Rendell’s Veterans Day surprise

Government often commits its most unconscionable acts when no one is looking.

This could not have been more evident than shortly before Veterans Day when Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration quietly canceled a program that has helped countless veterans for decades. The timing couldn’t have been worse, either. Two wars are raging; veterans lead the nation in homelessness and suicide; many veterans are struggling. It just doesn’t make sense.

The Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers received notice from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it must close by year’s end. Sandi Vito, a Rendell appointee, leads the department ordering the closings. The GVOAC program, in operation since 1980, has five regional offices around the state.

The program helps veterans obtain all kinds of veterans benefits while providing personalized, one-on-one help through each step of the process. Each office also sends employees into adjoining counties to meet with vets and to provide them with the same help. As a result, every county in Pennsylvania benefits from the program’s regional presence and statewide reach.

The cost is another issue making the planned closings even more nonsensical: The program doesn’t cost Pennsylvania taxpayers a dime. Yes, you read it right.

The GVOAC program operates at no cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers. Its funding comes entirely from a federal Department of Labor grant. Having long preceded the Rendell administration, the program was supposed to outlast it. Sadly, unless the termination is somehow overturned, the program will be shut down for good Dec. 31.
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The money for the program is now being rerouted to other state programs, filling holes created by the state budget mess in the wake of the economic downturn. The shortsightedness of this decision is stunning. By next year, when the federal money that sustained this program comes — as it has been coming for 30 years — there will be no program to sustain.

And while the GVOACs aren’t the only places where veterans can turn for help, other options aren’t without their shortcomings. County veterans offices, where many veterans undoubtedly will be forced to turn, are historically understaffed and likely will see their workloads doubled or tripled.

And what of the GVOAC employees?

During the budget crisis, while the state held the GVOAC’s money hostage, its employees kept coming to work, kept helping vets and kept working without pay. They’re a dedicated bunch, many with decades of experience and expertise in the field. As of this writing, these workers haven’t been paid for five months. For a state that claims to honor its veterans, what a dismal way to treat those who are serving them.

The lack of response by state lawmakers has been puzzling, but mostly in a political sense. 2010 is an election year; Republicans sense opportunity. While both parties blame each other for the budget fiasco, the public blames them both. A fight on behalf of veterans to save the GVOACs may be just what lawmakers need to regain favor with a cynical public.

Politically speaking, fighting for vets is always a winning strategy. Moreover, many of Pennsylvania’s veterans are senior citizens, tying in two key voting blocs in one issue. One can clearly imagine how the cancellation of this program would energize opportunistic lawmakers from Philadelphia to Erie. But it just hasn’t happened — yet.

More than a generation ago, the post-Vietnam War period saw America turn its back on many of the problems facing veterans, deciding instead to focus on other “important” issues, such as the economy. Sound familiar? It should.

America has been down this road before. Will Pennsylvania make the same mistake? Remember, we’re already shutting down a successful program that doesn’t cost state taxpayers anything. It’s troubling to ponder what may come next as large numbers of new vets return to Pennsylvania from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Are we going to turn our backs on veterans again?

The GVOAC offices are scheduled to close Dec. 31.

Merry Christmas, veterans.

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