Republicans who had been 100% behind the administration’s sending our young men and women into war, refused to give appropriate health services to our disabled veterans.
Patrick Murphy has helped make that old news. Just like the Republican majority.
While not typically one to go to for endorsement information, in light of the seriousness of this election I felt compelled to make sure we, and in particular, the veterans in Pennsylvania, understand just what is at stake in our local congressional race for the 8th Congressional District (Bucks County, a bit of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia).
When Republicans were in charge of Congress they rejected funds for veterans’ health care,actually cutting veterans benefits in their budget resolution. The same majority of Republicans who had been 100% behind the administration’s sending our young men and women into war, refused to give appropriate health services to our disabled veterans.
In his first term as representative for 8th District in Pennsylvania , Patrick Murphy (D, PA), an Iraqi war veteran and West Point law professor, voted for the largest funding increase in the history of the Veterans Administration.
When Republicans were in charge of Congress, the GOP budget resolution contained reconciliation orders requiring the House Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Committee to cut benefits or to tax veterans by increasing their fees.
Over five years, the Republican budget resolution would cut almost $16 billion from veterans’ medical assistance. And they did this without fully explaining to the public and their veterans what they were losing.
Murphy voted to make sure the VA increase their benefits and always notifies veterans about benefits to which they are entitled.
When Republicans were in charge of Congress, they called for a new enrollment fee for veterans, cutting payments to those with service-connected conditions, cutting pension benefits and reducing vocational rehabilitation services and education benefits.
Murphy voted to give the VA the resources it needs to treat the two signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) — as well as adding personnel to reduce the VA’s enormous backlog of claims.
When Republicans were in charge of Congress, Rep Bob Filner (D, CA), minority co-chairman of the Congressional VA Committee said, "We were promised and, more importantly, organizations representing veterans were promised by the House Republican leadership that a $1.8 billion increase over the President’s inadequate budget request would be included in the Veterans Appropriations bill to provide for the health care for veterans. It was not!"
It wasn’t until the VA embarrassingly reported that they were woefully underfunded that this grave disservice and assault on our veterans well-being was brought to light.
Veterans cannot take the chance of being lied to again. They deserve no less than someone who has led the fight for those who have fought for our freedom.
Pennsylvania, America, and especially our honored veterans, deserve nothing less.
On November 4th, vote to return Patrick Murphy to Congress.
Award-winning TV writer, Steve Young, blogs at the appropriately named steveyoungonpolitics.com and is a paid up member of Jewish War Veterans Post 697, Levittown, PA