Jerry McNerney's website

Mercury News joins Record, Times and Argus in supporting McNerney on Livermore VA

Four regional newspapers have now gone on record supporting Congressman Jerry McNerney's proposal to save the Livermore VA hospital by expanding its services to veterans suffering from post-traumatic disorder.

First, the Contra Costa Times took the lead. Then the Stockton Record went on the record. The Argus (of Fremont) chimed in with their support late last week.

And now the latest paper to get behind the Congressman's plan is the San Jose Mercury News, which serves readers in Morgan Hill and has the largest circulation in Northern California. The Merc laid out the case for why keeping the Livermore VA open is the right thing to do:

The open-ended nature of our two Middle East wars, not to mention the longer-term war on terror, means the VA must re-evaluate its needs for the next several decades, including a careful re-examination of the notion of closing Livermore's 115-acre VA hospital.

Four years ago, we concurred with the VA report urging the closure of seven VA hospitals, including Livermore, believing that unusually high costs of operating those facilities should be redirected into building more outpatient clinics throughout the region. We remain alarmed that a General Accounting Office report found the VA spends one out of every four dollars on maintaining and operating outdated medical buildings and grounds.

But the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have gone on far longer and produced far more casualties than expected. The influx of 420,000 PTSD patients will put servere strains on the VA system without a corresponding increase in budget, staff and facilities to meet injured veterans' needs.

The chorus of mainstream media opinion leadership is getting louder. So, when will Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson do the right thing? Stay tuned...

Pleasanton Weekly: "Hundreds turn out for Memorial Day ceremonies..."

Congressman Jerry McNerney joined Mayor Jennifer Hosterman and hundreds of citizens to a historic cemetary in Pleasanton on Memorial Day to honor those who have given their lives in service to our nation.

The Tri-Valley Herald recognized the context of this year's Memorial Day:

Against a backdrop of fluttering American flags and the serenity of Pleasanton's Memorial Gardens, somber words and thoughts went out Monday to the men and women fighting overseas.

The deadly conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan leant solemnity to this Memorial Day ceremony, one of several held in the East Bay.

The event drew over 200 people, according to the Pleasanton Weekly:

Calling this "a very difficult time for our country," Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) nevertheless praised soldiers serving in the Middle East and other parts of the world and their families in brief remarks that he gave Monday at Memorial Day ceremonies in the Pleasanton Memorial Gardens cemetery.

"Our nation is very proud of their accomplishments and what they have given us and what they have shown the world about freedom," McNerney said. "We also need to give a special recognition to the families of those young men and women. These families are sacrificing more than us, more than the rest of us can even imagine. Our nation will honor you and your sacrifice and your loved ones forever."

If you haven't read Congressman McNerney's blog post on Memorial Day, please click here.

On this Memorial Day: One Nation, One Moment, One Action

Today is Memorial Day, a time to recognize and honor the men and women who have given their lives in service to our nation for over two centuries, from the American Revolution to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While this day is always a solemn national event, I know many Americans are feeling a profound sense of pain on this particular Memorial Day. The thoughts and feelings you have expressed to me about how to support our troops in this time of war -- in-person at my “Congress At Your Corner” events, by phone, through email, or in the hundreds of comments on my blog -- is a reflection of that deep sentiment.

While our country may be divided about how best to support our troops in these conflicts abroad, this day is about uniting to remember those who have given their all to our nation.

Today, you can join millions of your fellow Americans in reconciliation and respect by observing the “National Moment of Remembrance,” a national minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada says, this is “a way we can all help put the ‘memorial’ back in Memorial Day.”

We have a duty as Americans to remember the people who have sacrificed for our country. And, we also have a duty to take care of returning veterans whose body, mind or spirit may be wounded in the conflicts they fight abroad. That’s why I’ve recently led the effort to pass legislation that will significantly increase funding and research into Traumatic Brain Injury (or “TBI”), often caused by roadside bomb explosions.

Last year, I asked you on Memorial Day to financially support a grassroots organization called “Operation Helmet,” which provided special blast-protective headgear to troops in combat to prevent TBI. Your generosity -- and the response by thousands of other Americans -- was so profound that Operation Helmet recently announced that it no longer needed to solicit donations.

