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.
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