Remember the 21st Century GI Bill introduced by Jim Webb (D, Va), which among other things, expanded the education benefit for veterans to near-WWII levels?
John McCain joined the Bush administration in vocal opposition, claiming that too many vets would want to use the benefit, which would hurt retention rates. As if being in a dead-end occupation of a hostile country for the benefit of Halliburton and thier ilk wouldn't hurt retention rates...but I digress.
But the bill had overwhelming support in the House and Senate both, so McWeathervane swung into the wind and issued this statement
With the addition of the transferability provisions sought by Senators Graham, Burr, myself and others to give service members the right to transfer earned G.I. Bill benefits to spouses and children, we will have achieved in offering vastly improved educational benefit.
Yet another missed vote to add to his stellar record this session (missed 61% of the votes). I remember in 1996, Bob Dole resigned from the Senate so his campaign would not impact his Senate duties. Doesn't seem to bother McMaverick, does it.
Tammy Wynette gave us the line "Sometimes it's hard to be a woman", which resonated with women all over the country and the world. Today, I offer "Sometimes it's hard to be an Alabamian", and I hope I can make my case as well as Tammy did.
If you live and vote in Alabama, you try to avoid discussions of politics with your friends from other states, because, sooner or later, such discussions turn to "Why do you people keep electing such morons to the U.S. Senate?" And, if you are honest, you just say "I don't know" and try to change the subject. For the purpose of today's discussion, let's ignore the "lesser of the evils Senator", Richard Shelby, and talk about the "OMG, did he really say that Senator", Jefferson Beauregard Sessions.
What a guy! It would be hard to imagine a lawmaker more perfectly suited to his constituency than Jeff Sessions. He is always right at the forefront in looking out for the interests of his home folks. Well, except for a few ornery groups that just refuse to be satisfied.
Like parents, for instance. You know how unreasonable they can be. Just because Sessions consistently voted against Children's Health Care, every time he had a chance, some parents, grandparents, guardians, social program folks, and other bleeding hearts are unhappy with the good senator. Don't they know poor people shouldn't be having babies anyway? Besides, if the Congress really paid for all this health care by taxing cigarettes, the big tobacco companies would be so unhappy they might stop supporting their favorite senators.
Tuscaloosa News got some comments from Sessions on this after a speech in Tuscaloosa. But Sessions seemed unconcerned about any potential fallout from his vote against a bill that would give troops money for college after only three years in the military following a speech here to the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama;I studied the Webb bill pretty careful," Sessions said. ;I felt very strongly that Sen. McCain's alternative was better and our own Congressional Budget Office said that if the Webb bill goes into law it would result in a 15 percent reduction in reenlistment."
But other analyses of the bill say that the reductions in reenlistment would be offset and maybe even more than made up by new enlistments from young men and women who would be willing to serve at least three years in order to get higher education benefits.
Sessions insisted, however, that there would be a "net loss" and that "the Defense Department if very concerned" about the effects of the Webb bill.
He also said there had been some attempts at a compromise, but that the Democrats wouldn't budge.
"They may be looking for a campaign issue," he said, even though he appeared to to be afraid the issue will hurt him in his bid for a third term and in a race he will be heavily favored to win.
Link to tuscaloosa news article - http://politibits.tuscaloosane... I'm not impressed by these comments. How is this a campaign issue when several of his counterparts voted with the Democrats including Shelby? http://www.actblue.com/page/gi... - to donate to all those running against those who voted against this bill
The New GI Bill, sponsored by Jim Webb and 50 something other Senators, passed the U.S. Senate today by a larger than expected 75-22 margin. Alabama's Senators split this vote, with Shelby voting in favor of expanded educational benefits for veterans and Jeff Sessions voting against it. Way to support the troops, Jeff!
Of the presidential candidates, Clinton and Obama returned to Washington to vote "yes" but John McCain was campaigning in California. The 'maverick' couldn't be bothered to show up to vote -- he would have voted "no" and his advisors probably told him it was politically better to go AWOL on this one.
Bush is expected to veto the bill -- supporting the troops "costs too much."
So, here's the picture:
Bush is going to veto the New GI Bill.
Jeff Sessions voted against it.
Mccain didn't even bother to vote.
George Bush, Jeff Sessions and John McCain: Three peas in a pod, happy to send American troops into harm's way, unwilling to give educational benefits to the ones lucky enough to make it back home. Are these the people we want running our country?
I think Sessions is the one on the left and Bush is the smirking one on the right.
The next post down is a statement from 4th District candidate Greg Warren taking incumbent Robert Aderholt to task for voting against the New GI Bill yesterday.
Representative Aderholt, who has never served a single day in uniform for our country, shows his lack of support for our hardworking military personnel by his vote in opposition of the New GI Bill. This is just another example of Representative Aderholt turning his back on the hardworking citizens of his own district and the nation. As a U. S. Navy veteran, I understand the need to stand behind and support our wonderful men and women in uniform.
