On Memorial Day, this informed Iraqi veteran opened up the
Chronicle and read an opinion article by a political candidate,
state Rep. Rick Noriega, which was a blatant misrepresentation of
the truth. (Please see "Texas needs two senators who will back our
veterans / John Cornyn failed to stand up for our troops - I will,"
Outlook.) The article falsely accused incumbent U.S. Sen. John
Cornyn of not supporting veterans by voting against Senate Bill 22,
the "Bipartisan Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Act."
The article falsely represented the truth by describing only half
of the story. It spoke only to the fact that Cornyn had voted
against a veterans educational bill on Memorial Day. What it said
nothing of was his strong support of a different veterans
educational bill, SB 2938, the Graham-Burr Bill, which the senator
had announced he would co-sponsor last month.
Leaving this essential information out allows the article to
falsely imply that Cornyn does not support any change to the
current Montgomery GI Bill and this is simply false. The truth is
that Cornyn examined the bill supported by Noriega and found it
lacking. Joining with fellow Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and
21 other senators, he instead put his support behind a different
veterans educational bill that he believed would best serve both
today's and tomorrow's veterans.
There are several important factors to consider between the two
pieces of legislation:
- SB 2938 would allow servicemen to transfer their educational
benefits to their children, up to half after six years of service
and all after 12 years. SB 22 does not allow this.
- SB 2938 allows benefits to increase the longer you stay in the
military, while SB 22 is simply a flat rate of payment with no
incentive to stay in the military, thus affecting retention.
- SB 22 applies only to veterans who joined the military after
9/11, not to those who were first to respond in the global war on
terror. The bill that Cornyn supports covers this important group
of vets.
In addition to his support of veterans with the "Graham-Burr"
veterans educational bill, Cornyn is working to ensure that those
who still wear our nation's uniform are guaranteed to have their
voices heard. On May 19, Cornyn announced his sponsorship of the
Military Voting Protection Act. This important legislation will
ensure that all votes of our men and women in uniform who are
serving far from home are collected, tallied and recognized.
K. KNOX NUNNALLY
Texas state captain, Vets for Freedom, Houston