This year, no matter your feelings about the war, I want to ask you to join together again in collective action to heal our soldiers and our nation. Bob Woodruff, the former ABC News anchor who suffered a serious brain injury after a roadside bomb explosion last year, has founded the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury to help soldiers suffering from TBI to receive cognitive rehabilitation.

http://www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org/

On behalf of all the veterans who continue to suffer the ill effects of these horrific injuries, today I would like you to seriously consider making a contribution of whatever amount you can afford to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Rest assured that contributions to the Woodruff Family Fund will actually go to the cause of caring for our veterans. When you click the “Donations” link at the web site above, you will be redirected to the Brain Injury Association of America. Under the section “Program Area," please click the scroll bar to select “Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI” as the recipient of your donation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this important request on this solemn day.

Sincerely,

P.S. Many of you have recently asked me how we can save the veterans hospital facility in Livermore from closing due to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs federal budget cutbacks. Rest assured that I will continue to focus my energy on keeping the Livermore VA hospital open and potentially expand its services to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

With growing support for my PTSD proposal for Livermore from major newspapers across our region, there is a growing consensus that keeping the Livermore VA open and reshaping its mission would be in the best interests of our veterans. You can read those newspapers editorials and other posts on my efforts to keep the Livermore VA open by clicking here to read the “Veterans Affairs” section of my campaign blog.

After reading your thoughts on his Iraq vote, Jerry posts the 164th comment...

Congressman Jerry McNerney, at home getting some rest from a schedule that requires him to often work around-the-clock, seven days a week, spent some time on his home office computer today reading the blog comments you posted about his vote to deny President Bush another blank check on Iraq.

After digesting our community's collective response, he posted the 164th comment of the thread as a general reply to your thoughtful and insightful feedback:

I want to thank everyone for your comments.

About the recent supplemental spending vote, as you know I too was disappointed that the bill came forward for a vote. I voted against the bill and against the rule for the vote.

The problem is that the Senate needs 60 of 100 votes to pass, and they just don't have 60 votes for a strong bill. So the choice in the House is to take the Senate version or nothing. I would have preferred nothing, but the leadership felt it was necessary to give the President something he could sign.

Please don't get too discouraged. In the Vietnam war, it took 23 votes to end the war against a reluctant President. We've had four. We will end this thing -- within the Constitution.

I want to say that Memorial Day is here, and we do have a need and a duty to remember and respect the people who have sacrificed for our country: both those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who returned.

I remain proud to be an American, proud of the great things our country stands for and has accomplished. I am also very concerned about where we are headed, and continue to do my best to preserve the best of our nation, while adjusting to this dynamic and beautiful world.

Have a wonderful and thoughtful weekend.

Jerry McNerney

If you would like to continue the dialogue with the Congressman, please post your comment to this blog entry by clicking "Comments" below.  We will encourage Jerry to read your thoughts as soon as he is able to do so again.

Eden w/ McNerney for Congress

McNerney on MSNBC: It's "not acceptable" to give President Bush a blank check on Iraq

Two days after Congressman Jerry McNerney voted against giving President Bush another blank check to wage the war in Iraq, Jerry's Blog is buzzing with 157 comments and counting from supporters and non-supporters alike.

Meanwhile, MSNBC's Tom Curry highlighted four House Democrats on Friday who voted for and against the Iraq supplemental funding bill on Thursday.

Among them, Congressman McNerney had more to say on why issuing Bush a blank check on the war was "not acceptable":

Freshman Jerry McNerney of California's 11th District, who represents a district that President Bush carried by nine points in 2004, is a 'no' vote.

"The president has said basically, 'give me everything I want and nothing I don't want and I'll sign the bill.' That's not acceptable to me or to a lot of people and that's not why I was elected," McNerney said in an interview a few hours before Thursday night's funding vote. "We need to bring accountability to the war, end the war, and re-deploy the troops. I don't think we should give the president a free hand."

Will Republicans say in next year's campaign "McNerney refused to fund the troops"?

He replied, "They'll say whatever they can say that works. We'll see. I don't know. We'll get funds for the troops; we're not going to abandon the troops. That isn't what this is about."

Does that mean he'll vote 'no' partly because he knows the bill will pass anyway?

"I don't know if it will pass or not. I'm voting to end the war. The president vetoed our spending plan and he cut off the finds for the troops when he did that," McNerney replied.

