Veterans and a Strong Defense Industrial Base

Veterans

The UAW has always supported the federal programs that compensate and honor our nation’s veterans for their service. In past GOP-controlled Congresses we repeatedly had to fight efforts by the Bush administration and Republican congressional leaders to shortchange veterans. Since the Democrats took control of the House and Senate in 2007, it has been much easier to get adequate funding for veterans’ programs.

One of the early actions taken by the new Democratic Congress was to pass a VA appropriations bill for fiscal 2007 that increased funding on veterans’ programs by $3.4 billion. In addition, in the 2007 Iraq war supplemental spending bill the Democratic leadership included $2 billion more than President Bush requested for military health care, including funding for post-traumatic stress disorder counseling and funding for care and research of traumatic brain injury, the signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Democratic Congress subsequently approved a budget plan for fiscal 2008 that provided the largest increase in funding for veterans’ programs in American history, $6.7 billion more than last year. It also rejected the Bush administration’s proposal to impose new enrollment fees for veteran’s health care and to nearly double drug co-payments for one million vets. The House and Senate subsequently passed a VA appropriations bill for fiscal 2008 that included this $6.7 billion increase in funding for veterans’ programs. These actions were universally acclaimed by vets’ advocacy groups. However, because the Bush administration and GOP Congressional leaders continued to oppose many of the appropriations measures approved by Congress, at the time this paper was written funding for veterans’ programs was still unresolved.

The huge increases in veterans’ funding are necessary because for years the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress have shortchanged vets’ health care programs and because the medical needs of veterans are so great. As the overall veteran population ages and as a rapidly growing number of Iraq war vets sustain physical and psychological injuries requiring costly and long-term treatment, there is an ever-increasing demand for veterans’ health care services. And as health care costs rise generally, there is a corresponding need for greater congressional funding for veterans’ health care programs.

These annual fights over veterans’ health care funding would end if Congress would enact legislation to require mandatory funding for veterans’ health care. Such mandatory funding would require the federal government to pay all the costs of veterans’ health care and would eliminate the annual struggles over how much to appropriate for the services in the following year. The UAW strongly supports mandatory funding for veterans’ health care.

During 2008 the UAW will continue to support other legislation to assist veterans. This includes the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act (H.R. 1538 and S. 1606), which would address problems in veterans’ medical treatment that were brought to light in the scandal involving Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This legislation passed the House and Senate in 2007, but differences in the measures passed by the two bodies still need to be resolved. It also includes legislation to extend health care eligibility from two years to five years for returning vets with combat service (H.R. 612 and S. 383). This legislation passed the House in 2007, but has not yet been taken up by the Senate.

One contentious issue in recent years has been favorably resolved. After years of incremental progress, and resistance from the Bush administration and Republican congressional leaders, the last Congress finally enacted legislation to assure access to TRICARE, the military health service, for all members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families at an affordable cost share of 28 percent.

Action

Strong Defense Industrial Base

Since January 2001, the United States has lost more than 3 million industrial jobs, 18 percent of America’s manufacturing workforce. The UAW believes this erosion in manufacturing seriously undermines our defense industrial base. In addition to hurting defense workers, their families and their communities, the hollowing out of our manufacturing base places our national security at risk. The United States needs a strong manufacturing base to maintain a strong national defense.

In the last session of Congress, thanks to an incredibly energetic grassroots effort by members in the UAW aerospace sector, we succeeded in getting commitments for increased funding for the C-17 Globemaster. This versatile aircraft, capable of landing on short, poorly maintained runways, helps deliver arms and troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and was instrumental in relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami. Despite the decision of the Bush Department of Defense to close out C-17 production, key Congressional appropriators indicated that they would include funds for 14 additional aircraft in the next supplemental appropriations bill, thereby keeping thousands of manufacturing workers employed, from Long Beach, Calif. to the East Coast.

UAW-represented draftsmen in Groton, Conn. have designed a submarine that plays a vital role in stealth intelligence gathering and the deployment and recovery of elite and Special Forces in dangerous places around the globe. With the crucial help of Democratic allies in Congress, we were successful in securing funding for an additional Virginia-class submarine in the fiscal 2008 defense appropriations legislation. And, with grassroots lobbying by UAW members, we were able to get commitments from congressional appropriators to include in the next supplemental appropriations bill sufficient funds for an additional brigade of Strykers, a military vehicle built by UAW members in a number of states.

As one way to halt the hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs and to ensure that we keep a strong defense industrial base, the UAW supports legislation to strengthen Buy American requirements for defense procurement. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has opposed these provisions and backed legislative efforts to give the Department of Defense more latitude to waive Buy American requirements.

During 2008 the UAW will continue to support efforts to provide adequate funding for needed defense programs that employ UAW members. We also will work with other unions and allies in Congress to support measures to toughen Buy American requirements for defense procurement.

Action