soldiers. there s no childcare at these military posts. no counseling or educational services. so that when you have military families who are so strained because we have the longest war in the history of our country and then add this burden that is manufactured and unnecessary, it s unconscionable. andrea, tom is absolutely right. we just got done cutting about 30% of the backlog. now politico report the about 20,000 claims will be laid off from the va. instead of cutting it down 33%, we re now increasing 2,000 claims per day in a backlog. it s these knuckleheads in washington that can t get it straight to take care of these heroes. now, let me ask you also, i know you ve got a situation in your own family. do you want to share? yeah, you know, my brother
does search and rescue for the air force. he s an air force major. he s 1,000 miles away from his family in new mexico. he basically went into work. they said, we don t know if you should come in. we don t know if you re essential. it s jerking around these military families. that is such a disservice. i want to mention something else. you showed that honor flight, those world war ii heroes that are frankly probably in their last days. you know, i think it is sickening. the folks who shut down the government rush over there and use those world war ii veterans as a political prop, the ones who are responsible. they have no shame whatsoever using those heroes as political props. it just ticks me off. we have those pictures of the world war ii veterans at the memorial today. they did get through. tom tarantino, what can you do, what can any of us do outside of government to help some of the
tom tarantino is an iraq war combat veteran. members of congress, members of the administration, any politician needs to understand that if you are holding veterans hostage for the sake of political gain, or if you re trying to balance the budget on the backs of the men and women who have served and sacrificed for this country, you are going to pay a political price. reporter: for america s 1.4 million troops still on duty and their families, the prospect of a shutdown has also brought worry about delayed paychecks, even though congress has moved to ensure men and women in uniform, including those in afghanistan are paid on time. but eileen hook, a navy wife says there is still plenty of anxiety about what may happen. short-term you know the commissaries where we do a lot of our shopping will be shut down. and for those of white house get our health care, our children s health care at military treatment facility, it s possible that that is going to be affected as well. routine ap
veterans who sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed. reporter: if the government shuts down and it stretches into late october, the department of veteran affairs will run out of money and that means disability and pension checks could stop for elderly and ill veterans. advocates are outraged. it s what they need to pay rent and food. not their total income but a significant part of it and taking that out of the mix because the government can t get its act together is really dangerous for these men and women who need it the most. reporter: disability payments with reach at $3,000 a month. for the nation s war wounded it can be a financial life line. tom tarantino is an iraq war combat veteran. any politician needs to understand if you are hold holding veterans hostage for the sake of political gain or trying to balance the backs of the men
it is a significant part of it. and taking that out of the mix because the government can t get its act together is really dangerous for these men and women who need it the most. reporter: disability payments can reach $3,000 a month. for the nation s war wounded, it can be a financial life line. tom tarantino is an iraq war combat veteran. member of congress, members of the administration, any politician needs to understand that if you are holding veterans hostage for the sake of political gain or if you re trying to balance the budget on the backs of the men and women who have served and sacrificed their country, you are going to pay a political price. reporter: for america s 1.4 million troops still on duty and their families, the prospect of a shutdown has also brought worry about delayed paychecks, even though congress has moved to ensure men and women in uniform, including those in afghanistan, are paid on time. but eileen huck, a navy wife, says there s still plenty of anx