McCain rides the Weasel Word Wagon on New G.I. Bill

Anyone remotely familiar with Nevada is aware that it’s home to the Fallon Naval Air Station, Nellis Air Force Base, the Tonopah AFS, and the Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field. [link] The Silver State is also home to the Nevada Test Site, the Hawthorne Army Depot, and the National Automotive Test Center. [link] About 250 members of the Nevada National Guard recently returned from service in Iraq, and as of March 2008, 25 more were still serving overseas. [NNG] Therefore, it isn’t news that Nevadans might be interested in supporting our troops. It is news that Republican presidential candidate John McCain isn’t.

S. 22, The New GI Bill, was introduced by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) on his first official day, and promptly stalled in the face of Bush Administration opposition. The Department of Defense has been inexplicably arguing that giving adequate educational benefits to members of our armed forces would cause them to leave the service, or put less charitably – “we can’t give our veterans decent rewards for their service because they might use them.” When S.22 appeared mired down by Administration opposition a bipartisan coalition including Senator Webb, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Senator John Warner (R-VA) re-introduced a revised version (H.R. 2702, Rep. Robert Scott, D-VA) to advance the 21^st Century G.I. Bill. [APA] 54 members of the Senate have signed on in support. McCain is not one of them.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have a new site available explaining the rationale for this legislation: “Today, 1.5 million troops are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to a very different future than the one FDR made possible for the Greatest Generation. The current educational benefits offered to veterans are far lower than the original GI Bill. Today, after paying a nonrefundable contribution from their first military paychecks, troops can receive a total of up to $39,600 towards their education. Unfortunately, this covers only 60-70% of the average cost of four years at a public college or university, or less than two years at a typical private college.

In addition, structural problems and bureaucratic delays discourage veterans from using their GI Bill benefits. National Guardsmen and Reservists, including those who have served multiple combat tours, typically receive only a fraction of their GI Bill benefits. Moreover, 30% of troops who pay the nonrefundable $1,200 contribution do not end up using the GI Bill at all. These veterans have paid the government $230 million, but received nothing in return.” (emphasis added)

Given this state of affairs it should be obvious that those in Congress who are supportive of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the operations in Afghanistan would be eager to support a G.I. Bill for the 21^st Century. It isn’t. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is on the list of co-sponsors. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) isn’t. Representatives Jon Porter (R-NV3) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV1) are both signed on as co-sponsors; Representative Dean Heller (R-NV2) is not. Representative Heller has some auspicious company in his reluctance to sign on – Senator John McCain (R-AZ) who says he’s not supportive of the measure, but will try to come up with something on his own. [TP]

Not surprisingly, McCain’s reasons sound remarkably like those emanating from the Bush Administration Department of Defense: “On his campaign plane this afternoon, McCain said he and allies in the Senate are working on an alternative to the bill, but would only support something that included incentives to stay in the military."We are working on proposals of our own — I'm a consistent supporter of educational benefits for the men and women of the military," McCain said. "I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military as well as for people to join the military. ... I've talked a lot about veterans' health care, so we'll continue to talk about those issues and how to care for vets. I know I can do that, having been one." [ABC] The Arizona Senator’s ‘straight talk’ appears to have devolved into weasel wording.

Has the Senator been (as a veteran) supportive of veterans’ issues? Examining this part of McCain’s remark, “I've talked a lot about veterans' health care, so we'll continue to talk about those issues and how to care for vets,” yields a voting record that doesn’t match the campaign talk. He voted against a measure to provide $20 billion for VA medical facilities, against funding $430 million for VA outpatient care (one of only 13 Senators to do so), against increasing VA funding by $1.5 billion by closing corporate loopholes in 2006 a reprise of his 2004 opposition to a $1.8 billion outlay for VA funding, and in 2001 voted against a $650 million increase in veterans’ medical care funding. Evidently, the Arizona Senator intends to keep talking about Veterans’ health care needs without actually voting in favor of meeting them.

On April 10^th Senator McCain told the interviewers on The View, “There a certain number who will join out of patriotism, thank God. And then there’s those who turn 18 or 19 or 20 or 21, and they look at their options. And one of the things we ought to do is provide them significant educational benefits in return for serving. Americans will always serve their country. Americans will, if they’re motivated to do so.” [TP with video] It didn’t take long for Senator McCain to retreat from this position to the more ‘Bushian’ opposition predicated on the “if you give them they will use them” argument. “We are working on proposals of our own — I'm a consistent supporter of educational benefits for the men and women of the military," McCain said. "I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military as well as for people to join the military.” Apparently, McCain’s consistent support lasts only a matter of days.

The wheels do, in fact, appear to have come off the Straight Talk Express Bus, and in terms of Veterans benefits and issues the vehicle could perhaps be more accurately characterized as the Weasel Word Wagon.