Chet Edwards For Congress - Chet's Legislative Record

American Legion: House passes VA funding bill

Kat — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:00:45 -0700

American Legion: House passes VA funding bill

American Legion | August 02, 2008

The House of Representatives passed its fiscal year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill on Aug. 1 in a strong bipartisan vote of 409 to 4. The 2009 legislation (H.R. 6599) builds on historic increases for veterans and troops passed into law last year, which saw the largest funding increase in VA's 77-year history.

"This bipartisan bill builds on the historic increases in the fiscal year 2008 bill and sends a clear message to America's troops, veterans and their families that we honor and respect their service and sacrifice," said Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

"This is about the moral responsibility of keeping our promises to those who have kept their promise to serve. The humility of this bill is our knowing that we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude we owe (to) all who have served in uniform to protect the American family."

Overall, the bill totals $118.7 billion and provides $72.7 billion in discretionary spending, $47.7 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, $24.8 billion for military construction, family housing and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and $241 million for related agencies. It is $3.4 billion more than the president's request, and $8.8 billion more than the historic fiscal year 2008 bill.

In his first year as chairman in 2007, Edwards authored historic increases of $11.8 billion in veterans health care and benefits.

H.R. 6599 must now be passed by the Senate. Following is a more specific breakdown of the appropriations:

VA: It's getting $47.7 billion - $4.6 billion above 2008 and $2.9 billion over the president's request - for veterans medical care, claims processors and facility improvements. The Veterans Health Administration estimates it will treat more than 5.8 million patients in 2009, including more than 333,275 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (40,000 more than in 2008). Some notable provisions include:

Mental Health Care: Dedicate a minimum of $3.8 billion, $900 million more than 2008, to specialty mental-health services for veterans with mental illness and PTSD, and for suicide prevention.

Priority 8 Veterans: $568 million to increase enrollment of Priority 8 (low- to middle-income) veterans by 10 percent.

Mileage Reimbursement: Increased funding to raise the gas mileage reimbursement rate from 28.5 cents to 41.5 cents per mile for veterans traveling distances for care, and a freeze on the associated deductible.

Claims Processors: Increased funding to hire 2,100 additional claims processors to alleviate the backlog of 390,000 benefits claims, and to reduce the six-month wait to process new claims.

Rural Veterans: $200 million more to provide increased access to local health-care providers for veterans, Guardsmen and reservists living far away from VA facilities in rural areas.

Maintenance: $300 million more to address the backlog in maintenance at VA medical facilities to prevent another Walter Reed Annex 18 tragedy.

Prosthetics: $116 million more to increase availability of new-generation prosthetics.

Research: $58 million more for medical research in trauma, traumatic brain injury, mental health and other critical areas in finding the best treatments for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Homeless Veterans: $130 million to provide additional case workers and medical services.

Oversight: Additional $11 million for the Office of the Inspector General to provide additional personnel to inspect the community-based outpatient clinics and Vet Centers, to avoid a Walter Reed scandal in the VA system.

Construction: Increases VA construction by $1 billion above the president's request, which will provide needed funding for six additional major construction projects, and another 145 minor construction projects at VA facilities for fiscal year 2009.

Military Construction: $24.8 billion, $400 million above the president's request and $4.2 billion above 2008. The large increase is mostly due to the costs of implementing BRAC, and plans to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.

Some notable provisions include:

2005 BRAC and Re-stationing: $9.1 billion, ($1.8 billion above 2008 and meeting the president's request) to implement base closures and realignments, and support the re-stationing of 70,000 troops and their families from overseas to the United States.

Quality of Life Initiative: $336 million, not requested by the president, to continue a quality of life initiative for troops and their families started in the 2008 supplemental, including nearly $200 million for five new trainee and recruit housing facilities for the Army and Marine Corps, and $136 million for medical military construction.

Growing the Force: $5.6 billion in military construction and family housing, to increase the size of the Army by 65,000, the Marine Corps by 27,000, and the Guard and reserve branches by 9,200 personnel.

Military Housing: $3.2 billion, $300 million above 2008, to further eliminate inadequate military housing.

House bill brings $60M to Fort Hood

Kat — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:42:11 -0700

House bill brings $60M to Fort Hood

Special to the Daily Herald | Killeen Daily Herald | August 02, 2008

WASHINGTON – Before speeding for the exits Friday to begin a five-week recess, House lawmakers passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which includes more than $60 million for projects at Fort Hood.

The House passed the bill by a 409-4 vote. The $72.7 billion measure awards generous increases to veterans programs and military base construction projects.

Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, along with Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, secured $17.5 million for the construction of a chapel facility on Fort Hood.

"It was a pleasure to work with Mr. Edwards to secure funding for a chapel that will benefit our troops and their families. This facility will help meet religious needs of the nearly 50,000 soldiers stationed at Fort Hood while also providing counseling services, child care, and family support services for soldiers and their families," said Carter, a member of the Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.

The bill includes:

$32 million for the construction of vehicle maintenance facilities at Fort Hood. These funds will support the construction of unit maintenance and operations facilities for a clearance company and a military police unit. These facilities will help support the troop increase requested by the defense secretary as part of the "Grow the Force" initiative for the Army.

$10.8 million for a Joint Air Ground Center at Fort Hood. These funds will support construction of a Joint Air Ground Center to support the administrative, training, vehicle and equipment maintenance and storage requirements for the 3rd Air Support Operations Group and the 9th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Hood. The project will help cement the Air Force presence at Fort Hood.

The bill also calls for increasing spending on Veterans Affairs health programs by $3.1 billion over current levels, some 9 percent. A $1.8 billion increase for military base construction is 20 percent above current levels.

There's also a $2 billion increase in base closure accounts for items such as improving conditions at bases slated for troop increases and assisting states and localities in preparing closed bases for economic development projects and other uses.

'09 budget increases funding for vets

Kat — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:37:32 -0700

'09 budget increases funding for vets

Cleburne Times Review | Jun 10 2008

Edwards: "When it comes to veterans, our nation has a moral obligation to keep its promise to those who kept their promises to serve our nation in uniform. After years of veterans budgets that barely, if at all, kept pace with inflation, leaving America's heroes with inadequate health care and benefits, it is now a new day for our vets."

Final passage of the fiscal year 2009 budget passed the U.S. House Thursday after having passed the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. The budget increases veterans' spending over last year by $4.9 billion.

"When it comes to veterans, our nation has a moral obligation to keep its promise to those who kept their promises to serve our nation in uniform," U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, said. "After years of veterans budgets that barely, if at all, kept pace with inflation, leaving America's heroes with inadequate health care and benefits, it is now a new day for our vets."

Edwards, a senior member of the House Budget Committee, was a member of the House-Senate conference committee that wrote the final budget plan that included the increase in veterans' spending.

"Starting in 2007, the new Congress increased veterans health care and benefits by $11.8 billion, the largest increase in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration," Edwards said. "Today, I am proud to say that the 2009 budget plan keeps faith with America's veterans by increasing VA funding to $48.2 billion, $3.3 billion above the Bush administration's request and $4.9 billion above the record 2008 level."

Major veterans groups strongly supported the budget, including the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Edwards said.

Passage of the 2009 budget resolution puts America on a path to a balanced budget by 2012, Edwards said. The budget passed the Senate by a 48 to 45 vote. It passed the House by a 214 to 210 vote.

Reserve Center may be replaced

Kat — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:04:30 -0700

Reserve Center may be replaced

By MATTHEW WATKINS | Bryan-College Station Eagle | Eagle Staff Writer | May 24, 2008

Edwards:"Members of the 420th Engineering Brigade need facilities that effectively train and equip them to carry out their national security responsibilities. This funding is an important first step that will pave the way for a new Army Reserve Center for the 420th Engineering Brigade."

A spending bill that's making its way through Congress is set to give area soldiers a long-awaited Memorial Day gift.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2009 has been earmarked to include $920,000 to hire architects and planners to design a new Army Reserve Center in Brazos County, according to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

It will replace a building that is home to the 420th Engineering Brigade, a reserve unit that "commands and controls assigned engineer assets," according to the brigade's Web site. The brigade has 22 subordinate units and more than 2,500 reserve soldiers.

Captains at the center did not return calls Friday.

The unit moved to Bryan in 1958 and has remained in the same building on West Carson Street since. Officers at the center have requested improvements for years.

According to Edwards, the building has foundation problems that have caused separation in the walls and cracked floors. The building also doesn't meet current military force protection requirements because it is too close to the street.

"Members of the 420th Engineering Brigade need facilities that effectively train and equip them to carry out their national security responsibilities," said Edwards in a statement announcing the appropriation. "This funding is an important first step that will pave the way for a new Army Reserve Center for the 420th Engineering Brigade."

Edwards chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

The bill, H.R. 5658, must be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by President Bush before it becomes law. It was approved by the House, 384-23, on Thursday.

Edwards said that after completion of the design stage, he would include an additional $12 million for the center's construction in spending bills.

