| Republican Senate Candidate Jack Shepard positions on Issues are 100 % similar to Democratic Senate Candidate Al Franken Veterans |
“We must renew our commitment to our veterans.
Even as our overseas commitments stretch our military to its limits, many who claim
that Democrats don’t “support our troops” are consistently failing to support our
veterans. President Bush has sent budgets to Congress that actually contain cuts to
veterans’ health care. Republicans in Congress tried last year to cut in half research into
traumatic brain injury – the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We
have to do better for the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United
States into battle.
Here’s where I stand:
I've visited our troops overseas on seven USO tours – four to Iraq and Afghanistan. I
love visiting with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who so bravely defend our
country. I’ve also visited the wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda. I take veterans’
issues very seriously, and of all the things Norm Coleman has enabled this
administration to do to our country, letting down our veterans is among the worst.
Not only do we need to stop shortchanging our veterans, we need to revitalize and
renew our commitment to our men and women in uniform.
I want to start with these steps:
Fully funding the Veterans Administration budget – this year, next year, and every year
– so that every veteran can have quality mental, physical, and long-term health care for
life. This should be non-negotiable. It’s unacceptable that 1.8 million veterans are
currently without health insurance, and it’s just as tragic that many vets have to wait
months for health care. If you serve this country, you should have quick access to
quality care at a VA hospital when you come home. And the facilities and staff at that
hospital should be second-to-none – no matter where you live. We shouldn’t be satisfied
with anything less.
Cutting red tape and doing for the VA bureaucracy what we did for VA hospitals –
make it more streamlined, efficient, and effective. In addition to fully funding the VA,
we must make its benefits readily accessible for all veterans. In the Senate, I’ll work to
cut red tape. The first step is to make the transition from Department of Defense health
care to VA health care easier by moving the military to electronic medical records,
automatically transferring information between systems, and providing advocates,
especially for combat-wounded vets, to help them make use of the VA.
Better screenings for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Estimates suggest that a third of all troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer
from some form of Traumatic Brain Injury – and not all suffer from easily visible
symptoms. And perhaps as many as one in five veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder. We are only beginning to understand how to prevent, diagnose, and
treat these ailments, so we should continue to fund research into how to do that better.
(One good way of preventing TBI would be to guarantee that when we send our men
and women to send to combat, they receive appropriate equipment – especially helmet
liners.) But we also need to commit ourselves to screening more veterans as they return
home and seeking out potential combat stress sufferers who otherwise might end up in
prison or on the streets. We have to do a better job of tracking at-risk vets to make sure
problems don’t arise later without detection – and because these issues don’t come with
statutes of limitations, we should retroactively expand coverage of these conditions.
Doing a better job of helping veterans re-integrate into their communities. Returning
veterans should receive clear information regarding what benefits they’re entitled to,
how they can access them, and where they can find resources to help them navigate the
system. But that’s not enough. To address the epidemics of homelessness and
unemployment among veterans, we should create new housing vouchers and increase
funding for programs (and incentives for employers) that assist veterans in transitioning
to civilian employment.
Creating a new G.I. Bill. With the cost of college skyrocketing, the G.I. Bill now only
pays for around 60% of a public college education. Even worse, service members must
pay $1,200 or more out of their paychecks in their first year of service in order to
qualify. We should expand the current G.I. Bill to cover 100% of a public college
education – including tuition, fees, and expenses – and eliminate the $1,200 pay
reduction, as well as cap student loan rates for vets and make it easier for veterans who
halt their education for service to pick up where they left off.
