[Vision2020] War Vets Grade Your Congressmen

[Tom Hansen]

>From the November 6, 2006 edition of the Army Times -

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War vets grade your congressmen

By Gordon Lubold
Staff writer

A group of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan gave low marks to
members of Congress for their support of the troops.

In their first-ever scorecard on Congress, the group, the Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America, gave fewer than 25 percent of Congress an
"A" - and most received far lower grades.

Republican lawmakers who have largely backed President Bush's war policies -
at least until very recently - generally received lower marks than
Democrats. 

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the House majority leader, received a C, while
House Speaker Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., got an F.

House Democratic leaders did much better, according to the group's
scorecard. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House Minority Leader who is in
line to take Hastert's job if the Democrats gain control of the House on
Nov. 7, received a B-plus.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., leader of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
received a D-plus, while Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat,
received a B-plus.

"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, a veteran of the war in Iraq who is the founder and
executive director of the veterans group, which insists it is nonpartisan.

The group surveyed the last three congressional sessions, counting more than
300 votes on issues of importance to service members - such as pay and
benefits, health care, and troops' equipment needs - and showing how each
lawmaker voted on those issues.

To view the complete IAVA scorecard, with voting records and grades of all
lawmakers, go to: 

http://www.iavaaction.org

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Anybody want to guess the "grade point average" of Idaho's legislators?

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.