“I have some significant differences with McCain and George Bush about the war in Iraq,” Obama said. “But one thing I thought we'd agree to is when the troops came home, we'd treat them with the honor and respect they deserve.”
Several trends indicate veterans are not getting the health care and other benefits they need to succeed at home, Obama told a group of around 200 people during an invitation-only morning listening session in Riverfront Park.
Before speaking, the candidate met for several minutes with the family of Spec. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran suffering from PTSD who committed suicide in March 2007, several months after returning from Iraq. Dana's stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, became a vocal advocate for better treatment of PTSD after Dana's death.
Jess Bahr, a Vietnam veteran, drove more than 200 miles from Great Falls to hear Obama. Before being bused to the event with a veteran-heavy crowd, Bahr said the number of homeless U.S. veterans was inexcusable and that the needs of retired warriors across the country were being ignored by communities.
“In Great Falls, they're building a $6.5 million animal shelter and we don't have a shelter for veterans. What does that tell you about priorities?” asked Bahr, a 1967 Army draftee who survived the Tet Offensive, a nine-month series of battles that resulted in more than 6,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries among American and allied troops during the Vietnam War.
Veteran care has become a wedge issue between Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Obama's platform features elements of the 21st-century GI Bill. Passed earlier this summer, the bill covers the state college tuition costs of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Montana, the bill provides up to $13,610 in annual tuition for 1,600 Montana war veterans, plus another $1,000 for books and $888 a month for living expenses.
Obama sees veterans' care as an extension of war planning, not a separate issue lower in funding priority, said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who attended the Wednesday listening session. Obama suggested ending the Iraq war and tapping into war funding to pay for veterans' care.
“I think there's a couple issues that are part of the cost of war and need to be funded over the long term, like traumatic brain injury and post- traumatic brain disorder and the other side of the program we need to educate people. I think in the long term this is a treatment and this is an investment,” Tester said.
Obama also proposes fully funding the U.S. Veterans Affairs health care program, which means keeping up with incoming requests, while also eliminating a backlog of more than 840,000 claims. He wants to expand the availability of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury and rehabilitative care. And he's proposing a “seamless transition” program for service members returning to civilian life from active duty.
McCain also says veterans' care services need repair, but he's balked at proposals like the 21st-century GI Bill, and Obama's veterans' health care expansions, which he says the country can't afford. The college education proposal was criticized by McCain for potentially discouraging veterans from re-enlisting. He resisted the bill originally but voted for its final version after the qualification rules were tightened.
It isn't that McCain doesn't want to increase services for veterans, said Erik Iverson, Montana GOP chairman. McCain's proposals call for more spending on mental health care and traumatic brain injuries, both signature injuries of the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, but less than Obama is proposing.
The Republican is also proposing a health card for veterans, which could get them care at any medical facility so they wouldn't have to wait for care at veterans' hospitals. The card could be a winner with Montana veterans living within short distance of a local doctor, but hundreds of miles from a veterans' care facility.
“John McCain understands veterans' issues better than probably anybody in America. He's improved veterans' health care, worked with (Veterans Affairs) to add funding for claims and adjudication, he's passed legislation to ease transition to civilian life,” Iverson said.
A retired Navy commander and prisoner of war, McCain is thought to have an edge with veterans, many of whom feel a fraternal bond with the serviceman turned politician.
He's repeatedly told supporters that improvements to services for veterans might have come sooner if more of his Senate colleagues had served in the military, which Obama hasn't.
Several vets gathered at Riverfront Park said McCain wasn't entitled to their vote.
Ken Chase, a Korean War veteran said he thought McCain was out of touch. The Republican went from a military career into politics with little break in between. Both senators and active servicemen receive far better health care than veterans relying on Veterans Affairs, Chase said.
Obama suggested the same.
“We have to honor that (service),” Obama said of McCain. “We don't owe him our vote, because the stakes are too high.”
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