My friend Stu Steinberg has dedicated his whole life in helping veterans. He uses his skills as a an attorney to help Disabled Veterans acquire the much needed benefits they have earned. He works tirelessly with Central Oregon Veterans Outreach a Non-Profit organization with a mission of providing a one-stop venue to identify veterans in need and provide resources directed to supporting and improving the living conditions of the veteran population of Central and Eastern Oregon. Veterans helping veterans. It's amazing what this group is able accomplish - currently they have purchased a home - the Home of the Brave - which provides food, shelter and counseling for homeless veterans while they put their live back together. Below the the fold I have pasted ( Stu said it better than I could so why reinvent the wheel) an Op-Ed that Stu was able to have published in our local newspaper the Bend Bulletin. If you feel so moved please go over to Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and send them some much needed money. Thank You
JOHN McCAIN AND THE REPUBLICANS DO NOT SUPPORT VETERANS
John McCain does not support veterans. Like most Republicans, he regularly votes against legislation that would increase the VA budget for veterans’ programs dealing with the problems facing our men and women returning from war.
Before the 2006 congressional elections, Disabled American Veterans published a list of how members of Congress voted on veteran’s legislation. The DAV rates each member of Congress from 0 – 100 on supporting "the interests of American veterans." I looked down the DAV's list of Republicans and their ratings and I was overcome with revulsion when I saw just how much they do not care about veterans. John McCain’s score for 2005 was 25 out of 100. In 2006, it was worse: he got a 20. It took my breath away. When it comes to caring for American veterans, John McCain and the Republicans are a total sellout.
284 Republican congressmen and senators were rated by the DAV for 2005. The highest score the DAV gave any Republican was 83. No Republican had a 100 rating, none were in the nineties. None in the seventies, one at 60 and six at 50. That's a total of eight Republicans out of 284--who supported veterans' issues more than 50% of the time. That's 2.8% of all the Republicans in the Congress. 200 Republican got 0 ratings!! Thus, 70.4% of the Republican members of Congress got zero ratings from the DAV when it came to truly supporting America's veterans.
In 2005, Barack Obama was rated at 92. In 2006, Obama was an 80. The DAV rated 239 Democrats on how they voted on veterans' issues in 2005. 154 were rated by the DAV at 100. That's 64.4% of the Democrats in the Congress, versus 0% of the Republicans. Thirteen Democratic members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee were rated by the DAV in 2005. Nine were rated at 100, three were at 80, and one was at 60, the lowest rating of any Democrat in the Congress. Of the twelve Republicans on the House Committee who were rated, eleven were rated at zero, one was rated at 20. Thus, the average Democrat on the House Committee was rated at 92; the average Republican was rated at 1.66. In the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, the average score of the eight Republicans on the Committee in 2005 was a lowly 40.7, while the five Democrats' and the one Independent's average was 92.
Here’s what McCain has done for veterans recently: (1) Didn’t support new GI bill legislation because he thought it was too generous and would result in soldiers choosing to go to school instead of reenlisting; this bill passed 75-22 and McCain was one of three Senators who didn’t show up to vote; only after the bill was attached to the war funding request of the Bush administration, did McCain vote for the Webb bill; (2) Voted against providing at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy; (3) Voted against providing $2.8 billion to increase veterans’ medical care; (4) Voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million, to lapse; (5) Voted against increasing medical services to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. In April 2006, McCain was one of 13 Senators to vote against $430 million for medical services for VA outpatient care and treatment for veterans. Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13. All 13 voting against were Republicans.
John McCain was recently questioned at a town hall meeting by an Iraq veteran about his refusal to support Senator Jim Webb’s GI Bill. McCain, responding in a testy and angry fashion, claimed that he has the support of veterans’ organizations. This was a materially false statement. In addition to the DAV ratings noted above, they rated McCain at 50 in 2004. Also in 2004, the Retired Enlisted Association rated McCain at 0. In 2003, the American Legion gave McCain a 50. In 2006, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America graded McCain a D on an A-F scale. They gave Barack Obama a B+. And during the recent debates over Senator Webb’s GI Bill, both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign War said McCain was wrong not to support the bill.
If you care about veterans, these are the issues you should be thinking about when you vote in November.
Stu Steinberg is a disabled Vietnam veteran and a National Service Officer for Vietnam Veterans of America. He assists veterans of all wars with VA benefits claims.