President Bush and John McCain teamed up to try to defeat the 21st Century GI Bill, which doubles college benefits for troops and veterans. In the end, it still passed, was signed into law yesterday, and now both are trying to take credit for the very bill that they worked so hard to defeat.
Veterans groups said they were not consulted for the Graham-McCain version of the GI Bill, calling their measure “very partisan
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement in commemoration of Memorial Day.
Another claim he'll likely be forced into backtracking from, since it's clearly not true. Here are some of the failing grades that McCain has received from these organizations, via Think Progress:
While John McCain was campaigning and raising money in California today, the Senate voted on a bipartisan to bill to support our brave men and women in uniform by helping them pay for college when they complete their service. Unlike both Democratic presidential candidates, who took time off the campaign trail to support our troops by voting for the 21st Century GI Bill, Senator McCain refused.
Today's McCain Myth: John McCain will support America's veterans and military families.
Today the Senate voted to help the brave men and women who defend this country pay for college once they've completed their service. It was a historic vote, and McCain wasn't there to see it. Instead he attended a fundraiser.
Via ThinkProgress, VoteVets Action Fund is coming out with new ad pressuring McCain sign onto Senator Webb's 21st Century GI Bill.
Senator Webb was on Meet the Press yesterday discussing, among other things, his bill to expand educational benefits for veterans as they return from Iraq (and elsewhere).
The must-read piece for the day is this one, which takes John McCain to task for failing to help give the troops and veterans the education benefits that they've more than earned.
In today's New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert details how John McCain's talk about supporting our troops falls far short of the action needed to help ensure our brave troops are taken care of when they come home.
McCain earmark cutting would leave Military families out in the cold.
It's bipartisan legislation that would "greatly expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan." But that didn't stop John McCain from coming out against the bill yesterday.
In an op-ed in today's Los Angeles Times, General Wesley Clark and VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz point out that John McCain is "casting doubt on his own commitment to the newest generation of American heroes" by "hedging" his support for a 21st Century GI Bill.
Late Tuesday, the Pentagon released a 2003 memo from the Department of Justice on the treatment of detainees. The Justice Department memo, dated March 14, 2003, outlines legal justification for military interrogators to use harsh tactics against al-Qaida and Taliban...
Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, says that heavy deployments are inflicting "incredible stress" on soldiers and their families, and that they pose a "significant risk" to the nation's all-volunteer army. Gen. David Petreaus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will testify next week.
Today's McCain Myth: John McCain would fight for America's service members and veterans.
"On this solemn anniversary, Americans around the country are asking themselves: how much longer will President Bush and John McCain keep our troops in Iraq? How many more brave Americans must die? And how many more trillions of dollars will we borrow and spend before our troops come home?"
"It is shameful that George Bush and John McCain lack the courage to ban torture," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "And it is reprehensible that McCain changed his position on torture just to win an election. That's not the kind of leadership Americans want, and it's exactly the reason why voters will reject John McCain in November. The last thing we need is another president who will put politics over principle."
One year ago today, the American people first learned about the dreadful conditions at military hospitals and outpatient facilities treating wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Amid the national outrage sparked by those reports, John McCain saw an opportunity to bolster his presidential campaign. Days after the story broke, McCain blamed the scandal on former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, saying "the fruits of Rumsfeld's policy were on display at Walter Reed military hospital in Washington." [Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2/22/2007]
After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the man behind the myth.
This week, President Bush signed the $152 billion economic stimulus package approved by Congress. Seniors and veterans are eligible for the rebates that could arrive as early as May.
Shortly after signing the defense authorization, President Bush issued signing statements on four provisions, including measures on oversight of private contractors and permanent bases in Iraq.
Senators Jim Webb (D-Virginia) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) spoke about the need for a "modern day Truman Commission," and last year introduced an amendment to that effect. The commission was signed into law by the President as part of the...
Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Indiana's undemocratic voter identification law. While there has never been a report of voter impersonation fraud in Indiana, real voters - seniors, students, veterans, minorities and low-income families -have been disenfranchised at the polls because of this restrictive requirement.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement honoring America's veterans and military families this Veterans Day:
Heading into the Veterans Day holiday weekend, President Bush is in Texas today to visit an Army medical center in San Antonio.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington delivers this week’s Democratic Radio Address. After years of this Administration under-funding our veterans, and as Veterans Day approaches, Murray calls on...
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement after President Bush announced his nomination of retired Lt. General James Peake to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This is pretty stunning. The Republican leader in the House had this to say today to Wolf Blitzer:
Top Pentagon generals are expected to tell Bush that they have deep concerns about his continued escalation in Iraq today, as yet another grim report is released about the state of Iraqi security forces.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the man responsible for the horrific neglect of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, is still on the Pentagon payroll.
As President Bush prepares to address the 108th annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City tomorrow, Democrats today called on the President to offer more than the same empty rhetoric and broken promises on the issues that matter to America's veterans and military families.
Undeclared GOP Presidential candidate Fred Thompson was in Kansas City, Missouri today to address the 108th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. But like his unofficial campaign Thompson's record on veterans' issues raises a lot of questions.
