening to
the ballgame on the radio.

When Sundays were for God and families. 

When you removed your hat and held your hand
 over your heart in silence during the
 "Pledge of Allegiance" or the National Anthem.

May all your memories
be warm and happy!

Going back is easy ... going forward is the hard part! So Veterans use your mind ... as you use your heart soul to ask what we can still do for our Country!

 Write your Congressman every week ... so you are not forgotten!

Being retired is different then being Tired ... one can always take a few Vitamins and recover from being Tired ... being Retired means your work is just starting, ... because now you have the time to make a difference! 

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