(Open letter to U.S. congressmen)

There are about 20 million U.S. military veterans ages 20-90 in the U.S.A. About 500,000 of them are homeless, and who knows how many are unemployed.

Congress should consider making surplus government housing available to homeless veterans. Places like Governors Island, Fort Hancock and Fort Monmouth have thousands of housing units that are empty. Veterans can either be employed to rehabilitate the housing or they can do the rehab with sweat equity.

Many veterans carry a VA medical ID card that can be used at any VA clinic in the country. The problem is that many vets cannot get to the clinics for one reason or another. Vets need a universal VA medical ID, with a co-pay, which can be used at any hospital, pharmacy, doctor or dentist.

It would be very similar to the Medicare/Medicaid program. VA clinics can still perform a useful function. Most of them are overburdened, so the community services would provide welcome relief.
Paul Sniffen
Red Bank