Terry Everett, November 6, 2006

This Saturday is November 11 and our nation will once again turn its thoughts to the sacrifice and service of our military veterans, both past and present. The conservative Congress has a clear record of strong support for our men and women in uniform with a steadily increasing veteran's budget and enhanced benefits. This record is one of solid commitment to those who risked all for our nation.

Given this commitment to our veterans, it was profoundly disappointing to hear Massachusetts Democrat Senator John Kerry last week denigrate the service and capability of our men and women in uniform. While he has since apologized, he has a history of such disrespect for our service personnel. Our veterans and our active duty military are the heroes of our generation and it is shameful to hear such talk from a national "leader" from any political party.

Speaking of talk, actions speak louder than words in Washington, and I am proud to say as a senior member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee that real progress is being made for our veterans. Simply voicing support for our veteran community is not enough and since 1995 the conservative Congress has increased funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by over 70 percent. By contrast, from 1965 to 1995, total annual veterans' spending increased by only two percent in constant dollars.

Indeed, in just the last five years Congress increased the veterans' budget by $30 billion (from $48 billion in fiscal year 2001 to $78 billion in fiscal 2006 - a 62 percent increase). In fact, the new fiscal year 2007 VA budget includes one of the biggest increases in discretionary spending of any Federal agency next year. For fiscal year 2007, the new VA budget will total $80 billion, with approximately half going for entitlement programs.

VA health care is a major focus of Congress. We recently passed the Military Quality of Life and Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act of 2007, providing a historic $25 billion for VA medical services and increased funding for defense health programs.

On October 16, President Bush signed into law the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006, providing (effective December 1, 2006) a 3.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and it also raises dependence and indemnity compensation paid to survivors of certain service-disabled veterans.

The conservative Congress has supported veterans this year by passing the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act which modifies and extends housing interest rates, insurance coverage, and benefit and employment programs for veterans, including homeless veterans. Another important piece of legislation passed by this Congress and signed into law is the Reserve Education Assistance Program (REAP). It makes Reserve and National Guard veterans who were activated after 9/11/01 eligible for education benefits.

Our veterans deserve the gratitude of a grateful nation and the conservative Congress has consistently shown its commitment to them through more than talk.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.