Taking Care of Our Troops

By: Senator Jim Bunning

On Monday, May 26, we will celebrate Memorial Day – a day to honor all those who have fallen while serving America’s Armed Forces.  As we approach this annual holiday the United States Senate will consider the President’s request for emergency funding for the ongoing war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Providing funding and support for our troops is one of the most important responsibilities we have as members of Congress.  We have a moral obligation to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform have the resources they need to keep America safe.  This emergency funding is vital to our continued success in the Global War on Terror.  I am going to do everything I can to see that it includes the necessary funding levels requested by the president that are based on the needs of our commanders on the ground not by politicians in Washington. 

As we debate this funding I also believe that we need to closely examine the needs of our troops – both those who serve abroad and those at home.  I am forever grateful to the millions of men and women who put themselves in harm’s way everyday for the sake of our freedom. We owe them and their families a great deal of gratitude for their personal sacrifices.

I have always believed that Congress has a duty to provide our veterans with the benefits and services they were promised.  I recognize that as the nature of the conflicts change so too must the benefits we provide them.  I believe it is time to examine and update some of our veteran benefits programs so that we can better address their needs especially as we see more and more of these brave men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Last year Congress took an important step forward on this issue through the passage of the Wounded Warrior Act.  I was a proud supporter of this bill and am glad that we have finally begun to address the mental health issues of returning servicemen. 

I also believe that we need to update the education benefits that we provide our enlisted troops and veterans.  As the cost of living has increased over the years, so, too, has the cost of education.  I hope that in the coming week that we will have the opportunity to update these benefits so that all service members that would like to get a college degree can receive a quality education.  I firmly believe that we can increase this benefit in a fiscally responsible way that does not break the bank of the average American taxpayer but yet better meets the needs of our troops and their families. 

My wife Mary and I know the sacrifices that military families make.  We have a son who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and a grandson in the Air Force.  I am both humbled and honored by their service as I am of all those who so bravely answer the call to protect our freedom. 

During the upcoming debate on the war funding bill I hope all Senators will take their responsibilities to our troops seriously and not use this bill as a political tool to express their displeasure with the war.  We must continue to listen to our commanders on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan and provide them with the tools they need to continue to fight the terrorists and insurgents. 

We are a nation at war.  There are unexpected costs and needs that must be met to continue to protect our freedoms at home and succeed in Iraq.  This is why we have emergency supplemental legislation.  It is used to meet the immediate needs of the men and women in the Armed Forces on the front lines.  And we ought to be sending a clear message of support to our troops.

America has and always will have the bravest and most dedicated military men and women in uniform.  Because of their efforts we continue to live in the greatest nation.  I ask on this Memorial Day that you take a moment, as my wife Mary and I do every night, to thank our troops for their service and pray for their safe return.  Just as they defend our freedoms every day we must continue to defend them at home.  On this Memorial Day they deserve to know that America is one hundred percent behind them.

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