Veterans divided over Sen. Craig’s legacy on VA

As Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) fate remains uncertain in the Senate, some in the veterans community say he will not be missed as the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Over his years as the panel’s chairman and then as top Republican, Craig — a fiscal conservative — did not ingratiate himself to some groups seeking to boost funds for veterans’ healthcare. Other groups, however, say that they appreciated his work, or at least his willingness to hear all sides.

{mosads}One organization happy to see Craig go is the Disabled American Veterans, which constantly “butted heads” with Craig on funding issues, said Joe Violante, DAV’s national legislative director.

“He was an outspoken critic of our efforts to change the VA [Veterans Affairs] healthcare funding from a discretionary program to a mandatory program,” Violante said. “He’s a staunch fiscal conservative.”

Craig did win some favor for backing legislation that would give veterans the right to hire an attorney to fight denial of their claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. But Violante argued that “veterans should not have to pay a fee to get their entitlements from the government.”

“Larry Craig has not exactly been loved in the veterans community,” agreed Larry Scott, an Army veteran and the founder and editor of VAWatchdog.org. “A lot of things he has proposed in the past few years have raised the hackles of the veterans community.”

At the top of Scott’s list is Craig’s comparison of veterans spending to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, which are all funded by mandatory spending. “His arguments are ridiculous and show contempt for veterans and their service,” Scott wrote on his website. “There is no cap on the number of wounded who come back from our wars.”

Craig also received criticism from veterans for proposing to privatize the VA healthcare system.

Despite these policy disagreements, however, several high-profile veterans groups say they enjoyed working with Craig over the years and that his contributions to the community would be missed.

Steve Robertson, the legislative director of the American Legion, said that Craig was always open to listen to all points of view.

“You look into windows of opportunity to discuss issues and he has been open to discussion,” Robertson said. “We deal with issues and not with personality.”

Calling Craig “one of the best” as a lawmaker and an advocate for veterans, Robertson added that Craig, as panel chairman, conducted many more hearings than his predecessors.

“Sen. Craig has always been fair and equitable to us. You can’t ask for anything more than for people to level with you and give you a straight answer,” said Richard Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America. “Not everybody is going to be with you on everything.”