Wednesday, June 04, 2008

McCain's version of "supporting the troops" is similar to bush's - lucky for the troops, the Dems really do support them

Veterans Groups ‘Didn’t Have That Much Input’ On ‘Very Partisan’ Graham-McCain GI Bill

Last month, the Senate passed Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century GI Bill on a veto-proof 75-22 vote. Steve Robertson, the American Legion’s legislative affairs director, said Webb’s bill “was clearly a cooperative operation, bipartisan and with involvement with the veterans service organizations,” adding, “That’s why I think everyone’s pretty much in sync with it … it was a group effort.”

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) not only skipped the vote on Webb’s bill, but he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also failed to include veterans’ concerns while drafting their competing measure. Veterans groups said they were not consulted for the Graham-McCain version of the GI Bill, calling their measure “very partisan“.


(Think Progress)