"Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism. Because America's commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end."
-- Barack Obama, Speech in Kansas City, MO, August 21, 2007
Many people are squarely on the side of our fighting men and women, and have always fought for the rights and benefits that the vocal "support the troops" Republicans think are unnecessary - but few have done so as strongly as the next POTUS - Barack Obama.
As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama is committed to helping the heroes who defend our nation today and the veterans who fought in years past. A grandson of a World War II veteran who went to college on the G.I. Bill, Senator Obama has reached out to Republicans and Democrats in order to honor our commitment to America's veterans.
"We extend our deep gratitude to Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for catapulting homeless veteran issues onto the Senate agenda by introducing this comprehensive measure."
-National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Congressional Testimony, March 16, 2006
Why Barack Obama is RIGHT on the treatment of service members and their families:
* There are currently more than 400,000 claims pending with the Veterans Benefits Administration. VA error rates have grown to more than 100,000 cases a year.
"After prodding from the Chicago Sun-Times, veterans and Illinois' two U.S. senators, the Veterans Affairs Department is sending out letters to Illinois vets to address the state's 20-year history of ranking at the bottom of the nation for disability benefits. . . . The massive VA outreach -- a total of 326,000 letters -- affects Illinois and five other states with low benefits: Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio."
- Chicago Sun-Times, May 9, 2006
Senator Obama also worked with Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) to pass an amendment ensuring that all service members returning from Iraq are properly screened for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). TBI is being called the signature injury of the Iraq war.
"We are very concerned about the injuries caused by improvised explosive devices, especially the Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). TBI is fast becoming a major problem for many veterans. We urge the Senate to adopt an amendment sponsored by Senator Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to add TBI to the list of post-deployment physical and mental health screenings for soldiers returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. "
-Bobby Muller, Director of Veterans for America
Easing the Transition of New Veterans into Society
In September 2006, Senator Obama introduced the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act, which would help veterans transition from the Pentagon health system to the VA system by extending the window in which new veterans can get mental health care from two years to five years. The Lane Evans bill would improve transition services for members of the National Guard and Reserves. It also would require the VA and the Department of Defense to work together to track new veterans entering the VA for better budget planning and monitoring of emerging health trends.
"(The electronic health records) amendment is a first step in easing the transition of a service member's medical records from DoD to the VA when a service member is discharged."
-Veterans for America
Feeding Recovering Wounded Veterans
Senator Obama introduced an amendment that became law providing food services to wounded service members receiving physical therapy or rehabilitation services at military hospitals. Previously, service members recovering in a military hospital for more than 90 days were required to pay for their own meals.
"Thanks to some hungry G.I.'s and a U.S. senator, some wounded soldiers will no longer have to dig into their own pockets to pay for their meals at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C."
-Mark Benjamin, Salon.com, May 13, 2005
Here's Sarah Ramey, writing on Obama's blog:
Record of Advocacy: As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Obama passed legislation to improve care and slash red tape for our wounded warriors recovering at places like Walter Reed. He passed laws to help homeless veterans and offered an innovative solution to prevent at-risk veterans from falling into homelessness. Obama led a bipartisan effort in the Senate to try to halt the military's unfair practice of discharging service members for having a service-connected psychological injury. He fought for fair treatment of Illinois veterans' claims and forced the VA to conduct an unprecedented outreach campaign to disabled veterans with lower than-average benefits. Obama passed legislation to stop a VA review of closed PTSD cases that could have led to a reduction in veterans' benefits. He passed an amendment to ensure that all service members returning from Iraq are properly screened for traumatic brain injuries. He introduced legislation to direct the VA and Pentagon to fix disjointed records systems and improve outreach to members of the National Guard and Reserves.
Here's the text of Obama's speech, "A Sacred Trust" - and here's the closing:
As President Franklin Roosevelt said in his final inaugural: "The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world." With that strength comes great responsibility - to join our strength with wisdom, and to keep that light of hope burning as a beacon to the world. And there is no responsibility greater than keeping faith with the men and women who serve, so that our country serves them as well as you have served us. Let that be our calling. And let history find us never wanting.
Many voices, more all the time, are being raised in opposition to those who would use our service men and women as disposable commodities - then throw them away. But Barack Obama is one voice with an excellent chance of being elevated to a position where he can do so much more to help our service members, their families, and the thousands of veterans who gave so much, and who deserve the best we have.
Let's work together to help achieve that elevation; thanks for reading.