2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumNeither Clinton nor Sanders have listed substantive policy positions on veterans
Clinton's website has one sentence in its policy section even mentioning veterans. Sanders' website is a little better--it has a couple of sentences.
There are 22 veteran suicides a day. What will they do to address this?
The VA is in shambles and neglecting thousands of veterans with disabilities, post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and other service-connected conditions. Do the candidates understand what's wrong with the VA? If so, how do they plan to fix it?
Predatory for-profit schools are exploiting the new GI Bill to trap veterans seeking education into unreasonable debt with little to show for it. What will the candidates do to close these loopholes?
Is there an end to the War on Terror in sight? What will the candidates do to prevent the burnout from multiple deployments and the stress placed on the Guard and Reserves?
A couple of sentences won't cut it.
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Brock Kentman
(48 posts)Prairiegale
(13 posts)I was just about to post the same thing. The site is great and has the answers so many questions.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Still would like to see it be a more central issue in the campaign.
peacebird
(14,195 posts)Supporting Military Members and Families
Bernie believes that we must “protect and defend those people who have protected and defended us.” As military members and families face unique challenges and circumstances, Bernie has worked on legislation supporting these American heroes by enhancing the quality and responsiveness of health care through the VA, expanding survivor and dependent benefits, and increasing access to education via the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
American service members and their families encounter unique challenges as they work to protect our nation.
Who are America’s service members? Who are America’s military families?
There were over 2.2 million military members between the active duty and guard and reserve components of each branch as of 2013. In the same year, there were just shy of 3 million family members (children, spouses, and adult dependents) of these military members.
What particular challenges do military members face?
For American service members, there are a number of unique demands associated with life in the military. These include: “the risk of injury or death, whether during training, while operating military equipment, or in wartime deployment; separations from family; frequent moves; living in foreign countries; long and unpredictable duty hours; pressure to conform to high standards of behavior; and a male-oriented culture.”
What about their families?
While the demands on military members are often discussed, less well-known are the strains that fall on military family members. These men, women, and children are often subject to prolonged separation from a parent or spouse and frequent relocations. Because of these hardships, nearly 40 percent of military spouses have jobs that are mismatched to their education level, compared with only 10 percent among their civilian counterparts.
Programs to address these challenges have, from time to time, received consideration or been passed into law by Congress.
American soldiers and their families make great sacrifices for our country and should have the full support of their government.
So what has Bernie done for American military members?
There are a number of actions that Bernie has taken to support America’s military members, including co-sponsoring and strongly advocating for a GI Bill for the 21st century to allow military members and veterans to receive free college educations.
In June 2008, the Senate passed legislation creating the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which Bernie co-sponsored. Always proud of American military service members’ contributions to our country, Bernie regularly advocated for this piece of legislation allowing millions of military members and veterans to attend public schools 100 percent tuition-free, aiming to allow millions to enter the middle class. In support of the new GI Bill, Bernie said the following:
“Today’s GI benefits do not come close to covering the cost of a college education. That is why it is so important that we update these benefits.
People must understand that caring for our service members is part of the cost of going to war. We are spending nearly $12 billion a month in Iraq. Surely we can spend a little more to provide a college education for the brave men and women we send to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Cool. Has Bernie done anything else for our men and women in uniform?
Yes! In addition to creating the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Bernie has introduced the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits Act, a broad piece of legislation aiming to strengthen mental health service, education benefits, and access to sexual assault counseling and treatment for American service members and veterans. This bill has received tremendous support from military and veterans’ service organizations, including the Military Officers Association of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Association for Uniformed Service, and 24 other military organizations.
How would Bernie’s foreign policy affect the lives of American service members?
Bernie’s foreign policy and beliefs about the role of the U.S. military also directly impact the lives and safety of American military members. In his opposition to the invasion of Iraq, the first reason Bernie gave for voting against the resolution was the human cost of war:
“I have not heard any estimates of how many young American men and women might die in such a war or how many tens of thousands of women and children in Iraq might also be killed. As a caring Nation, we should do everything we can to prevent the horrible suffering that a war will cause. War must be the last recourse in international relations, not the first.”
This may seem somewhat removed from supporting American military members, but America’s foreign policy is, in reality, a matter of life and death for thousands of Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen.
What has Bernie done for military members after they transition to civilian life?
All military members eventually become military veterans. As chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Bernie fought tremendously to support veterans in this country. Read more about his support for veterans here.
There are more than 3 million military family members in the United States. Over the past decade, this group has seen their spouses and parents fight in foreign wars, some of whom never returned.
Dems to Win
(2,161 posts)These aren't Bernie's policy papers on vets, but his history working for vets.
How Bernie Sanders Fought for Our Veterans
One of America’s biggest ideologues knows how to make a deal.
The Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist, now seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has long supported our veterans—even if he doesn’t support all our wars. And in 2014 he accomplished the last thing you might expect from a candidate whose campaign brand is firebrand: He negotiated a major bipartisan agreement with two conservatives to deal with the veterans health care crisis.
In spite of—or perhaps because of—his aversion to war, Sanders has a long history of committed service to veterans. He became chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee in 2013, and that is how he wound up at the negotiating table with Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida.
They were driven there by scandal. Veterans across the country were waiting months on end for appointments and the wait times were being hidden. Up to 40 veterans in Phoenix died while waiting for appointments. Hundreds never even got onto a list. And retaliation was the order of the day for those who tried to blow the whistle.
From the moment the long-gathering scandal broke into public view in April 2014, it took Congress less than four months to produce a new law—a split second by Capitol Hill standards. That it happened at all, and so fast, was a testament to the determination of Sanders and his partners to surmount the red-blue divide in American politics. It speaks volumes in particular about Sanders, who pushes for a single-payer government health system in every speech, that the law introduced a private-care option for veterans.
snip.....
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/how-bernie-sanders-fought-for-our-veterans-119708#ixzz3m1nJAAlt
Bernie Sanders’ surge is partly fueled by veterans
Bernie Sanders battled over veterans issues as head of the Senate’s veterans affairs panel.
By Annie Linskey GLOBE STAFF JUNE 28, 2015
DES MOINES — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders railed against the Vietnam War. He voted against invading Iraq — both times. He wants to cut the defense budget.
He might not be a friend to the military, but many veterans believe he’s gone to war for them. And that’s why they’re out there cheering for a socialist as he launches a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
There’s the former Marine who drove about six hours to hear Sanders speak in Des Moines. There’s another former Marine, this one a registered Republican, going door-to-door to collect signatures so Sanders’ name will appear on the ballot in Indiana. Entire Reddit threads are dedicated to how veterans can best pitch Sanders to other veterans.
...snip....
But veterans interviewed for this story were well versed in Sanders’s record, aware that, as Veterans Affairs chairman, he pushed to restore cost of living raises, expand education opportunities, and add new dental care benefits.
snip...
Veterans also credit Sanders for striking a deal with Republicans to pass a smaller — $16 billion — package aimed at erasing the lengthy wait times at veterans hospitals. Passing it earned Sanders top awards from the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Military Officers Association of America.
Annie Linskey can be reached at annie.linskey@globe.com.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/06/27/bernie-sanders-surge-partly-fueled-veterans/e1qNTpzFpIaoxIGKygKa9J/story.html?event=event25
Here's a website started by vets:
VetsForBernie.org
FSogol
(45,494 posts)
His education plan also details reigning in for-profit Universities that prey on students and drive up debt.
