VFW Spends $14,000 on Radio in Support of Boyda

According to a report filed with the FEC today, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee has expended $14,316.30 on radio ads in support of Congresswoman Nancy Boyda.

The VFW PAC endorsed Boyda over Lynn Jenkins earlier this fall, citing Boyda's work on behalf of veterans during her term in Congress.

Also, Boyda today received a grade of "A+" from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

"To Thank God That Men Like These Lived..."

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's Memorial Day message:

At a 1945 remembrance ceremony for fallen soldiers, General George Patton offered the words that remain, in my view, the clearest expression of the purpose of Memorial Day. "In my mind," General Patton said, "we came here to thank God that men like these lived, rather than regret that they died."

To thank God that they lived, rather than regret that they died. Memorial Day will always be a day of mourning, but even more than that, it is a day of celebration. We celebrate the American spirit that has driven so many to sacrifice so much. We celebrate the families who willingly sent their sons and daughters into harm's way so that the rest of us could live in peace. And we celebrate the soldiers who still serve today, who even now are brokering peace among families of Sunnis and Shiites or steering their Humvees down dangerous roads.

If we are truly to thank God for these extraordinary men and women, we must show our gratitude through more than a few words at a somber, annual ceremony. We must turn talk into action.

In recent weeks, Congress passed two bills that will demonstrate America's gratitude to our troops, just as General Patton's generation expressed their gratitude after World War II. I hope that this Memorial Day will be taken as an opportunity to advance these bills into law.

Just last week, the Senate passed a provision that I helped author which would abolish the so-called "soldier tax." The tax is an obscure IRS penalty, due to take effect in the 2008 tax year, that would reduce or eliminate the ability of some military families to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Unless the Senate bill is signed into law, 150,000 military families will pay sharply higher taxes next year. The exact increase would vary depending on each family's size and income, but in some cases, it would exceed $4,500 – a harsh financial blow to the soldiers on the frontlines of the war on terror.

In addition to the prospect of increased taxes, today's soldiers must confront the steady erosion of the benefits that America extends to our veterans. Consider the long, slow decline of educational support under the 1943 GI Bill. At one time, the bill fully paid for the education of America's veterans, including tuition, room, board, and books. In the aftermath of World War II, its benefits helped lift millions of American families – including my own – into the middle class.

But the bill's luster has faded after so many years. Its benefits have not kept up with inflation, so today the GI Bill covers only a fraction of the cost of college tuition, and it barely scratches the surface of the other costs of college attendance.

The GI Bill was always meant to be a permanent promise, a contract with our soldiers, a bill of rights for our veterans. Its guarantees must not be allowed to die. Recently I voted in the U.S. House of Representatives to extend the GI Bill's full benefits to the new generation of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill is now awaiting action in the Senate.

On this Memorial Day, I can imagine no more fitting tribute to our armed services than for President Bush and Congress to act quickly to turn the soldier tax relief bill and the new GI Bill into law.

Only by fully supporting our soldiers and veterans, in both our words and our deeds, can America heed General Patton's call to celebrate the sacrifices of our soldiers.

Boyda & Vets Push for New GI Bill

Standing in Topeka with members of the armed forces, Nancy Boyda joined the call for a updated and revised GI Bill, standing together with other Members of Congress and the military calling for better care for our soldiers after the return from active duty.

From the Topeka Capital Journal:

Former Marine Sgt. Dan Parker is fighting for a new GI Bill.

The 25-year-old veteran of deployments to Iraq and Liberia is a semester away from earning degrees in political science and English at The University of Kansas. He attributes discipline and maturity drawn from years in uniform to making him a solid college student.

Financial support through the existing GI Bill helped pave the way for Parker's education, but inflation has compromised a benefit created for veterans of World War II. Parker and many of his peers find it necessary to hold jobs to make ends meet. Others take on massive loan debt.

The value of a strong GI Bill is something Congresswoman Boyda can vouch for personally- as can the families of thousands of World War II veterans.

"The GI Bill was what actually took our family into the middle class," said Boyda, who represents the 2nd District that includes Topeka. "I don't think the American people understood how the benefits had eroded."

