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Continued: Franken: Give vets health care for life
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HOPKINS, Minn. - The federal government should guarantee health care for life to every military veteran, U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken said Tuesday — a sweeping proposal that goes beyond what even leading veterans groups have requested.
The campaign of Republican Sen. Norm Coleman responded by arguing that Coleman has consistently voted for more spending on veterans programs, while calling Franken's proposal "a promise without a way to pay for it."
Appearing with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar at a VFW Hall, Franken sought support from an important voting bloc by also calling for higher pay and benefits for veterans and more spending on screening and treatment of mental health problems and brain injuries.
"Every year there's been a budget battle for veterans health care," Franken said. "I don't think they should be subject to that kind of political debate."
Franken couldn't say how much it would cost to provide veterans a guarantee of health care, or how Congress should pay for it. But he said such a benefit "would not be given to veterans — it is earned."
Lee Ellingson, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, said he's leaning toward Franken — but questioned the practicality of the Democrat's proposal.
"It's a stretch — I'm not sure if we're ever going to get that," said Ellingson, vice commander of the Hopkins-Eden Prairie VFW post. "But it's a goal to fight for. It sends a message that you care about vets."
Craig Roberts, a spokesman for the American Legion in Washington, D.C., said that group has never proposed veterans health coverage to the level that Franken envisioned "and neither has anyone else that we know of."
"We agree with the sentiment, but the practicality is a question," Roberts said.
Coleman spokesman Luke Friedrich said it was not responsible for Franken to propose a big expansion of federal spending without explaining how.
"With our nation's middle class struggling economically, we can ill afford Al Franken-style government programs where there is no budget, no way to pay for it and no ability to deliver on it," Friedrich said.
As Franken rolled out his proposal, the DFL released a memo blasting Coleman for voting 18 separate times against various Congressional plans to increase funding for veterans programs.
Coleman's campaign countered that overall, federal funding for veterans programs has increased 67 percent since Coleman took office and that he voted in favor of such increases 30 times. Coleman also supported benefits for veterans including giving them mortgages at lower interest rates, a college reenrollment program for Minnesota troops, and higher mileage reimbursement for veterans driving to medical appointments, his campaign said.
The Senate passed a Coleman-sponsored bill requiring the Veterans Administration to make sure all veterans are aware of the benefits they are eligible for, his campaign said, and he worked alongside Klobuchar to get funding for the "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" program that helps combat troops reintegrate into civilian life.
Still, in introducing Franken at the VFW event, Klobuchar said he had the potential to be a leader on veterans issues in Congress in much the same fashion as Coleman's predecessor, Paul Wellstone. Franken said that he hoped to emulate Wellstone by obtaining a seat on the Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee.
Neither Franken nor Coleman served in the military. But both touted links, with Coleman's campaign noting that his late father was a World War II veteran who earned a Purple Heart. Franken mentioned his seven tours with the USO in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign countries, where as a comedian he entertained troops.
"Doing a USO tour is nothing like active duty," Franken said. "I don't know what it's like to be under fire. All I do is tell a few jokes and go home. But it's still the best thing I've ever done."
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Patrick Condon can be reached at pcondon(at)ap.org
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