Stender: Keep the Promise to our Veterans

Press Release

Stender: Keep the Promise to our Veterans

Today, Linda Stender voiced her ardent support for the GI Bill for the 21st Century, a landmark bill that would ensure the promise of a better tomorrow for our men and women in uniform. Stender, candidate for Congress in New Jersey's 7th District, reaffirmed that our nation's Veterans deserve the educational benefits, healthcare coverage, and support services they need and have earned serving honorably to defend our freedom.

Meanwhile, President Bush - whose administration continues to spend $12 billion a month on a war in Iraq that should never have been waged and with no exit strategy to get our troops out of harm's way - has callously suggested he will veto such legislation and turn his back on our nation's Veterans. Most House Republicans have also voiced opposition GI Bill, which restores full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans - on par with the educational benefits available after World War II.

"America has the finest military in the world, and our brave men and women in uniform have served our country with dignity and honor," Stender said outside VFW Post 4410 in Woodbridge today. "The failed policies of the Bush Administration have led our nation into a war in Iraq that should never have been waged, and are now leaving our Veterans without the services they need and deserve when they return home. That's why I'm proud to support the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, which guarantees our returning Veterans with the education benefits they need to grow and strengthen the American middle class."

"President Bush's shameful opposition to the legislation is a national disgrace. We must take care of those who fought to protect our freedom. My own father landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought his way across Europe to free Dachau, and when he returned home, he earned a college degree and built a middle class lifestyle thanks to the GI Bill.

Our brave Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans are putting their lives on the line every day, and they deserve the same benefits as my father's generation when they return home," Stender added."

The GI Bill for the 21st Century would: increase education benefits for Veterans having served more than 3 months since September 11, 2001; link education benefits for which a Veteran is eligible to active duty service since September 11, 2001; cover costs for the most expensive in-state institution; match voluntary contributions for private colleges; provides Veterans with up to 15 years to take advantage of the benefits.

Linda Stender is from Fanwood, NJ, where she and her husband Richard raised their three children and still reside today. Stender currently represents the 22nd Legislative District in the New Jersey Assembly, where she has championed policies that benefit working families.

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