| Parsippany, October 22-Veterans of the U.S. armed forces will be rallying at Fort Nonsense, in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday, October 25, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to protest the voting record of Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R, NJ-11) in the United States House of Representatives.
According to a recent scorecard issued by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Frelinghuysen scored only 10 out of a possible 15 points, whereas most of New Jersey's Representatives scored 14 or 15. Frelinghuysen lost crucial points when he voted against healthcare funding and educational benefits for the veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
According to Ed McLaughlin, 59, a Vietnam Veteran from Butler, "Frelinghuysen slaps the troops on the back and says 'I'm right behind you guys.' Then he votes against us every chance he gets. The only time he votes for veterans is when it's practically unanimous." McLaughlin served with the First Marines from 1967 to 1969 and has a 100% service-connected disability.
Tom Wyka, D-Parsippany, who is challenging Frelinghuysen for his Congressional seat, says, "If you look at Frelinghuysen's voting record, you find a disturbing pattern. He voted against most of the items on the Disabled American Veterans' agenda. The things he voted for passed unanimously, or nearly so. But when disabled veterans needed him to stand up for them, when the vote was close, he voted the wrong way. You see a similar pattern in the IAVA scorecard. So when he says that he supports veterans, that's nonsense!"
Votes in Congress can have serious consequences. Wyka says, "In 2005, Frelinghuysen voted against the Melancon of Louisiana Amendment. Melancon's amendment would have increased funding for various veterans' health care and other benefits programs by $53 million. The additional $53 million would have been used to speed up processing of claims for veterans' healthcare and other benefits. Unfortunately, the amendment failed by one vote. It's not unusual for a soldier coming home from Iraq to wait 6 to 9 months to have a claim processed. Maybe this is why."
"Local veterans are also angry over Frelinghuysen's position on the New GI Bill. Not only did Frelinghuysen fail to cosponsor this bill (thus missing the opportunity to add 2 points to his IAVA score), he voted against it, and instead voted for an inferior bill that the IAVA called 'A Second-Rate GI Bill.' When the better bill passed, Frelinghuysen praised it in his newsletter, claiming that it was a great victory for military families. Yet he failed to mention that he neither cosponsored it nor voted for it."
Links
Disabled American Veterans' scorecard: http://capwiz.com/dav/bio/keyv...
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund Report Card: http://www.veteranreportcard.org
New GI Bill: http://www.gibill2008.org
House vote on New GI Bill: http://www.gibill2008.org/hous...
Wyka for Congress: www.tomwyka.com
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