January 14, 2015

 

The treatment and care of our veterans needs no debate. It is ingrained in the moral fabric of our country to respect and care for those who fought on our behalf for the rest of their lives.

 

Therefore, we concur that it’s a good idea, as outlined in a recent letter by Reps. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, and Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, inviting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to South Texas to meet with veterans and to tour a VA Health Care Center in the Rio Grande Valley.

 

“We are writing on behalf of the thousands of veterans of Deep South Texas who continue to experience difficulties in accessing health care and in benefits processing,” the Jan. 7 letter reads. “These veterans proudly served their country and they deserve to have the best possible experience with the VA.”

 

The healthcare needs of the veterans in our region are woefully underserved. And we believe that McDonald should come and view for himself the types of facilities that are provided for veterans in South Texas. If he were to come, we think that he would agree that our veterans deserve better. Specifically, hospital facilities for veterans are desperately needed.

 

“No one can better describe the challenges veterans face in accessing health care than the veterans themselves. For too long now they have waited for a full service hospital to treat our ever-growing number of proud veterans,” Hinojosa said.

Col. Frank Plummer, who runs the Veterans War Memorial of Texas, told the McAllen City Commission on Monday that the Rio Grande Valley has the “greatest percentage of veterans in the United States.”

 

On Tuesday afternoon, Hinojosa sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting the White House help in this endeavor on behalf of the region’s 117,000 veterans. The letter was signed by Vela and Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Beto O’Rourke of El Paso.

 

Hinojosa’s letter to Obama noted that this endeavor has gone on for four decades — since the days of Congressman Kika de la Garza.

 

We hope that lawmakers in Washington will take note of our plight here, and we also hope that state lawmakers in Texas will empathize.

 

On Tuesday, state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa was sworn in as president pro tempore of the Senate. Prior, he told Monitor reporter Jacob Fischler that he plans to file legislation that would establish a healthcare program for veterans at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

 

That would be a welcome start. And we also invite state lawmakers to come tour our facilities for veterans here in South Texas. Perhaps then, funds earmarked for veterans will be allocated for the new medical school and possibly a new VA hospital built here.

 

—Monitor Editorial Board

http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/editorial-taking-care-of-our-rgv-veterans/article_e3a4f3b0-9b7e-11e4-8e71-3f3415bdc3f5.html