Political Quotes

“I am pleased to offer with Senator Obama this amendment to the Veterans appropriation bill. Our amendment will inform America's most under-compensated disabled veterans about how they may have their claims reviewed. Americans have a fundamental dedication to fairness. No matter what a person's background, class, religion, race or other difference, everyone deserves to be treated equally under the law. When we hear about unequal treatment, our basic sense of justice as Americans is shocked. We are perhaps doubly shocked when we hear of unequal treatment of disabled veterans. We would expect that disabled veterans will receive differing levels of disability compensation based on the degree and type of their disability, but we do not expect to see the average amount paid to disabled veterans to vary greatly from State to State. Unfortunately, the truth is that the average amount paid to disabled veterans across this country varies widely. The May 19, 2005 Review of State Variances in VA Disability Compensation Payments released by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General confirms media reports that ``variances in annual disability compensation by State have existed for decades.'' The average annual disability compensation payment in the highest State is $12,004 per year. In the lowest State it is only $6,961. The State with the lowest average compensation is my own state of Illinois.…”