Veterans Groups Question McCain Voting Record

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Veterans Groups Question McCain Voting Record
Part 2: GOP Hopeful's Record on Vet Benefits Contradicts Stump Rhetoric
By John Dougherty 9/19/08 1:24 PM


Part One: McCain’s Pro-Vet Image Clashes With Record
http://www.washingtonindependent.com/6199/mccains-pro-vet-image-clashes-with-record


PHOENIX — Though polls show that Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, enjoys solid support from veterans, some vet organizations are sharply critical of the Arizona senator’s legislative voting record on issues important to them. They have lambasted him for voting against the 21st Century G.I. bill; against providing more money for veterans’ health care, and for a proposal that many regard as an effort to privatize their care.

The 21st Century G.I. bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate last May and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on June 30. The legislation, which Sen. Barack Obama supported, increases educational benefits for post 9/11 veterans who serve a minimum of three years. But McCain opposed the measure, citing as a problem its bestowal of full education benefits to members of the military after just one stint in the armed services.

Under pressure from veterans’ groups because of his non-support, McCain sponsored competing legislation that provided benefits to soldiers who served longer terms. “Otherwise, we will encourage more people to leave the military after they have completed one enlistment,” McCain argued. McCain’s plan would also have allowed benefits to be transferred to a soldier’s family members.

McCain’s opposition to the G.I. bill was the reason that former Marine Sgt. Adam Kokesh cq, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, says he staged a protest on the convention floor during McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Kokesh, 26, demanded an examination of McCain’s voting record on vet issues as he was dragged out by security personnel.

Meanwhile, Paul Riekhoff, director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a Sept. 8 interview on MSNBC that vet groups would continue to pounce on McCain for his opposition to the bill. “We told America that if Sen. McCain was on the wrong side of the G.I. bill, it would hang around his neck for the election,” Riekhoff told Rachel Maddow. “That’s exactly what’s happening now.”

This is not the first time that McCain’s voting record on veterans’ issues has been criticized — particularly on health care. According to an AFL-CIO TV ad, broadcast in six battleground states in late July and early August, McCain talks a lot about supporting veterans but repeatedly votes against their interests. McCain, claims the ad, “took Bush’s side against increasing health-care benefits for veterans.”

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http://www.washingtonindependent.com/6533/veterans-groups-question-mccain-voting-record