Veterans Day Action Item

By: Evan M
Published On: 11/12/2007 11:05:40 AM

From Senator Jim Webb.
As someone who hails from a family with strong military roots, I hold immense personal pride in those who answer our nation's call to duty. My father served our country for 26 years as an Air Force pilot and as a pioneer in the Thor and Atlas missile programs. I was proud to follow in his footsteps, serving as an infantry Marine in Vietnam. My brother served as a Marine helicopter pilot. And my son Jimmy has joined the tradition, recently home from serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq. If you have served in our nation's military or have friends or family who have served, I want to take a moment to thank you. I'd also like to take this opportunity to share with you an issue I've been working on since my first day in office -- a revitalized G.I. Bill for our returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Warmest regards this Veterans Day,
Jim Webb

On this Veteran's Day, we should remember that every day, our military is fighting across the world, and we owe those soldiers a debt, regardless of the political debates over the war(s) we fight. It is with pride that our party supports our troops as they return home as veterans, proposing and supporting legislation to fully fund the Veterans Administration, offer services at the Federal and State level upon their return home, and making sure their families are cared for.
Virginia's Democrats, Jim Webb in the Senate and Bobby Scott in the House have proposed a modern GI Bill for the veterans of the current conflicts. Wider reaching that state-level efforts promoted by Del. Dave Poisson, the Webb-Scott effort provides extensive educational benefits to our veterans.
Under the legislation (S.22 in the Senate, H.R.2702 in the House), returning service members could earn up to 36 months of benefits, equivalent to four academic years, which would include payment of tuition, books and fees, as well as a $1,000 a month living stipend for those veterans whose military service qualifies them for the program. - Sen. Webb's post-9/11 GI Bill
The bill was introduced at the beginning of the year, and is currently in the Veteran's Affairs Committee, which is Chaired by Sen. Akaka of Hawaii. On this Veteran's Day, I encourage everyone to take two minutes and email Sen. Akaka, expressing your support for S.22, and asking him to advance it through his committee as quickly as possible.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Comments



More facts on Bush's callous neglect (Teddy - 11/12/2007 3:32:56 PM)
of our returning veterans can be found in the RK diary on Veterans' Day at http://www.raisingka... (it includes a searing cartoon on how vets seeking mental health care are treated, and a video on IED explosions, plus access to more on the scene videos).

The truth is, it will be up to the states to do something, especially for their National Guard troops who were federalized and sent to Iraq---- but it is a federal problem over-all, and we need to lobby or Congress critters and Senators because, undoubtedly, Bush and republicans will have a sudden concern for costs and will try to underfund any bill to provide benefits.

Thank you for your post