Respecting the sacrifice made by military families. I’ve met so many family members of
veterans (and of troops currently serving) who feel like they’ve been left behind. In the
Senate, I’ll fight to raise military pay and benefits so that families who lend us their
loved ones don’t forfeit their economic security. We should also allow families of
mobilized Guards members and reservists access to military health care benefits so that
their spouses and children don’t lose coverage. And we should offer grants to
community organizations that bring military families together to provide support and
counseling during the difficult time when a loved one is away
Even as our overseas commitments stretch our military to its limits, many who claim
that Democrats don’t “support our troops” are consistently failing to support our
veterans. President Bush has sent budgets to Congress that actually contain cuts to
veterans’ health care. Republicans in Congress tried last year to cut in half research into
traumatic brain injury – the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We
have to do better for the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United
States into battle.
Here’s where I stand:
I've visited our troops overseas on seven USO tours – four to Iraq and Afghanistan. I
love visiting with the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who so bravely defend our
country. I’ve also visited the wounded at Walter Reed and Bethesda. I take veterans’
issues very seriously, and of all the things Norm Coleman has enabled this
administration to do to our country, letting down our veterans is among the worst.
Not only do we need to stop shortchanging our veterans, we need to revitalize and
renew our commitment to our men and women in uniform.
I want to start with these steps:
Fully funding the Veterans Administration budget – this year, next year, and every year
– so that every veteran can have quality mental, physical, and long-term health care for
life. This should be non-negotiable. It’s unacceptable that 1.8 million veterans are
currently without health insurance, and it’s just as tragic that many vets have to wait
months for health care. If you serve this country, you should have quick access to
quality care at a VA hospital when you come home. And the facilities and staff at that
hospital should be second-to-none – no matter where you live. We shouldn’t be satisfied
with anything less.
Cutting red tape and doing for the VA bureaucracy what we did for VA hospitals –
make it more streamlined, efficient, and effective. In addition to fully funding the VA,
we must make its benefits readily accessible for all veterans. In the Senate, I’ll work to
cut red tape. The first step is to make the transition from Department of Defense health
care to VA health care easier by moving the military to electronic medical records,
automatically transferring information between systems, and providing advocates,
especially for combat-wounded vets, to help them make use of the VA.
Better screenings for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Estimates suggest that a third of all troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer
from some form of Traumatic Brain Injury – and not all suffer from easily visible
symptoms. And perhaps as many as one in five veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder. We are only beginning to understand how to prevent, diagnose, and
treat these ailments, so we should continue to fund research into how to do that better.
(One good way of preventing TBI would be to guarantee that when we send our men
and women to send to combat, they receive appropriate equipment – especially helmet
liners.) But we also need to commit ourselves to screening more veterans as they return
home and seeking out potential combat stress sufferers who otherwise might end up in
prison or on the streets. We have to do a better job of tracking at-risk vets to make sure
problems don’t arise later without detection – and because these issues don’t come with
statutes of limitations, we should retroactively expand coverage of these conditions.
Doing a better job of helping veterans re-integrate into their communities. Returning
veterans should receive clear information regarding what benefits they’re entitled to,
how they can access them, and where they can find resources to help them navigate the
system. But that’s not enough. To address the epidemics of homelessness and
unemployment among veterans, we should create new housing vouchers and increase
funding for programs (and incentives for employers) that assist veterans in transitioning
to civilian employment.
Creating a new G.I. Bill. With the cost of college skyrocketing, the G.I. Bill now only
pays for around 60% of a public college education. Even worse, service members must
pay $1,200 or more out of their paychecks in their first year of service in order to
qualify. We should expand the current G.I. Bill to cover 100% of a public college
education – including tuition, fees, and expenses – and eliminate the $1,200 pay
reduction, as well as cap student loan rates for vets and make it easier for veterans who
halt their education for service to pick up where they left off.
Respecting the sacrifice made by military families. I’ve met so many family members of
veterans (and of troops currently serving) who feel like they’ve been left behind. In the
Senate, I’ll fight to raise military pay and benefits so that families who lend us their
loved ones don’t forfeit their economic security. We should also allow families of
mobilized Guards members and reservists access to military health care benefits so that
their spouses and children don’t lose coverage. And we should offer grants to
community organizations that bring military families together to provide support and
counseling during the difficult time when a loved one is away