After hearing a presentation by Vice President Richard Cheney and a number of congressmen and senators, a Lincolnton veteran took steps to ensure that the well-being and health care of our fighting men and women, past and present, are on solid ground.

Bob Pollard joined a delegation of Georgia members of The American Legion here to fight for funding to care for the nation's veterans of past wars and to protect benefits for those now serving. Pollard and the rest of the Georgia delegation visited their members of Congress as part of The American Legion's 46th Washington Conference..

The session began with a legislative rally at the Hyatt Regency Washington Capitol Hill where Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas received the National Commander's Distinguished Public Service Award for sustained support of America's veterans and their families.

Afterward, members of The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Sons of The American Legion walked to the U.S. Capitol to champion the rights of veterans and other issues that impact America's families and children. Pollard urged lawmakers from Georgia to support critical legislation pending in the 109th Congress.

Listening to American Legion National Commander Thomas L. Bock of Colorado discuss recent visits with our troops in Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay, and with wounded soldiers in military hospitals on both coasts, Pollard agreed with Bock's assessment that Congress must act immediately.

"The long-term answer is to fund VA the way Medicare and Social Security are funded on a mandatory basis," Bock said. "Then allow veterans on Medicare to use their benefits to pay for treatment at VA the same way they can use Medicare at a forprofit facility that conceivably would charge the American taxpayers more money than VA would."

"VA health care is a delayed cost of war, a small price to pay for the sacrifice of all who have sworn with their lives to protect our freedoms," Pollard said. "VA needs to rethink its strategy to force a million veterans to leave the VA health care system due to irrational financial disincentives. An honorable discharge should serve as the only enrollment fee. A $15 copay is absolutely inappropriate. VA gets the deepest medication discounts of any federal agency. The proposed increase is nothing more than a new health care tax placed on veterans to pay for the proposed increase in VA health care appropriations."

Among other issues Pollard addressed with Georgia lawmakers: a flag-protection constitutional amendment, the American Legion national campaign to pass the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERAH. R.2679) to stop the practice of awarding taxpayer monies to organizations like the ACLU in lawsuits attacking the display of crosses and Stars of David at veterans memorials, and the morally correct need to repeal the Disabled Veteran's Tax (also referred to as "concurrent receipt") that would end reductions in military retired pay that are equal to a disabled military retiree's disability compensation.