To read the rest of the article on MSNBC, click here.

From Jerry: "After the Iraq vote: A time for courage, vigilance and action"

This is a time for courage.

This morning, you woke up to the unfortunate news that a "compromise" bill was passed in Congress last night giving President Bush a blank check to continue waging the war in Iraq.

As you may know, this supplemental funding bill did not include:

1. Enforceable benchmarks.

2. A reasonable timetable for withdrawal.

3. Any requirement to initiate a diplomatic strategy to end this conflict (a primary recommendation of the Iraq Study Group).

4. Provisions to ensure that our soldiers are prepared, rested, and ready to wage this war as safely as possible until it is brought to an end.

Without these fundamentally important conditions, I could not vote for this bill. With a heavy heart, I voted "No" because I cannot, in good conscience, grant President Bush another blank check.

Beyond my insistence on the necessity for diplomacy and the proper care and protection for our troops and veterans, I have consistently called for real benchmarks and a reasonable redeployment timetable. This bill provided neither. That's why it was a blank check to the President.

This is a time for vigilance.

While you may be disappointed, as am I, in the failure of this legislation to hold President Bush accountable and move in a new direction in Iraq, I also believe now is the time to recommit ourselves to our community's resolve to end this conflict as soon as possible and as responsibly as possible.

We owe it to the men and women, the sons and daughters, the brothers and sisters, the fathers and mothers who are laying their lives on the line every day, halfway around the world.

Last night, by voting "No" on this historic bill, I exercised the solemn power you helped give me by electing me to Congress. Now, I want to encourage you to exercise your power to make a profound difference yet again.

This is a time for action.

On Memorial Day, I will be emailing you with a very important request -- a request that I know will have a deep impact on the very people who are willing to sacrifice their lives in service to our country.

Please open the email you receive from me on Memorial Day (or when you return from the holiday weekend) and, together, let's do something truly significant to contribute to the healing of our nation.

Thank you, again, for everything you continue to do.

P.S. If you would like to express your opinion on my vote against the Iraq supplemental funding bill, please post a comment on my blog. I really enjoy hearing your feedback, so please consider sharing your thoughts with me and our community by clicking this link. I will be sure to read your comments when I return to our district this weekend. 

The Argus: McNerney's proposal "makes sense"

First, the Contra Costa Times stepped up. Then the Stockton Record added their support. And now The Argus (of Fremont) is praising Congressman Jerry McNerney's proposal to not only keep the Livermore VA hospital open -- but expand it to serve veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder:

Rep. Jerry McNerney has made a proposal to Veterans Affairs officials in Washington that makes sense for both troubled VA bureaucrats concerned about the quality and quantity of mental health care for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the freshman congressman's constituents.

The Argus goes one step further than the Times and Record by advocating that other congressional members recognize the importance of expanding the Livermore facility:

The first-term lawmaker's proposal is a viable, well-timed alternative to our failure to provide adequate mental health care, which we've traditionally fallen short on during and in the aftermath of our nation's wars. It has sufficient validity that the entire California congressional delegation — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — should get behind it.

We trust McNerney will pursue his goal in upcoming conversations with VA Secretary James Nicholson. And, considering the need for more and better mental health care for veterans, Nicholson would do well to adopt the congressman's proposal.

We couldn't agree more, of course. Now, with a local consensus building in support of Congressman McNerney's proposal, will Secretary Nicholson do the right thing?

Stockton Record editorial: "McNerney is doing the right thing"

With the Livermore VA hospital decision pending, local newspapers across the 11th Congressional District are recognizing the consequences to local veterans if the facility closes and the importance of Congressman Jerry McNerney's efforts to keep it open.

Following in the footsteps of the Contra Costa Times, the Stockton Record published an editorial today recognizing that Secretary James Nicholson would be "wise to consider McNerney's proposal" to expand Livermore's services to include post-traumatic stress disorder:

McNerney already has introduced legislation to create a special VA committee to focus on traumatic brain injury.

Now he's asking for reconsideration of the Livermore center's scope so it can provide treatment for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from head and brain trauma.

Whether Livermore stays open or not, McNerney is doing the right thing.

Going one step further, the Record editorial writers draw an interesting comparison:

There has been a great deal of patriotic rhetoric about the United States' military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq and the ongoing global war on terrorism.

