LEADING VETERANS' GROUPS ADVOCATE COMPREHENSIVE "21st CENTURY GI BILL"

Last week, I held a press conference with Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and representatives of our nation's leading veterans' service organizations to begin a push for the passage of S.22, the post-9/11 GI Bill legislation that I introduced on my first day in office.

After a year of hard work and negotiations, I am very pleased that the leadership of our major veterans' organizations have now endorsed comprehensive educational benefits for post-9/11 veterans in the fiscal year 2009 budget that mirror the provisions in S.22. These groups unveiled their Independent Budget to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs earlier in the day, calling for a "21st Century GI Bill" that will give our veterans the same level of educational benefits as those provided to returning World War II veterans.

The Independent Budget proposed by these veterans' service organizations has carried great weight in Congress in years past. I hope that Senate leadership and my Republican colleagues take note of the overwhelming support for this initiative.

To watch video highlights from the press conference, please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/giva.ram

To view the prologue from the Independent Budget, a list of the participating organizations and the full budget recommendation for a "21st Century GI Bill," please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/i_budget.pdf

To view the PBS Newshour segment "Shortchanging Our Veterans," please click here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june08/gibill_02-12.html

To read The Virginian-Pilot Editorial "Better GI Bill best deal for U.S.," please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=293178&

To read Joseph Galloway's piece, "Doing Right by the Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan," please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=293132&

U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC & SECURITY COMMISSION:
NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS

On February 13, I was one of four members of Congress to testify before the U.S.-China Economic & Security Commission on the national security implications of sovereign wealth fund investment. Over the past year, I have focused a great deal on the importance of laws and policies that are responsive to the opportunities and threats posed by foreign government investment.

My concern with sovereign wealth funds is that we are not seeing simply private foreign investment but foreign government investment, which raises new policy questions for which we do not have all the answers. Governments are motivated by a broader range of factors than commercial investors. While foreign governments may invest money in our country to make a profit, they may also do so in order to further their foreign policy ambitions, to acquire national security assets, or to purchase a stake in strategic industries.

No one is advocating building a wall around our country. I welcome investment that promotes economic growth and generates good jobs for American workers. But such investment must do so in a manner consistent with protecting U.S. national security and the stability of U.S. markets.

To read the Agence France-Presse article "Sovereign Wealth Funds Come Under Tight Scrutiny in US," please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record_article.cfm?id=293522&&

To read the press release on my testimony to the U.S.-China Economic & Security Commission on Sovereign Wealth Funds please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=292389&

PRESIDENT'S FY09 BUDGET PROPOSAL THREATENS HEALTH CARE FOR THOUSANDS OF RURAL VIRGINIANS

Early this month President Bush unveiled his proposal for the federal budget in fiscal year 2009 which would eliminate funding in a number of areas, specifically programs integral to providing quality rural health care.

Virginians living in rural areas of the Commonwealth would see their access to health care challenged under President Bush's budget with $154 million in budget cuts to rural health programs from last year's funding level. If implemented, the proposed budget would eliminate funding for rural health outreach grants, rural health flexibility grants, and community access to emergency devices. It would also threaten the benefits of Virginia's Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

At a time when President Bush is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build hospitals and related facilities in Iraq, it is inconceivable that he would slash the very same programs here in America. Our people deserve better.

As a matter of fairness, we need to guarantee that there is full funding for our rural health safety net. With a good number of Virginians living in remote areas of the state without access to a primary care doctor, distance alone should not impede citizens' access to quality care. While the President's budget severely cuts or eliminates funding for these important programs, I am committed to funding the important and integral rural health care programs that Virginians need and deserve.

To read a The Bluefield Daily Telegraph article, "Legislators Warn of Cuts in Health Care, Heating Help Due to Bush's 2009 Budget," please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record_article.cfm?id=293523&&

To read my full statement on the President's FY2009 budget request on Rural Health Care please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=292571&

OVERSIGHT HEARINGS NECESSARY ON FEDERAL POWER LINE CORRIDOR PROGRAM

Last week, fourteen of my colleagues and I sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, urging them to hold oversight hearings on the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) program by the Department of Energy. The letter raises concerns that the NIETC program and rulemaking recently adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) undermines state authority over transmission infrastructure siting.

I have heard from a number of Virginians who oppose this program and I have repeatedly expressed my concern to the Department of Energy over the inclusion of Virginia as part of the Mid-Atlantic NIETC. In November 2007, I sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman in which I stated that the agency had failed to hold an open and fair public comment process and failed to adequately consult the Commonwealth of Virginia about the implementation of the NIETC program.

I understand the challenges of meeting our nation's energy needs, but I also believe that the federal government must respect a state's authority and seek consultations to insure that power lines are not being located in places inconsistent with the best interests of Virginians.

The hearings requested in last week's letter are intended to acquire information about the implications of the NIETC program and the handling of the implementation process.

To view a PDF of the letter, please click here: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/NIETC.pdf

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