RAHALL REPORT: Our Veterans, America’s Patriots
From the desk of U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)Representing West Virginia's 3rd District
Washington, DC (HNN) -- Being patriotic is easy. Being a patriot is not.
Since 1776, millions of Americans have answered our Nation's call to the battlefield. West Virginians always have been among the first to report for duty, and on November 11, we celebrate them and all of our American patriots, for their service and sacrifice are cherished by us all. Veterans put their lives on the line for this country, and we must ensure they receive the respect and the rights to the benefits a grateful nation ought to provide for them.
On this Veterans Day, Americans are again in harm's way. To date, more than 2,800 American service members have sacrificed their lives in Iraq and 21,200 troops have been wounded. More than 300 have been lost in Afghanistan.
Americans sent a strong signal to our government that they want, and our servicemen and women deserve, a clearer vision for our future abroad and at home. I remain vigilant in working with a new Congress and the President to find a solution to Iraq sooner rather than later and to bring our troops safely home.
I will urge and work in the new Congressional Leadership to act quickly on the New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, which we have introduced in Congress. In 1944, Congress enacted the original GI Bill of Rights, to honor the Greatest Generation -- providing our returning troops with educational benefits, loans to buy a home, and medical assistance. And in each major military conflict since, we have honored our service members and veterans through an improved GI bill. The New GI Bill will strengthen benefits for our men and women in uniform today, and provide more responsive benefits for many who have already served.
We also hope to put an end to the Disabled Veterans' Tax. The Disabled Veterans' Tax forces military retirees with service-connected disabilities to give up one dollar of their pension for every dollar of disability pay they receive. While the Congress succeeded in getting a partial repeal, this unfair tax should be repealed for the remaining 400,000 disabled military retirees.
For those returning from the frontlines, we must invest in veterans' health care. Unfortunately, veterans face considerable obstacles obtaining the quality health care they were promised when they donned America's uniform. We cannot double pharmacy co-pays for military families as the President has proposed. We cannot continue to shut out more than 270,000 veterans - many of them combat decorated - from the VA health care system entirely, which has occurred in the current Administration.
Democrats can now take the majority lead and work for veterans as we did in providing full access to TRICARE - the military health program - to all members of the Guard and Reserve and their families for a low premium. Under the current leadership in Congress veterans' health care has been shortchanged by $6 billion, even as nearly 185,000 returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have now sought health care with the VA. Because of my efforts, and those of my Democratic colleagues, last summer Republicans finally acknowledged that funding for veterans' health was nearly $3 billion short.
"We can't all be heroes," wrote the American humorist Will Rogers. "Some of us have to stand on the curb and clap as they go by." Every West Virginia veteran is a hero. When they left their homes and families for military service, they knew what price they may have to pay to keep our Nation safe. They knew their duty, and they did it.
Our veterans, as our soldiers today, remain foremost in the thoughts and minds of West Virginians, and remain a top priority of the new Congressional majority. May God bless all of our heroes and our Nation on this Veterans Day.