Political Quotes

“I rise today to ask the Senate to come together and do the right thing for our veterans by passing the blue water Navy legislation. I thank my colleague from Connecticut for his leadership, and I join him in appreciating the remarks of the Senator from Georgia in support of advancing this legislation in the final days of this session. As a result of the VA changing its policy, Vietnam blue water Navy veterans have to meet higher burdens of proof to receive healthcare and disability benefits that they earned due to their exposure to Agent Orange. I have heard from many veterans and their families from across Wisconsin asking that the Senate pass this bill because they don't have any more time to wait. A veteran's family from Reedsburg, WI, wrote to me. They wrote: Senator Baldwin, my brother-in-law did three tours off the coast of Vietnam on an ammunition ship. He has contracted brain cancer, lung cancer, diabetes and hearing loss. We have submitted a request for compensation for these ailments. All requests have been denied and we are still appealing. This House bill passed unanimously and now languishes in the Senate. My brother-in-law is in hospice with limited time remaining. Please pass this legislation. I heard from a veteran from Stetsonville, WI. He said: I served in the U.S. Navy and spent 1966 aboard the USS Intrepid as a gun fire controlman. I have been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and large hairy cell leukemia.…”