Honoring D-Day; new GI Bill of Rights; Health Care

[Adelante]

On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy and began the liberation of Europe during World War II.

Then, just 16 days after D-Day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the "GI Bill of Rights" into law - landmark legislation honoring the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, providing key education and training benefits to thank them for their service.

This Monday marks the 61st Anniversary of D-Day, an epic event in the history of our nation and the world. While we take time to remember this historic day and thank those brave liberators who defended freedom in Europe and around the world, it's also important to ask whether we're doing everything we can to honor the sacrifice of today's armed forces and veterans, as America did with the first GI Bill.

In just the past 2 ½ years, more than 400,000 of our National Guard and Reserves have been called up to active duty. In fact, Reserve Components make up nearly half of our forces in Iraq.

Last week, House Democrats, led by my friend Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, attempted to do more to honor our Guard and Reserves for their sacrifice. The House Armed Services Committee passed a bipartisan amendment to provide full access to TRICARE - the military health program - to all members of the Guard and Reserves and their families, a gap in our military health system that is long overdue to be fixed.

Yet despite the fact that 20% of our Reservists lack health insurance, Republican Chairman Duncan Hunter stripped this common sense amendment from the bill, denying our Guard and Reserve the health care benefits they deserve, claiming we couldn't afford it.

That's plain wrong. If we can afford tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, we can certainly afford health care benefits for our brave men and women in harm's way halfway around the world.

Tell your Members of Congress to support the new GI Bill today!

Providing the National Guard and Reserves with the same health care benefits as our active duty troops is the right thing to do. After all, they're bearing a significant burden in Iraq and Afghanistan, making sacrifices alongside the rest of our men and women in uniform.

Furthermore, at a time that our military is struggling to meet its recruitment targets, we should be doing everything we can from a practical standpoint to encourage Americans to serve and to stay in the service once they've joined. Why should we make it difficult to recruit and retain our National Guard and Reserves by denying them health insurance?

Providing adequate health care is just one of many things we should be doing to honor the service and sacrifice of our armed forces. And Democrats are leading the way. I was proud to join House Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill in April to introduce the new GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century.

Now it's time for us to call on Congress to act on this critical legislation. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve better from their government.

Tell your Members of Congress to support the new GI Bill today! Then, after you've contacted your Members of Congress, invite everyone you know to join us.

As we celebrate the 61st Anniversary of D-Day this Monday, let us rededicate ourselves to doing everything we can to honor our brave men and women in uniform for their service and sacrifice. Our armed forces deserve no less.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

P.S. Last Saturday, I gave the Democratic weekly radio address. After signing my GI Bill petition, I invite you to listen to my radio address on SecuringAmerica.com.

Tell your Members of Congress to support the new GI Bill today!

[paineinthearse]

1. Glad you posted this!

I received it too, too burned out to do any more posting.

Nominated.