Andrea Joy Campbell: “It is amazing to me how much we praise the actions of our military when they are putting their lives on the line and how…”

“It is amazing to me how much we praise the actions of our military when they are putting their lives on the line and how quickly we forget them during peacetime or after they leave the military. This highway bill is important. I believe that, too, that our Nation's highways are in disrepair. But we have human beings that are also in disrepair in our veterans' ranks. We put $217 billion into the highway fund this year, which is almost $40 billion more than anybody expected. We have done a good job on funding our highways. I hope that we do an equally good job on funding the benefits for our sick veterans. As my colleague from West Virginia mentioned, the administration--I don't, frankly, think they understand the ramifications of this because when I was in the service, I can remember, as Senator Rockefeller alluded to, that there was no counseling not to smoke. In fact, as he said, it was 'smoke 'em if you got 'em.' That was the common thing to do at virtually every break. We were told, 'If you want to smoke, go ahead, do it.' There weren't any labels on the packs, and the cigarettes were free. You were actively encouraged to smoke. To say that it is somehow the veterans' fault and to say that they voluntarily smoked is a stretch of the imagination.”