ISSUES ::

War In Iraq  |  Health Care  |  Foreign Policy  |  Veterans  |  Social Security & Medicare
Taxes  |  Working-Class Families  |  Environment  |  Immigration  |  Economy
Civil Rights  |  Energy  |  Education  |  Justice  |  Affordable Housing

My Position: With all the talk of policy, of military successes and failures, what has gotten lost are the sacrifices of the soldiers serving overseas and their families anxiously waiting at home. Former Vice President Dick Cheney had the gall to say last year that "the President carries the biggest burden" in this war. It is the height of arrogance and irresponsibility to suggest that President Bush has sacrificed more than the 4,000 American soldiers who gave their lives, the 30,000 troops injured to date, and the countless families emotionally torn asunder as their loved ones serve in someone else's civil war. The troops are the ones carrying all of the burden – the only true patriots in a war that Americans no longer believe in.

This war without justification has lasted five years and counting, longer than World War II itself, and the 2008 Republican nominee for president has said it may last another 100. Our servicemen and women don't deserve talk like that. They don't deserve to be stretched so thin that hundreds of thousands of them are asked to embark on their second, third, fourth – sometimes sixth – tours of duty. They deserve our gratitude and respect for laying life and limb on the line, and when they get home, they deserve our generosity and utmost care.

When America finds herself in crisis – and two wars, a stalling economy, and an energy crunch will do it – we in the past pulled through by adhering to an ethos of shared sacrifice.

I first introduced legislation mandating military or national service for our youth during the lead up to the Iraq War, convinced that if the sons and daughters of Congress were doing the fighting, we might think twice about authorizing it. But I also felt it was time that all Americans, including the wealthy, be given the opportunity to prove their patriotism. All young people ought to make a contribution to the country  – a selfless and sacrificial giving of oneself and his or her talents, skill, motivation, and commitment.

One of the most remarkable and regrettable aspects of our current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is the Bush Administration's failure to call upon the American people for any sacrifice whatsoever. The result is that little more than half of one percent of Americans carries the overwhelming burden.

It seems to me, that in a time of crisis, everyone must sacrifice. That sacrifice need not be exclusive to military service. Endangering one's life and limb for this country is the very definition of heroism, but any work that keeps America strong and serves the common good counts, and should count a lot. My bill, the Universal National Service Act, mandates two years of national service for adults 18 to 42, in any capacity that promotes the national defense – military or civilian. Even when there is no war to wage, we must provide our people with a full breadth of options for giving back. Our communities, our children, and our security stand to benefit. ■