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When we gather with our family and friends to remember the those who have served in the U.S military there are a few politicians who should be remembered as well. Last February Senator Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs introduced a bill that would provide $21 Billion dollars in benefits to veterans. The Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 (S-1982) was supported by every major veteran’s organization. The bill was blocked 56-41 with all but two Republicans voting against it. S-1982 would have provided much needed funding for medical care, jobs training, and education for veterans. The major reason Republicans cited for blocking the bill was because they did not want to add to the deficit. That seems odd, as most of the the 21 billion dollars to fund the bill came from money unspent from Afghanistan and Iraq troop withdrawal.
This election year we should consider making election day a day of remembrance for our veterans and remember who voted against VA benefits. The above video mashup is from when the bill was being decided. The video can be summed up with one quote from Sen. Bernie Sanders,
“If you think it is too expensive to take care of veterans, don’t send them to war.”Unfortunately for veterans, Republicans did and do not agree.
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