We're not entirely comfortable with the headline chosen for a post at Minnesota Central, since we're somewhat old school in believing that all Americans should take an interest in doing what's best for veterans, leaving partisanship behind.
Still, it's hard not to share some of our friend's conclusions when we read the Stars & Stripes article that's the springboard for his analysis and conclusion. Go read what MC has to say.
The Stars and Stripes article was headlined Democrats press VA on suicide rate. McPherson Hall adds to the story by sharing his reflections on the hearings available on the webcast of the full committee hearing, “The Truth About Veteran Suicides”.
It's a must watch for those interested in veterans issues.
Walz's questions, referenced by Minnesota Central and media accounts, start around 1:59. Walz is passionate and non-partisan, as MC points out, drawing attention to the successes the Minnesota National Guard and Pawlenty administration have enjoyed in the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Campaign.
And as he promised veterans at the roundtable at the Veterans Medical Center on April 21, he's bringing their stories forward in Washington.
He also praises the professionalism and understanding of county veteran service officers. For rural vets, contact with county service officers is often crucial, given their distance from the main hospital in Minneapolis
It's all about the veterans, Walz says, and ranking Republican member Steve Buyer follows up on Walz's questions and supports his mission. This is what we want to see in Washington DC.
Today's New York Times editorial, The Suffering of Soldiers, reviews the problems. It concludes:
. . .Fortunately, the solutions are clear: more money for mental health services, closer tracking of suicides and more aggressive preventive efforts, more efficiency at managing veterans’ treatment and more help for their families. If this country gave back to wounded troops even a fraction of the commitment and service that it has received from them, they will be well cared for.
That's pretty much the sentiment in the circles we run in. Let's hope all of America's new veterans get the level of service the Minnesota National Guard and the State of Minnesota have provided.
My choice of title is open to criticism, yet would the message be the same if it was “Why didn’t Republicans attend VA Committee Hearing?”
Thanks for posting the video link.
Addressing veterans’ needs should be non-partisan and the comments from the members of Congress (who were, with the exception of one, Democrats) were universally “What can we do to help”. My assessment was that Walz was not speaking as a Democrat but as a concerned veteran … you could see it as he ripped the VA and praised Secretary Peake.
But my criticism is really directed at the lack of participation by the Republican members. The House Republicans in caucus approve who gets assigned to each committee – so it’s valid to ask why they were not there. In fact, tomorrow an election will be held in Mississippi and one of the carrots offered by both parties is a seat on the Veterans Committee.
It is easy to find out how many roll call votes a member missed, but I don’t know if the information is readily available for how many committee meetings were attended. Mark Kennedy was proud of his 100 % voting record, but it’s pretty easy to be around to click a For / Against button especially when the party managers tell you how you should vote.
If the Walz for Congress staff needs a TV or Internet commercial, I would suggest they pick-up his questioning at this hearing … that was Congressman Walz fighting for ALL OUR VETERANS.
Posted by: MinnesotaCentral | May 12, 2008 at 07:47 AM