Political Quotes

“I have not heard that term before, ``ghost veteran,'' but I have met so many veterans that meet that exact definition. I think it is a combination of things. I think you are right. It is part of the fact that they don't think they are going to get anything anyway because it has all been cut. It is also part of the need that we have and the VA has to adapt our veteran-serving institutions to meet the real-life needs of a new generation of veterans. The truth is the returning 9/11 veterans are not interested in piles of paperwork and filling it out. That is understandable. They are not interested in beating their head against the wall to try to get some benefit that they may or may not get. They have served our country. They have a lot of great capacity in them to do great work again. They want our help in enabling them to be able to live great lives, whether it is going back to school under GI Bill--and, of course, we passed the post-9/11 GI Bill--whether it is working on something like the veterans conservation corps that, if my bill passes, it would set up, whether it is making sure they have support to start their own small business as entrepreneurs. What they don't want is to wait in line down at some facility to fill out more forms that may or may not result in them getting something, someday. That is really what I hear in so many of the returning post-9/ 11 veterans that in my district really meet the definition of what you are talking about, ghost veterans.…”