Attention Veterans, Sharron Angle want to privatize the VA

In early 2007 at the Walter Reed Army Hospital it was discovered that wounded soldiers were forced to live with cockroaches in rat infested quarters while they went through rehab and physical therapy, which for many lasted months and for some a lifetime.

Walter Reed Army Hospital which had been known as the Army’s top rated hospital and rehab facility for decades was in shambles.

The cause was the privatization of Walter Reid under President Bush’s “competitive sourcing initiative“, which awarded a $200 million contract to IAP Worldwide Services.

So how could the Army’s top rated hospital go from hero to zero because of privatization? Congress was wondering the same thing.

You see IAP Worldwide Services only cared about their bottom line, not wounded soldiers, IAP fired 300 maintenance and support personnel at Walter Reed as soon as they were awarded the contract.

Who is IAP Worldwide Services?

“IAP is run by a Former Halliburton Executives. IAP, which is based in Cape Canaveral, Fla., has more than $1 billion a year in revenue and more than 5,000 employees around the world, according to the company's Web site. It is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private asset management firm. The firm has grown exponentially in recent years in part because of contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq. It recently recruited high-ranking Halliburton Co. official Al Neffgen to be its chief executive. IAP's President is Dave Swindle. Prior to IAP, Swindle was Vice President, Business Acquisition and National Security Programs and an Officer for Kellogg Brown and Root. In this capacity, he was responsible for the Government and Infrastructure Division's Business Development Operations for KBR Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa, and the Middle East.” (Source: IAP Website 3/5/2007)

IAP Worldwide Services are also the same people who were awarded $120 million contract by FEMA to truck ice to Katrina victims, you may recall the ice never made it to most of the Gulf States ravished by Katrina, so IAP stored the ice in a warehouse at another cost of $10 million to tax payers for two years, then ultimately got rid of it.

Now Sharron Angle says that she wants to privatize the Veterans Administration.

If you are a Veteran or a family member you should know that Sharron Angle wants to do for you, what IAP Worldwide Services did to our soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital. You should also know that Senator Harry Reid passed H.R 3082: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 which includes the biggest VA funding Bill in its history.

There are well over 30,000 wounded soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and there are going to be thousands more before we leave those two theaters of war, ask yourself, do you want our wounded to get the care they deserve, or the care that a privatized system would give, whose only care is their bottom line.

When you step into the voting booth on November 2, 2010, remember the veterans, they deserve the best care we can give them.





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