Of course, Aderholt was not the only Alabama Republican to vote "NO" on the benefit package for returning veterans. In their usual lockstep fashion, ALL THE ALABAMA REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAINST IT. Although 32 Republicans voted in favor of the measure, Spencer Bachus, Jo Bonner, Terry Everett and Mike Rogers joined Robert Aderholt in voting against expanded educational benefits for veterans.
This afternoon, the House of Representatives made history. By an overwhelming margin, lawmakers passed the landmark new GI Bill which will make college affordable to the more than 1.6 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
As President Roosevelt said when he signed the original GI Bill for veterans of World War II,
"[The GI Bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down."
The House of Representatives renewed that promise. This is a tremendous and bipartisan commitment to our troops. We've seen enough bumper sticker and lapel pin patriotism; today, we saw the real thing.
Bumper sticker and lapel pin patriotism ... we've let our Representatives get by with that for too darned long. It's time for a change. Let's send some real patriots to Washington in November, like Greg Warren in AL-04 and his counterparts in Alabama's 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts, too.
* Rieckhoff is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Executive Director and Founder of IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America) -- he knows what real patriotism looks like from the inside.
GREG WARREN, CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE FOR ALABAMA'S FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, DISAPPOINTED BY REPRESENTATIVE ADERHOLT'S VOTE AGAINST THE NEW PROPOSED GI BILL Representative Robert Aderholt of Alabama's Fourth Congressional District voted against providing the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan with an updated and more comprehensive educational benefit in the form of the New GI Bill. Covering books, tuition and fees. The original GI Bill made it possible for about eight million veterans to be able to afford higher education. A 1988 Congressional study found that every dollar spent on education under the original GI Bill added seven dollars to the national economy in terms of productivity, consumer spending and tax revenue. The current benefits offered to veterans are much lower than the original GI Bill. Today, these benefits only cover 60-70% of the average cost of four years at a public college or university. There are also considerable delays in receiving benefits with close to 120 thousand VA claims waiting to be processed. Although 95% pay a nonrefundable $1200 contribution, only about 8% of veterans use their entire benefit and more than 30% of veterans don't use their GI Bill at all. These veterans have paid upwards of $230 million to the national treasury, and have received nothing in return. Instead of lowering recruitment standards and spending billions in bonuses, a renewed GI Bill is the most practical answer. The number one reason civilians join the military is to get money for college. Updating the GI Bill will help bring in the most qualified candidates. Representative Aderholt, who has never served a single day in uniform for our country, shows his lack of support for our hardworking military personnel by his vote in opposition of the New GI Bill. This is just another example of Representative Aderholt turning his back on the hardworking citizens of his own district and the nation. As a U. S. Navy veteran, I understand the need to stand behind and support our wonderful men and women in uniform. Our military men and women put their lives on the line every single day to ensure the safety and security of not only our nation, but also the world. I support programs that provide opportunity for higher educational benefits to our courageous servicemen. They have earned it.
The New GI Bill: The Bush Administration opposes it and many Republican legislators, including Alabama's own Sessions, Shelby, Aderholt, Bachus, Bonner, Everett and Mike Rogers, do not support it. Republican presidential nominee John McCain does not support it. Now the American Legion has released a statement strongly in favor of the bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. (emphasis mine):
Concerns that the new GI Bill, proposed by Sen. James Webb, D-Va., would hurt military retention are unfounded, according to The American Legion. "This bill would encourage young men and women to join the military," Conatser said. "As far as retention goes, the CBO estimates that a simple $8,000 bonus to personnel at their first enlistment point would increase reenlistments by 2 percentage points. Another way to encourage mid-level servicemembers to stay in the military is to transfer GI Bill benefits to family members so the servicemember can remain in the military and still benefit from the program."
Conatser had a suggestion to critics who believe the GI Bill is too expensive. "Visit Walter Reed. War is expensive indeed and the bulk of that cost is paid for by the men and women who wear the uniform. Benefits are just a small, small cost of war."
"The GI Bill is important enough to stand on its own merit," concludes Conatser. "I have faith in the American people that they will demand that Congress pass the GI Bill, which truly expresses the thanks of a grateful nation for service above and beyond that of normal citizenship."
The New GI Bill, why don't Alabama Republicans support it? Are our men and women in uniform not a priority for them?
Supporting the troops means more than slapping a magnet on your car. Call your Republican Congressman and Senators and ask them to support our troops, by supporting the New GI Bill.
A small group of fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats is threatening to block the emergency war spending bill over a program for veterans’ benefits not offset with tax hikes or spending cuts.
Because of that problem, and the efforts by House Republicans to stall floor action with procedural motions, the vote on the carefully crafted supplemental measure could be delayed until Friday or next week.
... Some members are willing to block the bill because “pay-as-you-go” budgetary rules — offsetting new spending with spending cuts or increased taxes — have been ignored one too many times. Others, like Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.), don’t want to oppose benefits for veterans.
“It’s a cost of the war,” Barrow said.
Because of that division, there is no formal Blue Dog position on the bill. But blocking the bill wouldn’t require all 47 Blue Dogs; it takes only 15.
