Aug 23, 2016 - well as on social media. You can view the ad here: https://youtu.be/7EPwsdNNVKU. The ad features Kevin Pa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 23, 2016
VOTEVETS LAUNCHES A NEARLY $500,000 AD CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRIVATIZATION OF VETERANS’ CARE Nationwide cable and internet campaign will call on all Americans to pressure their lawmakers to reject privatization talk, as poll shows strong majority of veterans oppose the idea
WASHINGTON, DC – The largest progressive veterans group in America, VoteVets Action Fund, is today launching a $460,000 ad campaign, aimed at pressuring Congress to oppose any move to privatize veterans’ health care. The ad, titled “Promise,” will run on national cable television for one week, as well as on social media.
You can view the ad here: https://youtu.be/7EPwsdNNVKU
The ad features Kevin Pannell, an Iraq War veteran who lost both of his legs in Iraq in a grenade ambush.
In the ad, Pannell says, “I deployed to Iraq in February of 2004. That June 13th, while on foot patrol in Baghdad, my unit was ambushed. I kept my promise to support and defend our country. The country also made a promise – that I’d be taken care of when I got home. The men and women I served with count on the V A for care – just like I do. But now, politicians are talking about breaking that promise… And leaving us to fight with greedy hospital corporations for the care that we earned. Tell your lawmakers…veterans’ care is not for sale.”
The ad ends with a number for viewers to call, which will patch them through to their lawmakers’ offices on Capitol Hill.
Indeed, talk about sending some veterans health care services to the private, for-profit sector is gaining steam. Recent articles from Forbes, The New Republic, The Fiscal Times, have detailed how privatization talk is picking up on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s veterans policy advisor told the Wall Street Journal that Trump would move veterans’ care to a private insurance model.
Polling has shown that the idea is extremely unpopular among veterans. In a poll of veterans, commissioned by the Vet Voice Foundation, performed by GOP and Democratic pollsters, 64 percent of veterans opposed the idea of moving veterans care to the private system, while just 29 percent supported it.
Founded in 2006, and backed by over 400,000 supporters, the mission of VoteVets.org is to use public issue campaigns and direct outreach to lawmakers to ensure that troops abroad have what they need to complete their missions, and receive the care they deserve when they get home. VoteVets.org also recognizes veterans as a vital part of the fabric of our country and will work to protect veterans' interests in their day-to-day lives. VoteVets.org is committed to the destruction of terror networks around the world - with force when necessary - to protect America. While non-partisan, the group is the largest progressive organization of veterans in America. ###
