A Column from U.S. Representative Chet Edwards

November 11th, Veterans Day, is a time for our nation to come together to remember and honor the millions of brave men and women who have served our country in uniform. Without the valiant service and sacrifice of our military – soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen and their families – America would not stand as a beacon of hope, opportunity and freedom around the world. As we also approach Thanksgiving Day, we must remember to give thanks for our military and veterans and take the opportunity to renew and reaffirm our commitment to the more than 24 million veterans in America.

As Co-Chair of the bipartisan House Army Caucus and as someone who has represented over 40,000 U.S. Army soldiers from Fort Hood who have served in Iraq, I have also seen the sacrifice of our troops and their families and we must ensure they have the support they were promised. Our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe are serving our nation with honor and distinction and will become the veterans of tomorrow.

To salute our veterans and servicemen and women, I introduced H.R. 2131, the comprehensive New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century. 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.

Now is the time for the U.S. government to again fulfill our moral obligation to those who have fought for freedom and democracy. We must honor our commitments to our nation’s veterans, including focusing on ending the Disabled Veterans’ Tax and on adequately funding veterans’ health care.

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 While we have succeeded in getting a partial repeal, this unfair tax should be repealed for the remaining 400,000 disabled military retirees. Those who have sacrificed so much should receive all of their promised benefits, and I will continue my efforts to force action on this critical issue. For military retirees and the families of those who were injured or died in the line of duty, the new GI Bill of Rights will fully repeal the Disabled Veterans Tax and Military Families Tax.

For those returning from the frontlines, we will continue our efforts to fight to adequately invest in veterans’ health care. In 2006 alone, the VA expects to treat 5.2 million veterans – double the number in 1995. The GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century focuses on improving veterans’ health care, including mental health care, to meet the needs of our returning troops. This health care crisis will only get worse with the growing numbers of returning service member from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

In our 17th congressional district, I have worked for several years to fight proposals to close the Waco VA hospital in Waco so that our veterans can continue to have access to the quality care they have earned. The Waco VA hospital has been recognized as a center of excellence for PTSD and mental health treatment and I have supported federal funding for research that will help treat veterans across the country suffering from this condition.

For our military retirees, I introduced the Military Retirees’ Healthcare Protection Act to block the Administration’s proposal to double and triple health care premiums for about 3 million enlisted and officer retirees under TRICARE. My bill received strong support from military and veterans groups and as a result, we were successful in adding a provision blocking the increases in the 2007 Defense Authorization bill. I have also fought in Congress and succeeded 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.

We can never fully repay our troops, veterans and the families of those who have sacrificed and given their lives in defense of our country, but we have a moral obligation to keep our promises and provide them the quality health care and benefits they have earned through their service. On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we will leave no veteran behind.


Congressman Chet Edwards is the ranking member of the House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee.