Press Releases
“On this day we should all pause and take a moment to thank veterans everywhere for their service and sacrifice. Seek them out and say ‘thank you’ for all they have done for us and future generations,” said Rockefeller. “We honor veterans every day for selflessly putting our country, our freedoms, and our people first. Veterans are patriotism and courage at their best and should never go overlooked. I have spent my life in public service working for veterans after they return home from their duties. And I can think of no greater honor than standing up and protecting those who have defended us on the front lines. They deserve nothing less.”
Background:
Rockefeller has a long and distinguished record of standing up for veterans and working on their behalf:
• Protecting cost-of-living increase. Rockefeller supports a bipartisan bill to provide disabled veterans and their families with cost-of-living payments in January 2013. Rockefeller is still fighting for the bill even though a Senate Republican blocked it from passing in September.
• Enabling commercial driver’s licenses for veterans. Rockefeller cosponsored a bill, which was signed into law this fall, to improve and expedite the commercial driver’s license application process for Armed Forces members and veterans. It will enable members of our military put their training to good use after their service ends.
• Helping veterans get jobs. Rockefeller pushed for legislation to help veterans get jobs when they finish their tours of duty – particularly younger veterans as more than one in four veterans aged 18-24 are unemployed. Rockefeller supported a bill to encourage the hiring of veterans as firefighters, law enforcement officers, first responders, or EMT workers. And he cosponsored a bill signed into law last year, which would reduce unemployment among veterans by requiring job skills training for all servicemembers returning home.
• Supporting veterans’ rights. Rockefeller voted for a package of bills -- the Camp Lejeune Families Act -- which was signed into law this fall, to protect the second amendment rights of veterans, make sure veterans get important health care and education benefits, and improve mental health care to members of the Armed Forces and veterans, particularly for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
• Helping members of military avoid foreclosure. Last summer, the Senate Commerce Committee, which Rockefeller chairs, held a forum on this issue where veterans and advocates told stories of problems under the current system, which has some protections for the military but not enough. A key provision of the legislation would provide 12 months of foreclosure protection for members of the military, as recommended by Rockefeller. It was included in the Camp Lejeune comprehensive benefits package.
• Avoiding slashing veterans’ benefits. Rockefeller protected veterans from facing severe cuts to their benefits from the Budget Control Act, also known as the sequester, which will go into effect on January 2, 2013, unless another plan is put forward. The law immediately cut $917 billion over the next decade and includes additional automatic across-the-board spending cuts of $1.2 trillion starting in 2013. Rockefeller worked to make sure the cuts don’t impact veterans’ benefits.
• Creating oral histories of veterans. Rockefeller sponsored the Take a Veteran to School Day program -- as he has done for many years -- which enables students to interview West Virginia veterans, record their oral histories, and submit them to the Library of Congress. In 2010, there were about 500 West Virginia veterans who had their stories archived in the Library of Congress. Today there are 605 West Virginia veterans archived and more should be collected during the 5th Take a Veteran to School Day program which will take place in 15 schools in the state.
• Building a veterans cemetery in West Virginia. Rockefeller celebrated the opening of the new Donel Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Institute – a cemetery that, in its first phase, will honor approximately 60,000 veterans across southern West Virginia. Rockefeller helped get the project started in 2006 after a meeting with Logan County veterans garnered his strong support.
• Supporting veterans’ clinics. Rockefeller worked to make sure veterans get the health care access they need by helping to create veterans clinics throughout the state, including the most recent one which opened in Lenore.
• Helping veterans get education. Rockefeller has voted for multiple bills to protect GI bill benefits for veterans enrolled in educational programs.
• Providing crucial services for veterans and their families. Rockefeller and his experienced staff have worked to provide thorough casework to help veterans and their families navigate the VA system, including assisting with veterans compensation, pension, and health care benefits, among many others.
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