In 2002, Bush blocked efforts to allow veterans to collect disability without having an equal amount taken from their retirement.

In the 2003 budget, Bush proposed cutting vets' health care by $2 billion. VA hospitals across the country had to cut operations. In August 2003, the VA proposed closing seven hospitals as a result. A 2002 report indicated that 300,000 veterans were waiting for primary care appointments.

The administration claims to have increased vet funding, as Bush promised in his State of the Union address. But an examination of the increase shows that the additional "funding" will be coming in the form of increased co-payments, from the vets' own pockets.