That same sense of loyalty also requires that we provide the best medical facilities in the world for returning veterans. McNerney's proposal would help fulfill that obligation.

Congressman McNerney, the Stockton Record, and the Contra Costa Times all agree -- now it's up to Secretary Nicholson to do the right thing.

Click here to read the full Stockton Record editorial.

Contra Costa Times editorial supports McNerney: "It would be an insult" to close VA hospital

On Monday, the Contra Costa Times editorial board stepped up to support Congressman Jerry McNerney's effort to not only keep the Livermore veterans hospital open -- but to expand the facility to care for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.

As the Times editors wrote:

He has a good argument.

After more than four years of war in Iraq, there are a large number of injured veterans in need of medical attention. Even more pressing is the huge number of veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

It has been estimated that 15 percent to 30 percent of the 1.4 million military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from PTSD and will need help in VA facilities.

With a decision on the Livermore facility "imminent" according to Congressman McNerney, the Times is encouraging Secretary Nicholson to follow the Congressman's proposal:

However, with the growing number of veterans in need of services, we urge Nicholson's department to keep the Livermore facility open.

It would be an insult to the men and women who have sacrificed so much in war zones to be denied the best medical service in VA hospitals and clinics close to where they live.

We couldn't agree more, of course.

Congressman McNerney has visited the Livermore hospital multiple times, often with "Veterans for McNerney" supporters like Lt. Col. Bill Evans, talking with many of the veterans who would be most harmed by the facility's closure. As they told Jerry and have expressed to the VA at public hearings on the issue, keeping this hospital open is vitally important to veterans across the region.

Now it's up to Secretary Nicholson to do the right thing.

To see aerial photos of the Livermore facility, check out eLivermore.com's Livermore History page.

Against the odds, Congressman McNerney fights for Livermore VA hospital expansion

Since being sworn into office in January, Congressman Jerry McNerney has devoted a great deal of his time to addressing the care and treatment of our nation's military veterans.

As many of you know from reading this blog, the Congressman -- a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee -- is deeply concerned about the VA's impending decision to possibly close the veterans hospital in Livermore.

With signs increasing that VA Secretary James Nicholson will soon move to close the facility, Congressman McNerney sent a letter to Nicholson last week in an effort to spare the hospital from the budget chopping block -- and instead suggested an expansion of the facility to treat soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder:

"I've been thinking of this before I was even elected," McNerney said of a new post-traumatic stress disorder clinic on Livermore's campus. "It's such a quiet, peaceful place, it would be perfect."

[...]

McNerney's plan has sparked enthusiasm and optimism among some veterans. "It would make sense to have something like that out there for the soldiers coming home from the Middle East," said Les McDonald, a 74-year-old veteran from Livermore who has attended meetings on the future of the Livermore VA facility. "That is the prefect place for veterans suffering from that to go."

The situation is coming to a head, according to a San Jose Mercury News article highlighting McNerney's effort:

McNerney said he believes a decision to shutter the facility is "imminent," based on his conversations with patients who have been directed toward other VA clinics.

"I believe one of the ways we can meet the needs of our veterans is to maintain and perhaps expand services offered at the Livermore VAMC," McNerney wrote.

"With the creation of a new generation of veterans increasingly afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, I believe we must not only maintain services at the Livermore VAMC and French Camp Outpatient Clinic, but also expand the services offered to meet the need for PTSD-specific treatment," he wrote.

"The Livermore facility, with its tranquil and relaxing setting, provides the perfect location for the type of treatment PTSD sufferers require," he said.

There is still hope that the Livermore facility will be saved, as the Tri-Valley Herald reported:

McNerney said he hopes to sit down with Nicholson in the next few weeks — before any final decision on Livermore is rendered — to discuss keeping open the facility. The VA had originally forecast a decision on the future of the Livermore site would likely be made by late spring or early summer.

Nevertheless, McNerney said after a discussion with Nicholson at House Veterans' Affairs Committee meeting last week, he feels the secretary is willing to listen and find ways to better serve the needs of our nation's veterans.

"It's unacceptable to close this facility," McNerney said.

The Congressman is right, of course. We can only hope that Secretary Nicholson realizes the unique value of the Livermore VA hospital and does the right thing.