Those "concerned" Blue Dogs have no problem appropriating billions to continue the war -- and that money is not pay as you go, it's deeper in debt as you go -- but they balk at including educational benefits for veterans in the cost of the Iraq war. How wrongheaded can they get? Every Blue Dog who votes to kill the New GI Bill this session ought to face a primary challenge, preferably by a returning veteran.
Maura Satchell, a Director of Veterans and Military Families for Progress and a mother of 2 Iraq War veterans said “It’s outrageous any members of Congress are not supporting this measure. Our sons, our daughters sign up to serve their country based on the promise of a GI Bill-funded college education after serving honorably, only to find it covers but a small portion of the inflated cost of a college education these days. I’m all for fiscal restraint of government but let’s start with the cash cows really draining our tax dollars such as no-bid contracts and billions of dollars lost in Iraq, not penalize those we owe such a tremendous debt of gratitude to! After all, this measure is equal to what, the cost of a week of war in Iraq?”
Note:Bud Cramer (D, AL-05) and Artur Davis (D, AL-07) are both listed as co-sponsors of the New GI Bill so presumably both will support it on the upcoming procedural vote. The rest of Alabama's Congressional Delegation, those with an "R" behind their names, will certainly vote their party's line against the New GI Bill. Way to support the troops, Goopers!
"Support the troops" is more than just a slogan on a car magnet. Below is a message from Jon Soltz urging supporters of the New GI Bill to write the editors of their local papers. Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby are not among the 56 co-sponsors of S.22, the New GI Bill. Why not?
Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,
Wow! Last week, we asked you to write to the Senate, urging them to support the bipartisan GI Bill for the 21st Century, and reject a watered down bill offered by John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr. You responded - with force - sending 16,000 letters to the Senate! Add that to the 30,000 petition signatures on the GI Bill that we took to the Hill, and op-eds around the country that our veterans have written on the GI Bill, and we are dominating efforts to get a new GI Bill passed.
Letters to the editor are the most read part of the paper, so when you submit a letter, it will be read by tens of thousands of your friends and neighbors. If we can get a letter to the editor in papers across the country, it's the strongest message we can send that we will not allow the Senate to cave on such important legislation for our veterans. With all of you - 95,000 people strong - blanketing newspapers with letters to the editor is a goal we can reach.
The stakes couldn't be higher. The bipartisan new GI Bill (S. 22) is poised to pass the Congress and go to the President. It will update GI Bill benefits to keep up with the cost of college, allowing those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to get the higher education that we've promised our veterans since World War II. Senators McCain, Graham, and Burr, by introducing legislation that would cut the benefits in S. 22, are attempting to split the Senate, so nothing gets passed, and our veterans' service is not honored.
Our Letter to the Editor tool is easy to use. Just plug in your zip code, use our talking points to write a quick letter, and hit send. That's it! In just a couple of days, your letter could be in the daily paper, read by thousands and thousands of people!
Please take a second, today, to take this quick action to help our veterans.
No doubt somebody in the McCain campaign thought it was a no-brainer to send their candidate to speak at the VFW meeting in Kansas City. After all, he's a veteran -- how could it go wrong? Well, being a veteran didn't hurt McCain with the VFW, but being a hypocrite should, and his hypocrisy was showing in a big way.
A few days ago I wrote about the New GI Bill, urging y'all to contact Senators Shelby and Sessions to get them to support our troops with something meaningful, like educational benefits when they get home. McCain doesn't support the New GI Bill either, even though he says the nation owes veterans “a debt that we can never fully repay.” Based on McCain's record, I'd say he has no intention to even start repaying that debt. The hypocrisy did not escape the folks at Think Progress:
He also said that veterans should have access to “the highest quality health…care in the world” upon returning:
As President, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those who serve today and those who have served in the past have access to the highest quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the world. The disgrace of Walter Reed must not be forgotten. … Whatever our commitments to veterans cost, we will keep them, as you have kept every commitment to us. The honor of a great nation is at stake.
The original GI Bill was a major player in the rise of the American middle class after World War II. Most of us would say that was a very good thing. Sen. Jim Webb (D, VA) is sponsoring a New GI Bill that would provide educational benefits to returning veterans at the level of state college costs. Over half the members of the Senate are co-sponsors of his bill. Neither of Alabama's Senators, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, are co-sponsors of S22, the New GI Bill. Call, email or write them to ask why. Don't they care about our troops?
It's easy to slap a yellow magnet on your car, but truly supporting the troops means taking tangible action, like supporting legislation to help them get an education after they come home.
Critics argue that the New GI Bill "would hurt troop retention." It sounds like some people view our GIs as little more than wage slaves. Even though he aspires to be our next commander in chief, Sen. John McCain has not signed on to this bill. You can sign the petition here.
Contact Alabama Senators:
Senator Richard Shelby
110 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Telephone: (202) 224-5744 Fax: (202) 224-3416 Email: senator@shelby.senate.gov
Jeff Sessions
Office of Senator Jeff Sessions 335 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-0104 (202) 224-4124 - Phone (202) 224-3149 - FaxEmail Jeff Sessions
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The New GI Bill, sponsored by Jim Webb and 50 something other Senators, 
It's easy to slap a yellow magnet on your car, but truly 
