GOP Presidential Candidate John McCain Doesn’t Like Veterans…

John McCain thinks that Senator’s Webb GI Bill is too generous to our veterans. He supports the Republican plan which would increase the number of years of service before our veterans can get their full benefits.

A little bit about Webb’s bill;

The bill is, for all intents and purposes, a non-controversial measure offering veterans who have served three years educational benefits equal to the highest tuition rates of in-state public universities. Updating an antiquated system that was implemented during World War II, Webb’s legislation took more than a year to craft and currently has 57 co-sponsors.

McCain believes that Webb’s bill is too generous to the people that served our nation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, working with Sen. John McCain, recently introduced competing legislation that modestly increases the monthly education benefits for active-duty and reserve personnel, adds incentives to stay in the army, and allows officers to transfer education benefits to their children. But veterans under their measure would have to serve 12 years before garnering the maximum, $2,000 a month, benefit.

And to think, there was once a time when our nation truly honored it’s veterans. After WWII, our veterans received excellent benefits particularly help with payment for their college tuition. Something happened along the way. The Reagonites and those that followed didn’t want to continue with this so-called “government handout”. Instead, it has become an everyman for themselves attitude. There is no “thank you” for your service. Instead, Veterans’ hospitals are turning away veterans that need care and veterans are having difficulty finding jobs in this slow economy. Yet, John McCain doesn’t want to increase Veteran benefits. He refuses to get on board with Senator Jim Webb’s Veteran Benefits bill. And then there is the issue with BUSH… he promised to veto this bill because it exceeds his interests.

The Defense Department’s concern with this bill is that it will discourage re-enlistment in the all-volunteer army and right now, Bush’s wars need all the bodies it can get for its multiple deployments.

Defense officials are alarmed by the very real prospect that Congress this year will enact the robust GI Bill education plan designed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). One Defense official, who declined to be named, described the bill as a “retention killer” for the all-volunteer military.

Webb reintroduced his bill, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S. 22), last week with changes that attracted strong bipartisan support, including the endorsement of Sen. John Warner (Va.), former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senator Jim Webb understands that not all people that want to serve their country by joining the military are interested in making the military a “career”. Many volunteers see military service as a duty and it is this group that S. 22 addresses.

Webb said, that a volunteer military is “only a career system to a certain point.” The current system isn’t properly rewarding those who enter “because of love of country, or family tradition, or the fact that they just want to serve for a while,” he said.

More on S. 22 here.

One might think that John McCain being a veteran and all, would support S. 22. Instead, John McCain will side with his buddy and mentor, George W Bush and will refuse to increase our veterans’ benefits.

John McCain and George W Bush – see the love?

Shame on you, Senator McCain.

h/t Huffingtonpost

UPDATE: From VoteVets. This is a disgrace. If this is the “Change” that Republicans will bring, well then, we don’t need their freakin’ change.

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