After erasing, changing, and perhaps skipping over answers on the Feb. 5 Illinois primary ballot, voters were overwhelmingly sure of their answer to one question.

More than 1 million voters in 23 counties throughout Illinois said yes to an advisory referendum calling for full and mandatory federal funding for veterans' health care. They were likely responding to reports about the difficulty veterans are having getting adequate medical care.

Federal funding is necessary to assure that veterans receive timely and fair benefits, says U.S. Rep. Phil Hare (D-Rock Island), a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Hare is the author and lead sponsor of a bill that would make health care for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs a mandatory spending item in the federal budget, like Social Security and Medicare.

Hare, who served six years in the Army Reserve, said the fact that the referendum passed by a vote of 90 percent or more in every county shows people in Illinois are pushing to compensate veterans. He hopes to see similar support in other states.

Hare talked this week about his fight for fair disability payments.

Q: How is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs affected by annual changes in the budget?
A: Basically, everything related to veteran’s health care is related to this. The VA doesn’t know how much they have to operate their health-care facilities. In simple language, it’s like a person trying to pay their home expenses and not knowing how much their paycheck is, so it’s difficult to operate.

Q: How much does the bill call for under mandatory funding?
A: We’ve had 11 years in a row where we haven’t gotten the necessary funding to the VA for health care. The department is the second largest federal agency, and it needs assured funding. We’re asking for funding equal to about 130 percent of the administration’s obligations, which can be adjusted annually based on the number of veterans served.

Q: Does the bill target a specific issue?
A: The president’s budget calls for $38 million in cuts for prosthetics and health-care research. We're going to restore those funds. But while we’re doing that, the VA is kind of languishing and saying, ‘while you guys are duking it out, what do we do?’

Q: Is local support for the bill any indicator of a nationwide push?
A: [It shows] we have public support for the bill. And we have about 150 co-sponsors. I hope to have a hearing pretty soon on the issue. We’ve also gotten support from every major veterans organization, and now we have the Secretary of Veterans Affairs open to talking about assured funding. We want to expand [the ballot question] to other states across the country, and get the referendum on the ballot for the November election to let members of Congress take a look at what people in their congressional districts and states are saying. If you see such high numbers of support in Illinois, I’m guessing you’ll see as much or even more support nationally.

Q: As a veteran yourself, do you have a personal investment in pushing this issue?
A: Yes, it is close to my heart. We’re going to have more veterans come into the system with the Gulf War and Iraq and Afghanistan. The bottom line is we’re going to have more people in need of veterans health care. But you can’t do it if you don’t have the money. The VA is supposed to be the veterans' advocate, not the veterans' adversary. Veterans have never asked for anything in return for their service except for what we’ve promised them.

For more information:
House Committee on Veterans Affairs
http://veterans.house.gov/benefits/

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
http://veterans.house.gov/benefits/