Edwards: House Passes 21st Century GI Bill of Rights ...

Kat — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:04:40 -0700

Edwards: House Passes 21st Century GI Bill of Rights to Cover Veterans’ Cost of College Education

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Chet Edwards, Chairman of the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, today supported House passage of a historic new GI Bill for the 21st Century that covers the cost of a college education for U.S. service men and women.

“For the 1.7 million brave men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this legislation will make a college education a reality, not a dream,” said Rep. Edwards. “This new GI Bill for the 21st Century restores the promise of the GI Bill to pay for a full four-year college education for America’s veterans by doubling the current benefit from approximately $9,000 per year to $18,000 per year. Not only will this strengthen our military, it will also allow the heroes of Iraq and Afghanistan to be part of spurring the American economic recovery -- just as the original GI Bill did after World War II.”

Under the new GI Bill, servicemembers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, who have served 3 years on active duty, would receive benefits to cover the costs of a four-year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public school, along with a stipend for housing, books and other expenses. Education benefits would be available to troops who have served at least 3 months of active duty service since September 11, 2001, including members of the National Guard and Reserve. Right now, veterans’ education benefits cover only about 60 percent of the cost of a public-school education.

The new GI Bill is broadly supported by all major veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
In his first year as Chairman of the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Edwards authored a historic increase of $11.8 billion in veterans’ health care and benefits, the largest increase in veterans funding in the 77-year history of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

House votes for more family education benefits

econnor — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:11:31 -0700

AIR FORCE TIMES: House votes for more family education benefits

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 7, 2008

The House of Representatives passed a major education bill that includes a promise of in-state tuition for the families of service members, a scholarship program for military families and special centers to help veterans finish college degrees.

The bill, HR 4137, now goes to the Senate, where changes are possible. But its passage by a 354-58 vote on Thursday is just the start of what could be a year of many education initiatives for military families, which have gained the green light after President Bush announced he supports allowing active-duty service members to transfer some of their GI Bill education benefits to their spouse or children.

Reps. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, and Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., were the chief sponsors of the amendment promising in-state tuition for military dependents as long as their military sponsor was either a resident of the state or stationed in the state when the student started college. If the military sponsor is reassigned, in-state tuition would continue to apply, something that does not always happen today.

“One of the many hardships military families face when they move from base to base is their children’s inability to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public universities,” Edwards said. “Given the sacrifices being made by our military families, it is wrong to raise a military child’s college tuition by $10,000 to $20,000 a year when a parent is re-stationed to a military base in a different state.

“Granting military children the ability to pay in-state tuition rates throughout the country means many will no longer have to give up their education goals when their parents’ military orders come in,” said Edwards, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees military quality of life programs.

The House bill also would create a new scholarship program for active-duty personnel and family members, including children and spouses of active-duty service members or veterans. It also would establish support centers to help veterans graduate and excludes veterans benefits from counting as income when considering eligibility for student aid or housing aid.

Attached to the bill is legislation sponsored by Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee, that prevents interest from accruing on student loans for active or reserve troops serving in a combat zone. The freeze on interest would be for up to 60 months.

While the House was passing this bill, the number of co-sponsors was climbing for bipartisan legislation that would allow active, National Guard and reserve members to transfer GI Bill benefits to their spouse or children in return for a commitment to remain in the military.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, is the chief sponsor of the bill that has gained attention since President Bush mentioned in his State of the Union address that he supported GI Bill transfer rights.

Bartlett, who has been pushed the idea for several years, reintroduced a modified measure Thursday that has 44 co-sponsors. Two differences between it and the plan taking shape in the Bush administration is that Bartlett would allow a service member to transfer their full GI Bill entitlement to their families and would make transfer rights available to reservists.

“It’s only fair to allow our service members to use the full amount of the GI Bill benefits they have earned,” Bartlett said. “The ability to transfer unused benefits to a spouse or children could make a critical difference to senior NCOs and officers who might otherwise leave the military because they can’t afford to send them to college.”

He predicted that with Bush supporting the idea, and with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, sponsoring identical legislation, the bill will not sit idly on the shelf this year.

Other proposals also are in play. Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced a Senate bill to improve education and job opportunities for military spouses. It would allow service members to transfer GI Bill benefits to a spouse; give military spouses a five-point hiring preference for federal jobs, similar to the hiring preference for veterans; and create tax credits for employers who hire military spouses.

“This bill helps ensure we’re giving our military spouses the support they need to remain in the service,” Corker said. “We spend a lot of time talking about our military families, but this is a bill that actually does something to improve the lives and livelihoods of these families who make tremendous sacrifices in service to our country.”

