Editor, Veterans, did you know that when Congress passed legislation to provide caregiver assistance to our nation’s most severely disabled warriors, they instituted willful discrimination the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the oppressive days of Jim Crow laws?
The legislation our Congress passed and the president signed into law states, “(2)For purposes of this subsection, an eligible veteran is any individual who — ‘(B) has a serious injury (including traumatic brain injury, psychological trauma or other mental disorder) incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military, naval or air service on or after Sept. 11, 2001; and…’”
This means if you are among the 30 percent severely disabled post-9/11, go to the front of the bus.  If you were among the 70 percent severely disabled before 9/11, go to the back of the bus, sit down and shut up.  
The sailors severely disabled when the USS Cole was attacked October 2000 and all those before — event those with the exact same disabilities as a soldier wounded post-9/11 — have to languish without caregiver assistance.
When this was recently brought to the attention of Sen. Johnny Isakson in a public forum, he replied “Who told you that?”
On one hand, our Congress goes to great lengths to pass laws to prevent discrimination. They wave the flag, beat the drums, sound the chorus of support for wounded warriors, and then deny these heroes the intervention they so desperately need.
Or, perhaps, this is just another case of passing legislation before knowing what’s in it.
Either way, this injustice needs correcting.  

— Bruce McCartney
Trade Hill community