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Lincoln Earns "A" for Work Fighting For Veterans FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2008 Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has received an “A” from the nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Action Fund for her leadership on behalf of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. “I am humbled to be recognized by our veterans whom I so greatly admire,” Lincoln said. “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.” Lincoln has built a pro-veteran voting record during her tenure in Congress. This year, she led the fight to include National Guard and Reserve members in the new 21st Century GI Bill. From her seat on the Senate Finance Committee, she worked to ensure that veterans’ disability income would qualify for the rebate checks passed by Congress in February. Lincoln also worked to make substantial investments to increase travel reimbursements for veterans, improve services for mental health care, reduce the backlog of benefits claims, and reduce the time to process those claims. Lincoln vowed to make our nation’s veterans and service members a top priority again in the next Congress. “IAVA Action’s 2008 Congressional Report Card recognizes those lawmakers who refused to compromise on the most important issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans,” said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). “From passing a new GI Bill to increasing VA funding by over 10 billion dollars, the 110th Congress has made tremendous progress on behalf of America’s newest generation of heroes. Senator Lincoln received an A from IAVA Action, and we would like to thank her for her leadership on these critical issues.” IAVA Action’s 2008 Congressional Report Card is based on nine key Senate votes of critical importance to veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lincoln received 8 out of 9 points for supporting the pro-veteran position; she would have received a perfect score but was in Iraq on September 6, 2007, which caused her to miss a scored vote. IAVA Action’s report card is available at www.veteranreportcard.org. |