Issue Position - Honoring Our Veterans

Issue Position

Issue Position - Honoring Our Veterans

To truly honor our veterans, we must protect the benefits that veterans have earned, provide the protection and compensation that our military families were promised, and we must preserve what veterans have fought for: the American Dream at home, and our role as the moral compass around the world.

Minnesotans have a proud tradition of service to this country. It was the 250-member First Minnesota regiment during the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg that held the line against 1600 Confederate troops while much-needed reinforcements were brought in on the Union side. The First Minnesota suffered one of the highest percentages of casualties of any regiment during the War. A plaque devoted to them at Gettysburg reads: "In self-sacrificing desperate valor their charge has no parallel in any war."

From the ridges of Gettysburg, to the beaches of Normandy, to the sands of Iraq, Minnesota's men and women have served their nation with honor.

The price they have paid is extraordinary. Each day we must honor their sacrifices, and remember those who came home and those who did not.

I have always said that Minnesota is a state where we wrap our arms around the people who have sacrificed for us. Today, our state's veterans need us more than ever. In addition to the thousands of Minnesotans on active duty in the armed forces, thousands more in the National Guard and Reserves have been called to duty and deployed overseas in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are creating a new generation of veterans who need their country to stand with them. Tragically, more than 2,500 American soldiers have now died in Iraq. Another 17,000 have been wounded -- some permanently. We have an obligation to bring our troops home safely and to honor returning soldiers and surviving families by giving them the benefits they have earned.

In years past, veterans like my father could count on the fact that their government would stand by them. After World War II, our government did just that, adopting the GI Bill to provide health, housing and educational benefits that gave returning veterans the help they needed to heal, to raise families and to prosper.

At a time when we are spending billions on the reconstruction of Iraq, funding for health care for veterans is far below what's needed. Those are the wrong priorities for our country. We cannot abandon the brave soldiers who fought for us once they return home.

We need to provide veterans the benefits they have earned. We must assure fair compensation policies for veterans, good education benefits and the health care that they and their families deserve.

Veterans' Health Care:

As Senator, I will fight to ensure top quality medical care for our Veterans, including treatment for mental health and post-traumatic stress disorders. One of the four primary brain trauma centers for veterans across the country is right here in Minnesota and I will fight to make that sure it, and other veterans' facilities across the State get the funding they need. I will work to make sure our VA hospitals are fully furnished with the latest medical technology and equipment from Magnetic Resonance Imagers (MRIs) to wheelchairs. I will also support research into the unique health needs of veterans, including heart disease, prosthetics, and spinal cord injuries. I will also work to speed up the time that it takes to get health care claims and paperwork processed through the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Our veterans didn't stand in long waiting lines when they were called up or volunteered to serve our nation- why are we asking them to stand in line to have their claims processed and to get medical care?

Veterans' Compensation:

As Senator, I will work to ensure that our service men and women are compensated in a way that meets their needs and reflects their sacrifices. The men and women of the American military are being deployed at historic rates, many serving on their second, third, and even fourth combat deployments. Recently, the Bush Administration proposed a 2.2% pay raise for the armed services - the smallest pay raise since 1994. We can do better for our military personnel.

Veterans' Families:

I will work for adequate resources to support our military families. In the Iraq war in particular, we have seen our military spouses struggle with things like inadequate child care, lapses in insurance and debilitating depression. We need to help care for our military families while their loved ones are overseas. In addition, I will work to ensure that our returning Veterans have increased access to reintegration counseling. Helping service men and women make the transition into civilian life is an important way that we can honor their sacrifices.

Minnesota has a proud tradition of leaders who fight for veterans in Congress, standing up for our local VA hospitals to get them the funding they need to care for our vets. As senator for Minnesota, I will not rest until our veterans get the benefits that their nation has promised and that they have earned.

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