House Approves Economic Recovery Plan

econnor — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:11:31 -0700

January 29, 2008

House Approves Economic Recovery Plan

KWTX TV Waco

The House has overwhelmingly passed a $146 billion stimulus package that would speed rebates to most taxpayers. The plan was approved 385-35, after little debate.

It would send rebates of between $600 and $1,200 to anyone with at least $3,000 in income. Congressional leaders want to send the measure to President Bush by Feb. 15, but the bill faces a murky future in the Senate.

There, both Democrats and Republicans want a larger package that includes billions of dollars for senior citizens and the unemployed. The Senate plan would also send checks to the richest taxpayers, who wouldn't get rebates under the House version of the bill. The divergent plans could slow passage of the bill.

Some lawmakers from both parties are calling for the House version to be passed in the Senate and sent directly to President Bush, saying that delays could hinder the bipartisan agreement.

Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, praised the measure. “This stimulus package gives our economy the quick jolt it needs by putting money directly back into the hands of the American people and giving small businesses critical tax cuts that create incentives for new jobs,” Carter said.

Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, also voted for the package. “This stimulus package, if passed into law quickly, could provide a much-needed boost to hard-working families and to our struggling national economy. It is an example of bipartisanship at its best, and I hope the Senate will move forward in the same spirit of good faith compromise for the good of our country,” Edwards said.

Congress approves Pell Grant limit increase by 2012

econnor — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:11:31 -0700

Feb. 12, 2008
Congress approves Pell Grant limit increase by 2012

Baylor Lariat
By Sommer Ingram | Baylor Lariat reporter

As the costs of higher-level education continue to rise across the country, Congress continues its efforts to make education more affordable for students and their families. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Higher Education Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act through fiscal year 2012, increasing the maximum Pell Grant per year to $9,000.

The increase in the Pell Grant is $68 billion from 2009 to 2012. Congressman Chet Edwards, D-Texas, supports the bill.

"Keeping the doors of our colleges and universities open to bright, hard-working students is not only important for their future, it is critical for the future of our nation," said Edwards in a news release. "If America is going to compete in the global economy, we must knock down the financial barriers that are making it harder for qualified students to pursue a higher education. One of the ways we do that is by increasing Pell Grants."

Dr. Charles North, professor of economics, said that while Pell Grants are an effective way of getting kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds to college, they aren't the sole solution.

"If our goal is to reduce the amount of poverty in the United States, we need to focus more on pre-K through 12 children, because the roots of poverty are in elementary school," he said. "I'd like to see more money aimed at the earlier, more formative years in kids' lives so they can develop the skills and mindset needed for college."

In his State of the Union Address, President Bush proposed a multi-million dollar program called Pell Grants for Kids. Modeled after the Pell Grant program for college students, this program would provide grants on a competitive basis to schools to create scholarship programs for low-income students from kindergarten to twelfth grade to attend private schools. Unlike the increase in the Pell Grant, this new plan was proposed amid criticism of being a voucher in disguise.

"In my opinion, this is just a back door way of providing funding for kids to attend private schools--much like a voucher," said Dr. Kent Gilbreath, professor of economics. "It is highly unlikely that such a proposal will pass because Congress hasn't seemed to support vouchers. Simply calling this a 'Pell Grant' doesn't change anything."

Gilbreath said there are things that need to be addressed within the original Pell Grant program itself.

"The biggest problem with Pell Grants is that the amount of money has not kept up with the growing cost of higher-level education, kind of like minimum wage wasn't increased for years," he said.

Because Pell Grants are restricted to families below a certain income level, many middle-class families who can't afford college tuition out of their own pockets don't get help from the federal government.

"We must provide the very best education we can for everyone, because the future of our competitiveness as a nation is based on brains, not brawn," Gilbreath said.

Gilbreath said the increase in Pell Grants has no effect on the economy and talk of recession.

"That matter is rather irrelevant," he said. "But one of the big clouds looming on the horizon is the huge amount of debt students leave college with -- it can have a stifling effect on the economy and business cycle. But Pell Grants are a step up both economically and socially for thousands of low-income families, so an increase is a huge step in the right direction."

Edwards delivers funding bill for veterans

Kat — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 08:30:55 -0700

June 14, 2007
Edwards delivers funding bill for veterans

By SUZANNE GAMBOA | AP via Houston Chronicle | Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Almost two decades after pledging to take care of veterans, Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards finally has built enough seniority in Congress to fulfill his promise.

