New Hampshire Congressman Labeled as Not Doing Enough for U.S Troops
VETERANS
Keene Sentinel
Lauren Katims
Boston University Washington News Service
10-26-06
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26– A new report by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group, labeled New Hampshire congressmen as not doing enough.
The report, released last week, gave both New Hampshire senators a grade of “D” and Rep. Charles Bass a “C+.”
Grades are based on 169 House votes and 155 Senate votes since 2001 that the group identified as affecting U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, war veterans and military families. The issues ranged from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury research to supplemental appropriations and death benefits.
“Congress as a whole is underperforming,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the group. The average grade in the Senate was a “C” and in the House a “B-,” he said.
A major reason legislators did so poorly is because veteran’s issues have not been a priority for this Congress, Rieckhoff said. Less than one percent of the population has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was different when almost every family was affected by someone fighting in World War II, he said.
Rieckhoff said he wants to make sure people are just as informed about this war.
However, the New Hampshire congressmen’s press secretaries did not seem to be concerned about their members’ bad report cards.
“Congressional rankings rarely take into consideration the full scope of any lawmaker’s legislative record or their work on a particular issue,” wrote Barbara Riley, Sen. John Sununu’s spokesperson.
She added that Sununu has visited troops twice abroad and has spent time with injured soldiers and their families.
But Rieckhoff said their ranking system is the most comprehensive way to figure out how the congressmen feel about the issues. And he said that if people do not agree with their method, they can still use the group’s research to see how their members voted.
“We want to show Americans the issues that are import to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and find out who really does support the troops and who just spouts campaign promises and empty rhetoric,” Rieckhoff said. “Veterans are not political chew toys.”
Rieckhoff said he has gotten both negative and positive feedback from members of Congress. Senators and representatives may be upset about their low grades, but so is he, Rieckhoff said.
The organization’s Web site shows Sununu and Sen. Judd Gregg voting against increasing funding for traumatic brain injury research, which Rieckhoff said has been categorized as too expensive by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“If the Senate or anyone else is unhappy with their grade, they should work with us to find out how they can get a higher grade next time,” Rieckhoff said.
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