Honoring Our Veterans by Senator Blanche Lincoln

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 31, 2008
Contact: Katie Laning (202)224-4843

Veterans Day, celebrated each November 11, provides us with the opportunity to pay tribute to the 25 million Americans, including the nearly 274,000 Arkansans, who have served our country in the Armed Forces.  It is a time to reflect upon the sacrifices they have made and the ideals for which they have fought.

My father and both grandfathers served our nation in uniform and taught me from an early age about the sacrifices our troops and their families make to keep our nation free.  While it is important to honor these brave men and women with words, we also must honor them with our actions.  That is why I have consistently supported initiatives that expand the benefits our veterans have earned and deserve.

First and foremost, I worked earlier this year to ensure that we don’t shortchange Arkansas veterans in these tough economic times.  I was proud to lead the fight in Congress to ensure that veterans–some who have no other income aside from their disability income–would be eligible for the tax rebate included in this year’s economic stimulus package. 

I also want to make certain that our troops can transition back into their families and communities when they begin returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  That is why I have focused on improving education and health care benefits for our veterans.

I was a strong supporter of the 21^st Century G.I. Bill and worked with Senator Jim Webb of Virginia to make it law.  The bill modernizes the G.I. Bill by ensuring the value of education benefits for our modern-day troops keeps up with the rising costs of education.  It also includes a provision that I offered to allow National Guard and Reserve members serving multiple deployments to accrue additional education benefits. 

Prior to this law’s passage, members of the Selected Reserve who serve multiple tours of duty did not receive one extra penny of educational benefits for their added service because benefits were based on their single-longest deployment.  The 21^st Century G.I. Bill changed that.

In addition to education benefits, veterans’ health care continues to be at the top of my priority list.  After years of funding shortfalls for veterans services under the Bush Administration, I worked with my colleagues to make substantial investments to increase patient travel reimbursements, improve services for mental health care, reduce the backlog of benefits claims, and reduce the time to process those claims. 

Access to the Veterans Administration health system, especially for rural Arkansas veterans is critical.  I’ve supported legislation that will increase the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans when they go see a doctor at VA medical facilities.

With over 600,000 courageous men and women who have returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with thousands more on the way, mental health care is another issue that deserves more attention.  I have visited injured soldiers at Walter Reed and witnessed firsthand that more and more of our troops are affected by service-connected mental health issues such as Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  To address this issue, I have introduced legislation to ensure that our troops receive proper mental health assessments before and after they enter a conflict zone.

The issue of mental health does not just extend to our troops.  With more National Guard and Reservists from our rural communities serving abroad, concerns have been raised about the impact increased military deployments have on children and whether schools have sufficient resources to meet these challenges. That is why I introduced legislation earlier this year to increase the number of school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists in high-need school districts, many of which are located in rural areas.

Lastly, I’ve worked to reduce the backlog of pending disability claims at the Veterans Administration.  New disability claims have grown by 39 percent since 2000, and the VA currently has a backlog of nearly 660,000 total claims.  The average processing time is a staggering six months.  That is why I authored a provision last year that was signed into law to hire additional disability claims processors for the VA.  I’ve also fought this year to update technology and increase training for VA personnel.

All our veterans, from the Greatest Generation to Vietnam War Veterans to the new generation of soldiers in the Middle East and across the globe, have sacrificed greatly on behalf of our country.  Although the challenges and needs of veterans have changed in recent decades, one thing remains constant: it is the responsibility of our nation to provide the tools necessary to care for our country’s returning soldiers and honor the commitment our nation made when we sent them into harm’s way.  It is the least we can do for those whom we owe so much.  By doing so, we reassure future generations that a grateful nation will not forget them when their military service is complete.