Sen. Obama Hears Ill. Veterans'  Concerns

By NICOLE ZIEGLER  DIZON
.c The Associated Press


EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (AP) - Vietnam veteran Samuel  Miller Jr. filed his first disability claim for post traumatic stress disorder  more than 11 years ago, but he has yet to see any money from the  government.

Jose Juachon receives $48 a month for his service to the  United States during World War II - about the amount he was making in pesos when  he left the Philippines decades ago.

The two Chicago men and dozens of  other veterans shared their stories with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Friday during  a meeting at an American Legion post in suburban Chicago.

``The only  thing I've gotten is denials,'' Miller told Obama at the session attended by  more than 300 veterans.

Obama called the meeting and another in  Springfield on Saturday following a Chicago Sun-Times investigation that found  Illinois veterans receive some of the lowest disability benefits in the  nation.

The veterans who crowded the hall complained not only about the  way disability claims are treated, but also about issues ranging from the  closure of veterans hospitals to the lack of services for mentally ill  veterans.

The freshman senator and rising Democratic star, who sits on  the Veterans Affairs Committee, said he plans to raise the veterans' concerns at  a confirmation hearing next week for Jim Nicholson, President Bush's nominee for  secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department.

``When we send troops to  war, it is our solemn obligation to care for them upon their return ... and to  treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve for protecting us,'' Obama  told the crowd. ``Unfortunately, in Illinois, we have not been living up to that  obligation.''

Obama and fellow Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said they met  with Nicholson earlier this month, and he promised to investigate discrepancies  in disability payments.

The Sun-Times reported that Illinois veterans  received an average of $6,802 in disability pay in 2003, putting the state 50th  among 52 states and territories.

Outgoing Veterans Affairs Secretary  Anthony Principi has ordered the agency's inspector general to review how  disability claims are rated.   

01/21/05 18:54  EST

"Support OUR TROOPS BY PROTECTING THEIR BENEFITS"

_WWW.JEREBEERY.COM_ (http://www.jerebeery.com/)  
_WWW.FIREBASE.NET _ (http://www.firebase.com/)