John Kline and Veterans: A Summary

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

Over the past two weeks, we've been examining John Kline's record on veterans' issues. Here's a summary:

• 0% rating from Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in 2004 and 2005, and an overall C rating from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).
• He promotes the work he's done to end the "unfair policy" of concurrent receipt, even though the unfair policy hasn't ended, Kline was in a position to actually end the unfair policy but did nothing about it, and he appears to be confused about what "concurrent receipt" actually is.
• Kline voted against ending the so-called "Military Families Tax".
• Kline has repeatedly voted to protect tax cuts for the rich at the cost of health care for veterans.
• And he's cast other votes against additional funding for veterans' health care.
• He's also voted against job training and debt relief for veterans.
• And those aren't the only anti-veteran votes he's cast.
• As if that weren't enough, this spring, Kline told a group of Minnesota veterans, to their faces, that supporting the Republican party is more important to him than supporting them.

John Kline has devoted considerable time and money to spread the idea that Coleen Rowley disrespects veterans because she once compared Kline to Col. Klink from the 1960's sitcom Hogan's Heroes. But this supposedly outrageous comparison didn't prevent veterans like John Murtha, Wesley Clark, Jerald Albrecht, Tommy Johnson and Ginny Johnson from endorsing Coleen. She also has the support of a number of families of those who died on 9/11.

Most important, Coleen genuinely means to support veterans when she's in Congress. In particular, she supports the full concurrent receipt legislation which Kline watched languish and die; she supports expanding TRICARE to member of the Reserves and National Guard, a plan which Kline voted against; and she supports the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act, to insure that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans get the care they need and deserve.