TO: President Trump and Members of Congress

FR: American veterans, active service members, and their families and friends

Subject: Do NOT Privatize the VA Health Care System! Fund It & Staff It!

For decades presidents and Congress have purposefully underfunded VA health care. Many conservatives and some Democrats favor PRIVATIZING VA health care.

We do NOT want the system PRIVATIZED. It must be properly funded with billions of additional dollars per year.

The present controversy over wait times is pathetic. Those top managers at every hospital and clinic who lied and forced others to lie about wait time should be prosecuted by the FBI, if found guilty, do time in prison and fired from the VA.

You do not fool us by saying the VA should serve all veterans within 14 days of their request for an appointment. Such an unachievable goal is created to portray the VA as a failing health care system.

The average wait time in the private health care system is about 19 or 20days in major metropolitan areas from the time of request for an appointment.

The Wall Streeters, insurance company and for profit health care CEO's are drooling to get their hands on the 9.1 million enrollees of the VA system. They would make billions in profits as they drive up the cost of health care just as they have done with the PRIVATIZED Medicare Advantage (MA) program.

MA cost tax payers an extra $34.1 billion in 2012 compared to the traditional Single Payer Medicare!

America does not have money to waste on PRIVATIZATION.

The VA health care system is the largest Single Payer/Single Provider health care system in America. It is a quality health care system according to national studies and out ranks many private systems on various measures of quality care. It works - make it better!

VA health care must be properly funded and staffed. It is not properly funded and staff for this reason: YOU have not been meeting your duty to veterans and their families.

Just as we vividly remember our years of service, we will vividly remember in November of 2014 and 2016 the political party and Congress members who vote to PRIVATIZE the VA.

DO NOT PRIVATIZE IT! Fund it and staff it properly starting NOW!

Thank you!

We will be presenting this petition to our local Congress members when we meet with them.