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Vets pressure McCain
Posted By katie allison granju
A coalition of veterans and veterans’ groups wants Senator John McCain to sign a new GI Bill:
A leading political action committee founded by veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has launched a new internet video and petition demanding that Sen. John McCain throw his support behind a new GI Bill.
The video — a joint project of Brave New Films, VoteVets.org and WesPAC, a group formed by former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Wesley Clark — is aimed at persuading the Republican nominee for president to agree to provide improved education benefits for soldiers returning home from the two wars.The video features four veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, testifying about the problems they have with the current GI Bill.
“When I enlisted, I was under the impression that my college would be paid for, that I would have everything taken care of,” Iraq war veteran Joshua Drake said in the video.
Take Action: Tell your public officials how you feel about the New GI Bill.
“The current GI Bill is inadequate,” the former Navy Corpsman added. “It hasn’t kept up with the cost of inflation, or the cost of tuition or the cost of books. … If I could talk to John McCain, I would try to appeal to him as a fellow veteran.”
Originally enacted in the waning days of World War II, the GI Bill of Rights is one of the most popular social programs in U.S. history. When President Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill into law in 1944, he saw it as part of his New Deal package of social programs. The law, officially called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, promised returning veterans that the government would pay the full cost of tuition and books at any public or private college or job-training program. It also provided unemployment insurance and loans to buy homes and start businesses.
But over the years, the GI Bill has lost most of its value
Incidentally, Brave New Films is the outfit responsible for the hilarious “Fox News Porn” expose.
Apr 10th, 2008