So, members of the House approved sweeping reforms, bringing the GI Bill back to the strength it had for our grandparents. Under the new bill, "benefits would be available to veterans for 15 years rather than the current 10 years. Veterans could expend a portion of the funding for tutors, continuing education, and license and certification tests. A mandatory $1,200 buy-in fee, (and) a $600 supplemental charge to broaden benefits, would be dropped."

If the bill makes it past the Senate, the president may still veto it. The veterans at event in Topeka, though, had strong words of caution on that front.

Parker, who grew up in McPherson, advised the commander in chief to update incentives for veterans to attend college. About one-third of veterans draw upon GI Bill benefits, he said, but less than 10 percent earn a college diploma.

"It would be a politically devastating mistake if the president were to veto it," said Parker, a Marine from 2000 to 2005. "Nobody is going to get rich off the GI Bill."

And, for just some more visual stimulation:

Vets Without Care: Boyda Says System is Overloaded

A really heart-wrenching story ran in the Topeka Capitol-Journal about an Iraq War veteran who is simply not receiving the quality or level of care we should all expect our returning veterans to receive.

These stories aren't rare- quite the opposite of that, like Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's district representatives for military affairs said in the same article.

Two district representatives in U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda's Topeka office, Jefferson Lawson and Adam Stolte, said they hadn't heard about Sanders' case, but weren't surprised.

When Lawson was asked if the office received a lot of complaints from veterans about similar problems, he replied, "extremely."

He and Stolte can tell lots of horror stories, but they also try to put the complaints in perspective.

"People don't call us with good information," Stolte said.

So there is no way of knowing how many veterans receive good service, he said.

And, he said, almost every VA employee they deal with is well-intentioned. The problem is the system.

Lawson explained there are two divisions of the VA — The Veterans Health Administration that provides the health care and the Veterans' Benefit Administration that sends out the checks to qualifying veterans.

"I can tell you from experience those two agencies do not talk to each other," Lawson said.

This is a horrible situation for our very bravest Americans to be in, and Boyda has already tried to address the problem, though we would probably not be out of line to say everyone knows more needs to be done.

Boyda blamed the problem on an overburdened system. She said Congress increased funding for the VA by $6.6 billion last year and by another $4.9 billion this year. More is needed, she said.

"This is the real cost of war," she said. "It's easy to wear a yellow ribbon. Veterans need real help. And that takes money."

We'll hope we can convince Republican members to vote their own rhetoric and treat our men and women in uniform with the respect they deserve.

Boyda praises budget for cutting taxes on Kansas families

Today the House of Representatives passed the 2009 budget today, and Congresswoman Nancy Boyda applauded the move, noting that it "increases federal funding for veterans, cuts taxes for middle-class Kansas families, and cracks down on wasteful spending."

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) said, “I’ve always promised to vote to extend middle class tax relief, and today’s vote does exactly that. The last thing middle-class families can afford is to watch their tax cuts expire on President Bush’s schedule.”

The resolution rejects deep cuts in Medicare, veterans’ health care, and law enforcement programs proposed by the Administration. Boyda added, “The president’s budget would have left our nation less secure, our children further in debt, and our veterans without promised medical services.”

The resolution passed today by the U.S. House, H.Con.Res. 312, focuses on programs that will help our country today and tomorrow. It provides for:

• the expansion of children’s health insurance coverage – up to $50 billion
• reforms to protect access to care for Medicare beneficiaries
• an increase in veterans’ funding by $3.6 billion over current levels
• expanded investments in renewable energy programs and “green collar” job training

The budget also promotes math and science education, and extends tax cuts that target middle-income families. Specifically, the resolution calls for an increase in child tax credits, and it proposes extending tax relief for people who fall in the 10-percent tax bracket. These tax cuts were initially enacted by President Bush and the Republican Congress in 2000 but were set to expire in 2010.

So, now, at least, everyone has to agree the 110th Congress, controlled by Democrats, did one thing the 109th Congress, which was controlled by Republicans, never did: they just did their constitutional duty and passed a budget.

(Note: both Kansas Republican members of Congress voted against cutting taxes for middle-class American families. Just wanted to toss that in).