Veterans

All veterans from all components of military service should receive equal treatment, including those veterans of operations-other-than-war undertaken by the United States, and should be provided all the entitlements given to veterans of earlier service, including education and training benefits, health benefits, home loans and other financial assistance. We support the G.I. Bill of Rights for the 21st Century and believe that earned benefits should be readily available to all service members, eligible veterans and their families on a timely basis within their own communities.

Through the shared sacrifice of all Californians to leave no veteran behind, Democrats will work to:

• Demand truth in recruiting and open enlistment for all;

• Provide support services for active duty military personnel and their families without cost to the service member;
• Provide our troops with the latest in protective equipment and weaponry and provide total training prior to deployment;

• Provide the same benefits as those given to the regular armed forces for all National Guard and Reserve members activated for federal service;

• Support enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) ensuring that activated reservists and National Guard can resume their jobs upon return, without exception, with the state being the employer of last resort when necessary;

• Insist that the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) fulfill its legal obligation to veterans by reducing the backlog of claims both through accelerated claims processing and by assumption of service connection;

• Provide payment from the state for veterans and military benefits earned if the federal government is unwilling to pay, and hold the veteran safe from recovery of such payments if the claim is later denied by the federal government, except in the case of fraud;

• Provide monetary support and services to families who bear the burden as caregivers for disabled veterans;

• Waive all tuition and fees in state colleges and universities for all veterans of the Middle East wars (2 August 1990 – future date not determined); and

• Grant citizenship for non-citizen veterans who have served honorably in the military of the United States.