U.S. must fulfill promises to veterans

Washington, D.C. On this Veterans’ Day, our nation finds itself beset by challenges and yet brimming with hope.  One political era is ending, and another is beginning.  In President-elect Obama, we have chosen a leader who will bring to Washington a new optimism, a newly engaged electorate, and a commitment to change the policies and politics that have marked the last 8 years.  He will also face the challenges posed by a very dangerous world, including ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an overstretched military, and the care for millions of servicemen and women who have put their lives on the line in the service of our country.

The 110th Congress has made support for veterans and their families a major priority.  We passed a new GI Bill that restores full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.  The bill also gives troops a pay raise of 3.5 percent in 2008 and 3.9 percent in 2009, and provides relief and homeownership opportunities for returning veterans. 

Congress also passed the largest funding increase in the 77-year history of the Veterans’ Administration – $16 billion over 2 years.  This means more doctors, new medical equipment and facilities, and faster claims processing for the 333,275 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan this year alone.  This funding increase also allows us to make treatment of the estimated 300,000 troops suffering from mental health problems and Traumatic Brain Injury a top priority. 

Congress has also tried to ease the strain of two wars and multiple deployments on military families by passing a bipartisan defense authorization bill that boosts current force strength, improves military readiness and helps ensure that we provide the best training, equipment, and deployment conditions for our Armed Forces.  

Finally, Congress has helped push the military to come to terms with the epidemic of rape and sexual assault against its servicewomen and men.  The rates of sexual assault and rape in the military have grown to alarming levels, in part due to military commanders’ unwillingness to recognize the problem and aggressively prosecute offenders.  Congress has held multiple hearings on the issue this year alone, and the Army recently rolled out an ambitious plan to eliminate rape from its 1-million person ranks in five years.  Helping address this problem has been and will continue to be one of my top priorities in the next Congress.

But while these developments are encouraging, they’re only the opening shots in a long fight. 

President Obama and the next Congress must follow through on campaign promises and build on the progress of recent years.  We must increase access to healthcare for veterans, extend VA benefits to mental health patients, and reform the VA to make it more manageable and accountable to its patients.  The men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have faced unique challenges, and we must ensure that a 21st Century VA is capable of meeting their needs.

I remain enormously proud of my authorship of the law to require federal facilities to fly the POW/MIA on holidays like today.  Those prepared to die for our country, those who never returned, and those buried in military cemeteries in the South Bay, Arlington and around the world must be properly honored and remembered.  Our future security requires that our young women and men be prepared to emulate their courage and sacrifice -- with the support of their families and a grateful nation.

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