Who takes care of veterans and who just claims they do

New ad for Obama features a 20 year Navy veteran, Tyre Nelson. There are many things he says in this video, but one thing stands out that we need to pay attention to. The difference between how the "military" is viewed by politicians.

There is the side of the military budget dedicated to contractors. They build and supply the equipment and weapons. Then there is the side of the budget dedicated to troops.

Just to give you an idea, this is from IAVA and gives the grades for members of congress on how they voted for our veterans.

2007
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE JANUARY
JOSHUA OMVIG SUICIDE PREVENTION ACT MARCH
WOUNDED WARRIORS ASSISTANCE ACT MARCH
REFUGEE STAUS FOR IRAQI INTERPRETERS MAY
TREATING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY MAY
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE FOR 2008 JUNE
EXPANDED VETERANS BENEFITS DECEMBER
VETERANS GUARANTEED BONUS ACT DECEMBER

2008
POST 9-11 GI BILL FAIR EDUCATION MAY
A SECOND RATE GI BILL MAY

A small but vocal opposition in Congress argued that the benefit was too generous. In an effort to derail the popular and bipartisan Post-9/11 GI Bill already a part of the war supplemental funding, a motion was made to advance a meager and ill-conceived “alternate” GI Bill before the Post- 9/11 GI Bill had the opportunity to be passed and signed into law.

ANOTHER EDUCATION GI BILL JUNE
HOMES FOR HEROES JUNE
FUNDING VETERANS HEALTH CARE FOR 2009 AUGUST

Then there was this bill that tried to help out families when they had to stay home to take care of a disabled veteran. There are more bills that took care of the veterans and our troops coming back, but you get the idea. This Caregivers Bill shows they were thinking about the families.

May 05, 2010 Remarks by the President at Signing of Caregives and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act

This will give you a better idea what happened when Republicans took over the House. Notice a name in this article. It is Paul Ryan.

Republicans Seek To Cut Benefits for Disabled Veterans
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Posted April 16, 2011 by Benjamin Krause in Ben's Blog
Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.

Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare benefits for disabled veterans – that’s for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 and 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability.

According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.

Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly on benefits for disabled veterans to treat them, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.

But while this Congress loves to play games and has done little to fix any of the problems they complain about, they are blocking bills that would help veterans even more. This is the record for the 112th Congress.

14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever

So when you hear this veteran talk about why he is voting the way he is, now you'll know why he says what he does.