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86 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SCORE "D" OR "F" ON
ISSUES
THAT MATTER TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS --
Your elected officials claim to "Support the
Troops" --
Here are the facts.
Thanks to the good folks at IAVA for this
great information.
Some quick notes on the ratings:
House Democratic Leadership Average:
90% A
Rep. Pelosi 89% B+
Rep. Hoyer 93% A
Rep. Clyburn 90% A-
Rep. Larson 88% B+
House Republican Leadership Average: 75 % C
Rep. Hastert 9% F
Rep. Boehner 76% C
Rep. Blunt 73% C
Rep. Pryce 77% C+
Ranking Democrat on the Veterans Committee: Rep. Lane Evans 93% A
Republican Chairman of the Veterans Committee: Rep. Steve Buyer
76% C
Put this together with the DAV's
information and you have a good picture of who in Congress supports
veterans. DAV info here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%
20newsflashes%20MAY%2006/newsflash05-14-2006-1.htm
Don't forget to vote!
Story here...
http://www.iavaaction.org/
Story below:
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86 Members of Congress Score "D" or "F" on Issues that Matter to Iraq
and Afghanistan Vets
-- Your Elected Officials Claim to "Support the Troops"--
Here are the Facts.
NEW YORK - Do your elected officials really support the troops? There's
an easy way to find out. The nation's largest organization of Iraq and
Afghanistan war veterans has released the first-ever Congressional
Ratings guide to score members of Congress on their votes regarding
issues that matter to US troops, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and
military families.
The results are startling, with fewer than one-quarter of House and
Senate members scoring an "A".
"Every member of Congress claims to support the troops, but this guide
shows us that more often than not, the rhetoric does not match the
reality," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran and the founder and
executive director of IAVA: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "A
legislator's low score can be directly linked to the unnecessary
hardship that US troops, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and military
families often face. There is no excuse for a low score."
"Our nationwide network of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have
expressed overwhelmingly consistent positions on issues ranging from VA
funding, to body armor, to TRICARE health insurance for National Guard
and Reserve troops," Rieckhoff said. "IAVA used those positions to
determine whether each member of Congress has been a friend, or foe, of
our men and women in uniform."
IAVA surveyed the 107th, 108th and 109th Congressional sessions,
tallying more than 300 votes on issues that matter to America's men and
women in uniform, our new veterans and our military families. To see the
full list of votes included in the ratings, go to
www.iavaactionfund.org .
"This should be a wake-up call for every American who thinks Congress is
doing all it can for those who have sacrificed so much," Rieckhoff said.
"In the coming weeks, we'll be urging all Americans to check their
legislators' scores, and demand accountability from anyone receiving
less than an "A" grade. We should all demand more from our elected
officials."
To find the Congressional Ratings and learn more about the rating
process, visit
www.iavaactionfund.org . For more information, or to schedule and
interview with Paul Rieckhoff or any of the other IAVA member veterans,
please contact Will Coghlan at (212)-982-9699 or
will@iava.org .
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Larry Scott
