Over half the members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors of a new G.I.-bill for our troops who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Guess who hasn't.
John McCain. And Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan's 8th Congressional District.
The measure will return to the original intent of the World War II-era G.I. Bill, covering the full cost of a college education rather than only 60 to 70 percent. It is being pushed by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, as well as other major veterans organizations.
But McCain and Rogers are not on the list of sponsors, although both Democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are.
Isn't this a no-brainer? Shouldn't we be thanking our troops, many of whom are serving two or three tours of duty, with a G.I. Bill equivalent to the one that many of their grandfathers took advantage of? The $2 billion pricetag surely cannot be the reason. We spend that in a week in Iraq.
More and more we are hearing calls for bipartisanship. Certainly support for our returning veterans is one thing Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
You can visit the IAVA page and send an email to Rogers telling him to put our money where his mouth is on supporting the troops.
Thank a vet for your freedom. Send him or her to college.
1 comment:
We've seen the Republican lack of interest in our troops over and over in these wars -- Afghanistan and Iraq. The Walter Reed scandal, the denying of benefits to those with PTSD and other mental disorders by claiming "pre-existing conditions". I cannot think of one constructive thing that the Republicans did for the troops that they weren't forced to do by the public outcry.
Wearing a flag pin and putting signs on your car while not actually supporting the troops is bold hypocrisy. Jesus had two words for such people -- "whited sepulchers".
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