Welcome to the Military Community Members of DailyKos Openthread!
Comments, tips, and recommends welcome from our Civilian Kossacks as well!
Yesterday, DaNang65 wrote a diary that spoke to the Military Community Members of Daily Kos... and it obviously resonated with many others in the community at large. It made both the Community Spotlight and the Recommend List. IMHO, it deserved both.
If you haven't read it, please do - Log Drill.
Now, I have a log that we are trying to hold up. It's a log that has been around for a long time but it's one that we can easily succeed in beating if we put more effort towards it. Intrigued? Please follow me below the curlicue.
Some of you will have read a diary by AnnaM a few weeks ago. She wrote eloquently about the Fort McClellan Health Registry, legislation that has been sitting in Congress and not moving for years. This year, it has been re-designated and is still waiting for some love and attention. It looks like it is going no where.
We can change that.
We have started the process. DaNang65 requested a call to action and explained in his diary, Can Some Women Get A Little Help Here: An Action Diary, how health registries are the first step to helping our veterans and their families get treatment. He reminded us that a great many of the vets affected by the poisons at Ft. McClellan are women and we both question if this is one reason this legislation is not taking off.
We now have about a dozen folks who have written letters to their Representative asking that they Co-Sponsor HR 2052. Here is a great example letter from HoundDog:
Dear Congressman Ed Markey,
The devastating and long-term health consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals continues to plague our active duty, and former service men and woman, who are not receiving adequate after care and montoring.
Please sponsor and support H.R. 2052, The Fort McClellan Health Registry, which has been introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY21), but has been languishing without support.
What a shame that we ask our heroic US soldiers to risk and sacrifice their lives to protect our country, yet we will not do what is right for them with regard to their health care, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury.
Everytime I pledge allegience to the flag, or hear our national anthem, I wince in pain to think of this betrayal of those who protect and serve our nation.
Thanks you for any support you can give to this bill, and others which support an honor our hero soldiers.
Sincerely,
And a second by MotherMags:
Dear Congressman Pastor,
I’ve worked with you and your helpful staff for decades, mostly on educational issues. Thank you for your support over the years. Let me shift gears and ask you to please sponsor and support H.R. 2052, The Fort McClellan Health Registry, which has been introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY21), but has been languishing without support.
The devastating and long-term health consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals continues to plague our active duty, and former service men and women, who are not receiving adequate after-care and monitoring.
I know. I was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and have been taking medication ever since for a variety of ailments. As I age the symptoms grow more severe, and I’m sure that’s the case for many others.
What a shame that we ask our heroic US soldiers to risk and sacrifice their lives to protect our country, yet we will not do what is right for them with regard to their health care.
Thanks Ed for any support you can give to this bill, and others which support an honor our hero soldiers.
Sincerely,
That brings us to your part in this. We need you to help out as well. Here is our to-do list:
- First - Contact your Representative by written word - a letter or an email. If you don't know who your Representative is, don't despair... look him or her up in this directory.
- Second - Follow up with a phone call a week or so later.
- Third - If you still have no response a month after contact, call again and ask to speak with the Legislative Aide for Veterans Issues. If they are unavailable, get their email address, and send copies of AnnaM's diary to them. Then ask them to please find out if your Representative will Co-Sponsor the legislation and get back to you with the answer.
I am running a database of contacts - I am asking folks to fill out
a short survey so that it is easier for me to keep track of who is working as an MCM Lobbyist! And then I ask that you check in to the MCM Open Thread and let us know how your lobbying efforts are proceeding.
Currently, we have contacted these individuals:
Don Young AK-R
Raul Grijalva AZ-D
Ed Markey MA-D
Kurt Schrader OR-D
John Lewis GA-D
Pete SessionsTX-R
Spencer Bachus AL-R
Todd Young IN-R
Ed Pastor AZ-D
Ben Quayle AZ-R
Don Mazullo IL-R
Tim Holden PA-D
Glenn Thompson PA-R
Elijah Cummings MD-D
If you see your Rep on that list, your job is a little easier. They should already have a letter asking for their help. Yours may actually get a quicker response. Obviously, we can do a lot more - 435 take away 14 is 421. We have 421 to go!
I know this is not as easy as clicking and signing a petition. I know that this process actually might require more of your time than some other political action. But our goal is actually a simple one and is very, very attainable. We want Co-Sponsors and we want them of both political stripes. If we can get that, I have faith this legislation will pass.
So, how about it? Can you hold up your share of this log?