Atlanta, GA -- Michael Coles, candidate for U.S. Senate, today joined with veterans from across Georgia in the Rotunda of the State Capitol to oppose provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act (ISTEA) which severely cut veterans’ medical benefits. The $203 billion transportation bill, voted for by Paul Coverdell and approved by Congress, was signed on Tuesday by President Clinton. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act includes a $15.4 billion cut to health benefits for veterans with smoking-related illnesses. The money will be used to pay for highway and mass transit projects across the country. To justify such cuts, Congress put language in the bill declaring that veterans who smoked while on active duty could be deemed to have engaged in “willful misconduct.” That is the same category the Department of Veterans Affairs has used to deny benefits to alcoholics and drug abusers. Coles has criticized Paul Coverdell for voting for this cut to veterans’ health care. Although Coverdell sided with the veterans on some earlier votes on this issue, he ultimately voted for the 1999 Senate Budget Resolution1 as well as the Highway Bill Conference Report2 which mandated that the $15.4 billion cut be a part of the ISTEA legislation. In addition, Coverdell voted twice in 1996 for a measure to freeze veterans’ benefits, including medical benefits, through the year 2001 in order to help pay for a $122 billion tax cut.3 Sam Nunn, Georgia’s Senior Senator at the time, voted twice against the freeze. And Coverdell also voted against an amendment sponsored by Senator Rockefeller that would have increased spending on veterans medical care by more than $500 million a year.4 Coles noted that the trend of cutting veterans’ benefits to fund other programs continues. The Senate will soon be considering the Kasich budget bill, approved by the House of Representatives last week, that includes a $10 billion cut in veterans’ benefits to offset tax breaks.5 “We need to maintain and improve our roads and rail lines, but we should not do so by breaking promises to our nation’s greatest heroes. These vets are not guilty of ‘willful misconduct’ they have earned the right to proper medical care through years of service to our country,” stated Coles. “This issue is a matter of principle it is about keeping promises to those who deserve this nation’s greatest admiration and respect.” _____________________________ |
