Conference call offers suggestions for improving the transition back home for veterans

Former Senator Max Cleland (D-Ga.) and House Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) held a conference call to address plans to end the war in Iraq and ideas to ensure veterans receive health care, higher education, and job training when they return to the U.S.

Cleland said there is “no American military solution in Iraq” and that the troops should be withdrawn. He said the war is wearing out the military, and that it is possible to resolve conflicts in Iraq without them. He feels the administration is slow to deal with casualties and costs.

Merkley echoed that national security is broader than just military might, and would like to see Congress and the administration “fight for those who fought for us overseas.” He plans to take on veteran issues such as mental health, screenings for traumatic brain injuries, and health care. He also said veterans in service should spend as much time in the U.S. as they did in employment before going back. His focus is on a new G.I. Bill for the 21st century to provide education opportunities for veterans to help with the transition back home. He also wants a program to provide free tuition to the family members of those who lost their lives serving the country.

Merkley also said he is focused on getting the troops home by ending the war in Iraq. He suggested getting out of controls and check points, working with surrounding states to prevent a broader war, ending dependence on foreign oil, and rebuilding Iraq’s economy.

Senators, veterans promote GI Bill to send veterans to college

Senators, representatives, veterans, and other public figures gather at a rally in front of the Capitol to promote a new GI Bill that will cover the full cost of college education for veterans.


Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)


Veteran Lupe Saldana, Former National Commander, American GI Forum of the U.S.

Rally promotes new GI bill to send vets to college

Today various members of the House and Senate along with several U.S. veterans held a rally outside the Capitol to call for immediate legislative action on the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act.” Senators and representatives that included Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) addressed the crowd to rally support for the new GI bill that will cover the full cost of college for veterans, along with many recent U.S. veterans who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 and are now facing the difficult task of paying for a college education. Many older veterans also attended the rally to show support for the bill and the younger veterans.

Many of the veterans said that although Americans are often under the impression that the government fully provides for veterans’ education, it pays only a meager amount that still leaves them struggling to make ends meet through student loans, grants, and part-time jobs. Many also said they felt unappreciated because after the service they gave to to their country at great personal sacrifice, they received not even the means to a decent education in return. Pelosi said that America needs to “thank our veterans by sending them to college.”