August 19, 2008
“VET”-TING OBAMA’S RECORD
As Obama Addresses The Veterans Of Foreign Wars Convention, His Record Shows That He Has Not Lead On Veterans’ Issues
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OBAMA’S TROOPS AND VETERANS FUNDING FAILURE Obama Voted Against Critical Funding For Veterans And Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan: Obama Voted Against An Emergency Defense Spending Bill. (H.R. 2206, CQ Vote #181: Passed 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10; I 1-1,
5/24/07, Obama Voted Nay)
The Bill Provided Nearly $1.8 Billion For Veterans’ Medical Care, Including: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • $595 million for medical facilities $228.982 million in additional funds to treat OEF/OIF veterans $20 million for vet centers and re-adjustment counseling $30 million to establish at least one new Level I comprehensive polytrauma center $9.4 million for operations costs associated with the establishment of new polytrauma residential transitional rehabilitation programs $10 million for additional transition caseworkers to work with separating veterans and their families $10 million for rehabilitation programs for vision impaired veterans $100 million for enhancements to mental health services $20 million for substance abuse treatment programs $8 million for polytrauma clinic support teams $25 million for prosthetics $250 million for the administration of the VA health care system $32.5 million for medical and prosthetic research $83.2 million for general operating expenses $326 million in construction funding for VA-identified needs
(H.R. 2206, CQ Vote #181: Passed 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10; I 1-1, 5/24/07, Obama Voted Nay; House And Senate Committees On Appropriations, “Summary Of The Fiscal 2007 Supplemental Funding Legislation,” Press Release, 5/24/07)
OBAMA’S EXAGGERATIONS ON HIS VETERANS RECORD In A Campaign Ad, Obama Claimed To Have “Extended Health Care For Wounded Troops”: Obama: “That’s why I…extended health care for wounded troops who had been neglected.” (Obama For America Website,
www.barackobama.com, Accessed 6/19/08)
But Non-Partisan Fact Check Groups And Media Outlets Said That Obama Overstated His Role In Extending Health Care Benefits For Veterans: The Non-Partisan Group Politifact.Com Said That Obama Took More Credit Than He Deserved For Legislation Increasing Benefits For Veterans. “We looked into the legislative history of the bill and found that Obama and McCaskill can at least take some credit for developing the list of requirements. It's not a major extension of benefits, however. … If Obama had said he had helped extend health care for wounded veterans who'd been neglected, we would have given him a better
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rating. But he phrased his accomplishment to take more of the credit than that. Missing the vote on the 2008 bill does not help his case.” (St. Petersburg Times/CQ Politifact Website, www.politifact.com, Accessed 7/2/08) FactCheck.Org Called Obama’s Claim To Have Extended Health Care For Wounded Troops “Dubious.” “Obama goes on to tout his legislative accomplishments, and those claims don't stand up as well under scrutiny. … The only national law in Obama's ad is the one that ‘extended health care for wounded troops,’ and it's dubious whether he can claim full responsibility for that one. H.R. 4986, which became public law 110-181 in 2008, includes provisions from several Obama-sponsored bills. His ideas made it into law, but Obama was not a sponsor or cosponsor of H.R. 4986 itself.” (Jess Henig, “Obama Polishes His
Resume,” www.factcheck.org, 6/21/08)
CBS’s Dean Reynolds: “Obama made the assertion in a new ad running in 18 states, including usually Republican Indiana, Alaska, and Georgia. And critics are calling it a stretch because, as was quickly pointed out, Obama had a small hand in the measures, both in the Illinois and US Senate, and didn't even vote on one he cited.” (CBS’s “Evening News,” 6/20/08) OBAMA’S LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS Obama Has A Thin Record On Veterans Legislation Despite Membership On Veterans’ Affairs Committee: Obama Is A Member Of The Veterans’ Affairs Committee. (U.S. Senate Committee On Veterans’ Affairs Website, veterans.senate.gov,
Accessed 1/30/08)
Obama Has Introduced 120 Bills As A U.S. Senator. (Library Of Congress Website, www.thomas.gov, Accessed 8/18/08) • Only 10 Of These Bills Pertain To Veterans’ Issues And None Have Been Signed Into Law (S. 117, Introduced 1/4/07;
S. 692, Introduced 2/27/07; S. 1084, 4/10/07; S. 1271, Introduced 5/2/07; S. 713, Introduced 2/28/07; S. 2330, Introduced 11/8/07; S. 1180, 6/7/05; S. 2358, Introduced 3/2/06; S. 3475, Introduced 6/7/06; S. 3988, Introduced 9/28/06)
When Informed That Texas Veterans Often Have To Travel Long Distances To Go To A VA Hospital, Obama Seemed Surprised And Said He Wants “To Fully Investigate This”: Question: “When you go to the Rio Grande Valley, you will face questions because the area has a great many veterans for whom the Veterans Administration is their only health care. Yet the closest VA hospitals are here in San Antonio. They have to travel upwards of 200 miles to get care.” (“Q&A With Sen. Barack Obama,” San Antonio Express-News, 2/19/08) • Obama: “If they have to drive five or six hours for full care I am glad I have learned about it because I want to fully investigate this.” (“Q&A With Sen. Barack Obama,” San Antonio Express-News, 2/19/08)
But Two Of The Committees Obama Serves On Have Been Briefed On This Issue: Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth, Director, Illinois Department Of Veterans’ Affairs: “In Illinois we have a significant rural population who live a long distance away from the nearest metropolitan area where the USDVA typically locates its Veterans service centers, clinics and hospitals. This poses a significant access issue for our Veterans. … [V]eterans still often have to travel a long distance in order to obtain care, often involving multiple overnights away from home as they wait for the various once-a-day shuttle bus services.” (Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth, Director, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, Committee On Veterans’
Affairs, U.S. Senate, Testimony, 11/6/07)
Maj. Duckworth: “One such example is the Danville VA hospital in central Illinois that routinely denies Veterans access to their local physicians for procedures as simple as a chest x-ray. The veteran is instead force[d] to take once-a day shuttles to pick up points for a second shuttle. If one misses any of the shuttles, one must stay overnight, out of ones’ own pocket, to catch the next day’s shuttle. When they finally reach Danville, it is a common experience for a Veteran to wait 4 hours to see a medical professional, followed by another three-four hour wait for pharmacy services. In the end, it is not unheard of for a Veteran to spend three or four nights away from home for a single doctor’s visit.” (Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth, Director, Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs, Committee On Health, Education, Labor And Pensions, U.S. Senate, Testimony, 11/8/07)
•
Obama Is A Member Of The Health, Education, Labor And Pensions Committee. (U.S. Senate Committee On Health,
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Education, Labor And Pensions Website, help.senate.gov, Accessed 2/20/08)
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