A Message to Governor Mitt Romney from a Gulf War/Somalia Veteran

Tonight, I was invited to participate in a telephone Town Hall meeting with Governor Mitt Romney, in advance of Wisconsin's primary election next Tuesday, April 3rd.  I was not provided the opportunity to ask my question regarding VA funding in general and Gulf War treatment research funding in particular, but was able to leave it as a voice message after the Town Hall meeting.  

The text of that message is below, which I also left with Gov. Romney's campaign.  I look forward to hearing his response.  

UPDATE:  They never responded...

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Governor Romney --  Thank you for the telephone Town Hall meeting here in Wisconsin tonight, which I enjoyed.  Here's the question I left  for you that did not get answered:  I'm a service-disabled veteran of Somalia and the Gulf War.  Veterans have to fight and compete against all sorts of Special Interests for health care and other veteran related funding.

In fact, right now, Gulf War veterans are fighting for treatment research funding and are being turned back by many Members of Congress asking these veterans to figure out how it will be paid for.

I don't think that's right. I don't think service-disabled veterans should have to figure out how treatment research to improve their service-connected health conditions gets funded, and I don't think service-disabled veterans should have to compete with all sorts of special interests for funding or even to have to carry that fight themselves.

Tonight, you mentioned that you would consider Paul Ryan as a Vice Presidential pick.  Today, the House passed Mr. Ryan's budget, which includes several *billion* dollars in cuts to the VA budget over the Administration's budget.

So my question is this:  As President, what would you do to reverse these proposed cuts to our nations veterans, and what would you do to help ensure that service-disabled veterans like me don't have to fight and compete against special interests to get our health care and treatment research funded?

-Anthony Hardie, Madison, Wis.