I am humbled by the fact that for over 200 years, our nation has been protected by brave men and women who put their country before themselves. Taking care of our troops through every phase of their deployment as well as ensuring that veterans of prior wars have the services and care they need is one of my top priorities as a United States Senator. My father, Norm Sr., was a veteran of World War II and was a recipient of the Purple Heart. When he passed away last year, we were honored to have him buried at Arlington National Cemetery. It is in large part because of him that I have always taken my commitment to our nation’s veterans seriously.
Funding our Veterans Programs
I have always maintained that we need to fund our veterans benefit programs at the highest possible level. I have been honored to support an increase in funding for veterans benefits every year I have been in the Senate – supporting a 67 percent increase in veterans funding since taking office in 2003. Most recently, I joined a bipartisan majority of my Senate colleagues in passing the fiscal year 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill (H.R. 2642). This bill provides nearly $88 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs – nearly $10 billion more than last year. This funding includes an increase of over $3 billion for the Veterans Health Administration. In addition, on May 25, 2007, the President signed into law the fiscal year 2007 Supplemental Appropriations bill (H.R. 2206), which provides $1.78 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The funding is specifically targeted toward treatment for returning servicemembers from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. H.R. 2206 passed in the Senate on May 24, 2007, by a vote of 80-14 and I am pleased that this much-needed funding was authorized for our veterans.
Fighting Homelessness amongst our Veterans
Sadly, recent reports have demonstrated that nearly one out of every four homeless persons on American streets has worn our nation’s uniform. I believe we need to do better and have worked in my time in the Senate to ensure our veterans have adequate access to housing. I am pleased that last year’s Senate budget included an amendment I offered to reduce mortgage rates for veterans by giving them special access to first time homebuyer programs. I have also supported increases in funding for important initiatives to combat homelessness amongst veterans including the VA’s Grant and Per Diem Program, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, and Section 8 housing vouchers for homeless veterans.
In a broader effort to help keep veterans in their homes, I recently included a provision in the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 that shields returning servicemembers from the current housing crisis. Current law provides our men and women in uniform with only a three month window after active duty service to work out mortgage difficulties they may have encountered while proudly defending our nation. My provision triples that window to nine months, preventing lenders from foreclosing on our brave men and women in uniform during that timeframe, while also providing them with one year of relief from increases in mortgage interest rates. In addition, my provision requires the Department of Defense to establish a counseling program to ensure veterans and active service members can access assistance if facing financial difficulties.
Expanding Education Benefits
Over 60 years ago, Congress had the wisdom to pass one of the most successful pieces of legislation in our history – the GI Bill of Rights. Over the course of the last several decades, a number of changes and additions have been made to this landmark law, but its core mission remains the same: to afford returning veterans an opportunity to receive the education and training that they put on hold while bravely serving our country. I am proud to serve the legacy of this bill by fighting for increased education benefits for our soldiers and veterans in the United States Senate.
This year, I joined Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) in cosponsoring the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S. 22). This bill would drastically improve current GI Bill education benefits by covering full tuition costs for our veterans at any public university in their state of residence. I have also joined my friend and colleague Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) in introducing the Total Force GI Bill, legislation that would dramatically improve the quality of education benefits for our National Guard and Reserve troops. Part of this important legislation was included in this year’s National Defense Authorization bill and will allow these soldiers to use their education benefits up to 10 years after separating from the service. Senator Lincoln and I also worked together last October to introduce the Veterans Upward Bound Improvement Act, a bill to make more members of the National Guard and Reserve eligible for education programs across Minnesota and the nation.
Perhaps most importantly in this regard, I have worked tirelessly to eliminate a technical glitch which has limited access to education benefits for over a thousand Minnesota troops in the 1/34th Brigade Combat Team. Due to an inexplicable oversight in the length of their active duty orders, many members of this longest serving unit in Iraq had been denied the education assistance they deserve. I spoke personally with Army Secretary Peter Geren and sent a letter to the President with 30 other members of Congress imploring him to fix this discrepancy. Our efforts paid off as these troops have been granted the education benefits to which they are entitled.
Easing the Transition Back into Civilian Life
Supporting our troops means more than providing the best equipment or the world’s best health care. It also means understanding what it takes to transition from the life of a soldier back to a life previously led. When our soldiers returned from previous wars, they were given almost no help in readjusting to civilian life. I believe we need to do better. To this end, I joined Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in introducing the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Act to implement a national strategy for reintegrating these brave citizen soldiers based on Minnesota’s highly successful Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program. With our support, this legislation was included in this year’s National Defense Authorization bill and will enable Reserve Component troops across the nation access to reintegration services from family counseling to financial planning. In the meantime, I secured over $3 million in this year’s Defense Appropriations bill to fully fund Minnesota’s reintegration program for the over 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard’s First Brigade Combat Team.
In conversations with soldiers both here and in Iraq I have been told that these programs have saved marriages and even lives. One spouse recently wrote my office about the reintegration event she recently returned from with her husband. “My husband expressed how stressed he has been trying to find someone to relate to his experiences…I just don’t know how to express the gratefulness on the speakers and knowledge they had. Everyone there was absolutely wonderful and helped out our family from the brink of destruction. The camp was a godsend. Thank you so much for giving our family a great opportunity to be involved. It has given our family a boost of self-worth.”
Improving Mental Health Care
We have encountered a number of new health challenges as our service men and women return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have become all too common. To address these and other mental health conditions, I secured a provision in this year’s National Defense Authorization bill to make it easier for mental health providers to accept military health insurance. This is especially important to National Guard and Reserve troops who are spread across the country without proximity to military hospitals. I am also a proud cosponsor of the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act which was included in this year’s Defense Authorization bill. This legislation will make comprehensive improvements to health care for our troops and veterans including mental health services.
Ensuring Equity in Retirement Benefits
Our troops, both active duty and reserve, need to know that we will care for them properly beyond their service and into their retirement. Unfortunately, these troops face a retirement policy that is disproportionate to their valuable service and sacrifice. I joined my colleague Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) in introducing the National Guard and Reserve Retirement Modernization Act which reduced the retirement age for Reserve Component troops based on the time they have served on active duty. This is another important effort that has been included in this year’s National Defense Authorization bill. I have recently joined Senator Chambliss in a follow up piece of legislation, the National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act, to make this important policy retroactive to September 11, 2001.
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