|
the American Legion named Senator Clinton an "unsung hero" of the 108th congress for her leadership
Statement from Sen. Frank Lautenberg:
When Senator Clinton introduced her proposal to make FEMA more independent and strengthen qualifications for its Director in 2005, I was proud to cosponsor her
measure and promote it in committee. Following Katrina, Senator Clinton was the most forceful advocate on the Senate floor for competence and independence at
FEMA. As a former member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which oversaw FEMA and DHS, I was happy to see her long-standing
proposal to improve the FEMA Director's qualifications become law. Unfortunately, President Bush ignored her reforms with his signing statement.
Read More: Hillary Clinton, Hillary Foreign Policy, Hillary Iran, Hillary National Security, Iran NIE, Breaking Politics News
A quote I gave a journalist almost two years ago has been recycled, out of context, to suggest that Senator Clinton and I would contemplate going to war with Iran or
other nations. This is, of course, a complete misrepresentation of what I was saying and of Senator Clinton's longstanding views. What I said was clear: first, Hillary
Clinton has far more foreign policy experience than her husband did at a comparable point in his presidential campaign in 1991-92; and second, she knows how best
to advance America's foreign policy goals around the world at time when America faces unprecedented challenges after seven years of the Bush administration's
disastrous policies.
Email
Print
Comment
Senator Clinton has traveled to more than 80 countries, building relationships that will enable her to begin to restore America's global standing, beginning on Day 1 of
her Presidency. Senator Clinton is a passionate believer in diplomacy, negotiations, and the value of, well, American values. She would outlaw torture and close
Guantanamo. She would make us proud again of our leadership role in the world. I know from extensive personal observation that she would be a superb negotiator and
diplomat. Hillary would strengthen the U.N. and make it more effective, after the Bush Administration weakened it.
Of course, there are times like in Bosnia and Rwanda, when a president must be willing to act. President Clinton should have acted earlier in those cases, as he
himself has acknowledged. My point was that, having observed these tragedies closely in the 1990s and learned more as a Senator, Hillary Clinton knows how to mix
diplomacy and power. She has made clear repeatedly that she believes strongly in diplomacy and that the Bush administration's failure to emphasize it has been
terrible for our nation. She has called for direct talks with our adversaries, including Syria and Iran, and the sooner the better.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Clinton has traveled to both American war zones three times, spent a great deal of time meeting
privately with active-duty and retired military personnel at all levels, and immersed herself in the issues that are most critical to the presidential role of Commander-in-
Chief. The nation needs a new president who on taking office will withdraw our troops from Iraq responsibly and swiftly (Bush won't). Although her position has been
misrepresented by some during the heat of the campaign, this is precisely what she has pledged to do. She has said she will convene the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and her national security team to draw up a safe and viable plan for the withdrawal of our solider from Iraq, with the first troops coming home within 60 days of
her taking office. She has also committed herself to a new strategy in Afghanistan, the country in which failure is unthinkable yet Bush has consistently sent too few
troops while proclaiming success in the face of undeniable deterioration. This is what I meant when I talked about her commanding knowledge and readiness to be our
next Commander-in-Chief.
On the second point, an attempt has been made to suggest that my words in 2006 are somehow a call for action against Iran. So let me be clear: I have consistently
opposed the use of force against Iran, as has Hillary. Well before the NIE, I stated publicly and repeatedly that nothing we knew supported a war against Iran. The NIE
only reinforced my position. Senator Clinton also opposes any military action against Iran and said so long before the NIE, and took to the Senate floor last
FebruHILLARYary to oppose the Bush administration's saber rattling.
In the Senate, Hillary has championed legislation to improve the lives of our veterans and their families. She has secured funding for Veterans' hospitals, and secured additional support for disabled veterans. She also successfully fought off the Administration's proposal to double the co-payment for prescription drugs of certain veterans.
She created a health tracking system for all active duty personnel and Reservists to ensure that they receive regular check ups; and expanded access to military healthcare benefits (TRICARE) for all Guard and Reserve members whether they are on active duty or not in order to prevent another illness like Gulf War Syndrome.
She successfully passed her Heroes at Home legislation, which helps family members learn to support loved ones suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), identify ways to help Guardsmen and Reservists transition back to civilian jobs, and assess the mental health challenges -- including PTSD -- faced by members of the Guard and Reserve. Hillary's initiative improves the detection, assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury and expands support systems for members and former members of the Armed Services with traumatic brain injury and their families.
She passed legislation to increase the military survivor benefit from $12,000 to $100,000.
Clinton successfully worked to address veterans' mental health needs. In part as a result of her efforts, the Veterans Administration will be directed to take into consideration the needs and concerns of Veterans as it proceeds with the CARES process.
Hilary wrote to Postmaster General John Potter, and launched a petition on her website to urge the Postmaster General to continue issuing the Purple Heart stamp. Hundreds of people signed the petition which were then delivered to Postmaster General John Potter. As a result, the U.S. Postal Service decided to continue printing the Purple Heart Stamp despite the recent rate change.
In recognition of her efforts, the American Legion named Senator Clinton an "unsung hero" of the 108th congress for her leadership in securing record increases in funding for veterans health care.
just a few...
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