Washington, DC - After months of demonstrating his lack of understanding of the challenges facing America's veterans and military families and refusing to outline a plan for Iraq, smooth talking Mitt Romney has elected to skip this week's 108th annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City. According to a VFW spokesperson, Romney "was invited but declined" to participate in the annual conference of one of America's largest veteran's organizations. [Associated Press, 8/18/07]
Today Senate Democrats passed legislation to upgrade the military health care that our active-duty soldiers and veterans receive. The bill also includes new resources for traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, and a 3.5% pay raise for soldiers and their families.
With President Bush receiving the report of a special commission on improving care for our wounded soldiers today, the Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC’s Veterans and Military Families Council Chairman Don Fowler demanded that President Bush...
Governor Dean responded today to Bush's false claim that the Democratic Congress doesn't want to give the troops a pay raise--despite the fact that his own administration "strongly opposed" the raise.
Last May, the Bush administration "strongly opposed" a 0.5 percent pay raise for the troops, calling the raise "unnecessary," even though many military families depend on food stamps to survive. Now Bush is falsely claiming that Congress did not want to increase soldiers' pay.
Following the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, Democratic National Committee Veterans and Military Families Council Chairman Don Fowler called on President Bush to appoint a successor who can be trusted...
U.S. Representative Chet Edwards (TX-17), Chair of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, will deliver the Democratic Radio Address Saturday June 23rd
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement honoring America’s fallen war heroes this Memorial Day: "Memorial Day is always a solemn time of reflection, but never more so than when our armed forces are engaged overseas....
The Bush Administration has done everything in its power to block the distribution of emergency birth control to women. From delaying over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraception pill known as "Plan B," to overruling the decision [...]
McCain's campaign strategy may include buying endorsements, but no speeches or campaign cash can hide the fact that McCain voted six times in the last Congress to deny critical funding for our veterans.
Maura Satchell, member of the Democratic National Veterans and Military Families Council--and mother of two Iraq war veterans--publishes an op-ed about the human cost of war without an exit strategy.
Speaker Pelosi: "Rather than sending more troops into the chaos that is the Iraqi civil war, we must be focused on bringing the war to an end. We can do that by passing this bill that transforms the performance benchmarks that have already been endorsed by President Bush and the Iraqi government, into requirements…Benchmarks without deadlines are just words. Four years of this war, words are not enough."
The Walter Reed travesty is a Katrina moment for the Bush Administration because it shows how the administration has completely failed in their duty to care for the troops who have served so bravely and their families back home.
It's appalling to think that, while President Bush had a high-level team in place to sell the Iraq war and viciously smear its critics, it has not given that same attention to plan for postwar Iraq or ensuring that our troops and veterans receive the care they deserve.
After news reports exposed the deplorable conditions at the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed Army Hospital, it has been further revealed that a number of services for our veterans were privatized, leading to serious problems at the hospital. According to a letter written by Rep. Henry Waxman, Walter Reed awarded a five-year, $120-million contract to IAP Worldwide Services, a company criticized for failing to properly execute a contract to deliver ice to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The company is also run by former Halliburton official Al Neffgen who defended the company's gas price gouging in Iraq in testimony before Congress.
The Democratic National Committee called on John McCain to apologize to American troops and their families who've served in Iraq for telling David Letterman on the Late Show last night that "American lives" are being "wasted" there.
The Democratic Party understands the need to honor those who have sacrificed on behalf of this nation. Fixing the disability compensation program so that those with disabilities can collect their pensions, along with their disability payments, is an important step.
Both the Oversight Committee and Appropriations Committee are holding hearings today on the conditions at Walter Reed. Our troops and Veterans who fought for us on the battlefield should not have to fight their own government for the care they earned and deserve when they come home.
Nearly 90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated "not ready" -- largely as a result of shortfalls in billions of dollars' worth of equipment -- jeopardizing their capability to respond to crises at home and abroad, according to a congressional commission that released a preliminary report yesterday on the state of U.S. military reserve forces.
Via NYT: In a small but growing sign of dissent, a group of active-duty military personnel and reservists, including many who have served in Iraq, is denouncing the war and asking Congress for the prompt withdrawal of troops. The service...
This weekend, The Washington Post blew the whistle on the "Other Walter Reed" - the one that you don't see when the President is in need of a photo op - the one where soldiers are left to fend for...
Yesterday Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid wrote a letter to the President expressing their concern over his decision to send additional troops to Iraq when the Pentagon is not prepared to provide them with the equipment they need to safely do their jobs. Today The New York Times chimes in with an editorial entitled, "Not Supporting Our Troops".
Yesterday, during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, two top military officials offered up testimony that directly contradicts one of the administration's favorite talking points: that a debate over the Iraq war hurts troop morale. Joint Chiefs of...
Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry spoke out last week on the increasing reliance on National Guard troops to fight the war in Iraq. His remarks came after it was announced that Oklahoma National Guard troops were part of a four state...
A resolution was adopted by the DNC Resolutions Committee at its meeting on February 1, 2007.
The following letter to the editor was written to the Scranton Times-Tribune by Vietnam veteran Hal Donahue.
