Honoring Veterans
George Washington said, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.”
Ultimately, our national security and our national honor requires treating our troops like the heroes that they are.
We need to serve them as honorably as they have served America. One of the commitments we make as a country is that when our troops go to war, the entire country goes with them, and when they come home, the entire country honors the promises made for their service.
Our Veterans face unacceptable obstacles transitioning from military to civilian life. Too many find themselves without medical or mental health treatment they have earned and need. More than 200,000 Veterans are homeless. No Veteran should lack for needed treatment or go hungry or have to sleep under a bridge or on a grate. Not in our country.
We must live up to the commitments we have made and renew our promise to Veterans and their families. Education, job training and excellent medical care must be waiting and accessible for those who have served in our armed forces. Family services should be there to provide the support that is needed. Veterans should have what is needed to fully return to their lives, jobs and families.
I am profoundly grateful to the Veterans and their families who sacrificed and served to give this country the strength and the freedom we cherish. I am proud my record in the state legislature reflects unyielding support for Veterans. I grew up next to an Army base, I’m the son of an Air Force Veteran, and I worked as a civilian contractor alongside a Navy detachment. I know that Veterans too often have to fight to obtain the benefits they have earned. All that helps explain why, during my ten years in Juneau, I consistently voted to increase funding for Veterans’ services and as Democratic Leader, I worked to keep Veterans’ issues at the forefront of legislative priorities.
My Veterans’ Policy
In the wake of 9/11 and light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has become obvious that the Veterans’ Administration is drastically under-funded and mismanaged. Funding shortfalls, program inadequacies and deplorable conditions in Veterans’ hospitals have outraged Americans. Alaska has the highest per-capita population of Veterans in the country. We must ensure that Veterans receive the appreciation, support and services they have earned.
My Priorities for Veterans’ Services are:
- Fund the VA fully to provide excellent and comprehensive health services, including psychiatric and mental health services for Veterans struggling with Traumatic Brain Injuries and PTSD
- Ensure that Veterans receive the full extent of benefits they have earned, from a GI Bill-funded college education to federal support for Veteran-owned businesses
- Quality housing, life insurance benefits and better family separation allowances must be adequately funded for the families of our Veterans and service members.
The families of our service men and women must also be guaranteed the services their loved ones have earned.
Health Care
We must make sure health care is available for all Veterans, just as it should be for all Americans. 700,000 new Veterans are expected to enter the VA and military health care systems from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we must be ready. The services and systems should be in place to provide the health care they need.
Veterans coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq can face heightened challenges readjusting to civilian life. We must improve our counseling and mental health support services to facilitate this reintegration. That means appropriate funding levels for VA programs that address access to mental health support services to treat PTSD and other post-combat challenges. I also support efforts to address the problem of homelessness faced by too many in the Veterans’ community.
We can and must provide Veterans’ health care close to home. Currently, Veterans in Alaska who live in rural areas must travel to cities to receive services. Veterans are sometimes required to travel to Seattle - or farther - to get appropriate health care. Forcing our Veterans to travel thousands of miles to access quality medical treatment is unacceptable and bureaucratic. We must expand the funding and scope of our limited VA facilities in Alaska and begin contracting with medical clinics in rural areas in order to provide health care and services for our Veterans where they live. Senator Lisa Murkowski has taken the lead in increasing funding for Veterans’ Aviation Outreach, a program that transports Veterans to health care facilities. I look forward to working with her to expand these services.
Veterans’ Benefits & Entitlements
We must fix the bureaucracy. Too many Veterans don’t know what benefits they’re entitled to. Many more often don’t know how to get them. We must streamline paperwork, create Veterans’ advocates within the system and change the adversarial nature of current processes. Too many Veterans are frustrated and insulted by the status quo, and I will keep working until the system is easy to use and does right by the Veterans it is supposed to serve.
This year, the Alaska State Legislature passed House Bill 44, which Governor Palin recently signed into law. The bill adds a question about Veteran status to the Permanent Fund Dividend application. This important step in locating and identifying Alaska’s Veteran population will help us tailor government services to meet Veterans’ needs.
Nationally, the new GI Bill is a great piece of legislation. It is beyond time that we expand funding for Veterans’ college educations. This will bring them inline with the benefits provided to Veterans of World War II. The 1944 GI Bill sped the recovery from the Great Depression and fueled a massive expansion of the middle class and our economy. Those opportunities should be available to today’s Veterans — it is important for the Veterans individually and essential for the country’s continued prosperity and opportunity. It is also important to ensure that service members receive access to benefits in proportion to the length of their service, and those provisions should be included in new Veterans’ legislation.
Because many Veterans sacrifice economic gain for national service, federal statutes prioritize Veteran-owned businesses that compete for certain federal contracts. These goals are too often disregarded. Particularly in Alaska where so many federal dollars are spent - and so many Veterans live - we must ensure that Veteran business owners get the chance they’ve earned to do business with the government.
Recognizing Veterans’ Service
All Alaskans acknowledge Veterans’ contributions to our communities, our state and our country. That’s why it will be a priority to secure funding for a Veterans’ cemetery in Fairbanks, and to improve and maintain Veteran memorials throughout the state.
I listened closely to the voices of our Veterans during my ten years in Juneau, and I will continue to listen in Washington, D.C. You were there for me and mine, and it would be an honor and a privilege to serve you in Congress.
