McCain speaks about G.I. Bill

Today John McCain spoke about the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, known in the media as the G.I. Bill.

I applaud McCain for supporting this bill at first glance, but after listening to his comments about the bill, I do have some issues with his position.

Notice how he phrased his answer to the woman in the video above - very carefully. He wants the benefits to accrue over time to encourage people to stay in the military. Well, that pretty much goes against what Sen. Jim Webb is proposing for our troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. If McCain's words in the video above are taken at face value, it sounds as if McCain doesn't want troops to be eligible for the full benefit for 12 years or more. I completely disagree with this idea. Webb's position is that the people who put it on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan should come home to these benefits NOW. AND THEY SHOULD, period.

I do agree with McCain's proposal that the benefit should be transferable to a family member - that's an excellent idea, and a way for a soldier who wants a military career to still benefit. Actually, I'd go a step further - what about a soldier who wants to stay in the military and who does not have any family? He or she should be able to get some sort of other benefit as well.

I also don't buy into another one of McCain's reasons for opposing Webb's bill - that it's very expensive to train a soldier these days. Yes, it is expensive, but that's not a reason to oppose this bill. Some will leave the armed forces because of this bill, no doubt, but the study McCain refers to, where 16 percent will leave the military, is disputed at best, and I say debunked.

McCain deserves credit for saying he wants to sit down and work out the differences with Webb. Okay, then what's he waiting for? Just wondering if there's any chance he can take a five-minute break from campaigning to get it worked out.

Anyway, there's plenty you can do.

Click on the G.I. Bill's Website to find out more about the bill and to sign an online petition to President Bush to urge him to sign the bill into law. However, I recommend that you do more than that - contact your legislators and demand that they get behind the bill, if they are not already. Click Here to get your legislators' contact information, or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 225-3121. The operators are very good at connecting you quickly and easily to your elected representative or senators, even if you don't know who they are.

Here is a Quick Fact Sheet about the bill (in PDF form).

Below is also a good video from NBC's Today Show that offers up a quick description of what the bill is all about.

This is something that all Americans can and should get behind. Unless you've served in the military, most Americans, unless they have a loved one or friend serving, have sacrificed very little for this war, and I include myself in not having sacrificed much.

This is the very least we can do to Support the Troops, no matter what the cost is. I've complained before that Support the Troops is an empty slogan on its face, but this is something we can do to actually live up to the spirit of what it really means. We need to do more for our soldiers than simply putting yellow ribbons on our cars. This is a start.