Veterans

The Congress shall have Power To . . . declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

~Article I, Section 8, Part 11

American soldiers, sailors, and airmen have been fighting in serious wars abroad – with the objective of not only protecting our country but also doing so far enough away that war does not come here.

While there has been much debate about these wars, we do not know what fate history would have dealt the American people had these wars not been fought.

Our veterans are the men and women who did that fighting – they and their fellow warriors who died in those wars in order to preserve our freedom. They did not make the decisions as to the wars they would fight, but they sacrificed themselves to preserve our liberty.

We owe each of our veterans a personal and national debt for the great service that they have given to our nation, and we must make sure that our own actions preserve the liberty for which they fought.

As to Veterans Affairs – provision for the health and needs of our veterans after military service, we must provide to every veteran the best that our nation has to offer.

Every veteran should have better medical care than any congressman. They should have better retirement programs, too. The sacrifices of those who serve our country in the military are far greater than those of any career politician or volunteer who serves in the U.S. Congress.

Service in Congress is a privilege. Many congressmen would say that Congress is their “career” – that they need “benefits” like any other employee. That is part of the problem in Washington. Our liberty should be safeguarded by citizen volunteers who serve short terms in Congress.