Edwards used his post as an appropriations subcommittee chairman to deliver a $64.7 billion bill funding veterans and military construction programs to the House that is scheduled for a vote this week.

The bill provides $43.2 billion for Veterans Affairs, $6.7 billion more than provided in 2007 and the largest single increase for Veterans Affairs in its 77-year history, he said.

Edwards, D-Waco, said his one-time boss and mentor, former Rep. Olin "Tiger" Teague, a World War II veteran, advised him when he was elected in 1990 to never forget veterans.

"I have been working for 16 years to write a bill like this for veterans," Edwards said.

But the bill also sets up a possible faceoff for Edwards with his most famous constituent, President Bush, who has threatened to veto all the appropriations bills because they exceed his spending requests.

It's a threat that Edwards called "ill advised" while he stood at an outdoor news conference flanked by about a dozen representatives of veterans groups, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

"By the time the White House hears from thousands of veterans throughout the country that are outraged by a veto of historic funding levels ... they will back off the veto threat," Edwards said.

The veterans groups, some that have opposed Democrats on their effort to withdraw troops from Iraq, said the funding would provide for sorely needed case workers to reduce the backlog of 400,000 veterans' benefits claims.

The bill also provides $600 million for new mental health and post traumatic stress syndrome programs, including money for five polytrauma centers, and to get three mental health and PTSD centers, including one in Waco, operating by next year. The centers treat Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for traumatic brain injury and help their families.

"This is a good bill. It is the right thing to do and it is the cost of war," said Kimo Hollingsworth, legislative director for AMVETS.

Politically, the bill helps Democrats deliver on a promise to make children and veterans their priorities.

"A lot of people say we are for veterans, but the test is where do you put your money?" Hoyer said.

The spending bill is about $4 billion more than what Bush, whose ranch is in Edwards' district, requested for Veterans Affairs and military construction.

The bill also would spend:

$8.2 billion for Base Closing and Realignment projects.
$2.9 billion for military housing
$2.9 billion for substance abuse programs for veterans.
$76.5 million that will help pay for 50 investigators to oversee spending.
$2.8 billion to increase the size of the military.

The bill is HR2642.

Edwards: $6.7B increase for vets' healthcare

Kat — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:43:28 -0700

May 23, 2007

Edwards' subcommittee passes $6.7 billion increase for veterans' healthcare

Waco Tribune Herald
By David Doerr |Tribune-Herald staff writer

“I’ve been pushing for this budget since last December and fighting for budgets like this for the last 16 years. New congressional leadership has agreed to make supporting our troops, their families and our veterans as the top priority in the 2008 congressional budget.”

Disregarding a veto threat from the White House, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, passed an appropriations bill through his subcommittee Tuesday, calling for $3.8 billion more for veterans health care than the president has requested for the 2008 budget.

The bill, which adds $6.7 billion to the $36.5 billion of discretionary funding set aside for the 2007 budget, amounts to the largest single increase in the Veterans Affairs Department’s 77-year history.

But perhaps more importantly, the total proposed budget for the first time exceeds by $294 million the amount veterans service organizations have called for in their independent budget recommendation.

Edwards, who chairs the U.S. House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, said the nation’s veterans deserve no less.

“This is not a handout to veterans,” he said. “This is about providing them the earned benefits for their service and sacrifice to our country.”

The additional funding would provide better care and shorter waiting lines for visits with VA doctors, Edwards said. The legislation also targets the 177-day average wait veterans must endure for disability claims to be processed, by providing funds to hire 1,100 additional claims processors.

The increases are a reflection of the new Democratical-controlled Congress’ commitment to provide for veterans, Edwards said.

“I’ve been pushing for this budget since last December and fighting for budgets like this for the last 16 years,” said Edwards, who began his ninth term in Congress in January. “What happened is that new congressional leadership has agreed to make supporting our troops, their families and our veterans as the top priority in the 2008 congressional budget.”

David Autry, Disabled American Veterans spokesman, said the proposed budget increases were a significant step in the right direction. The increased patient load from soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is giving incentive to lawmakers to boost the VA’s budget, he said.

“I think what has been missing is the willingness to actually take a good hard look at what’s needed out there and try to fund the need rather than what fits within the constraints of the budget,” Autry said.

The bill marks the first time in the 21 years veterans organizations have been making independent budget recommendations that Congress has surpassed what they had requested, he said.

The bill also includes an $8.2 billion increase in military construction funding, which is $207 million more than President Bush’s requested.

The White House has issued a blanket veto threat against all bills funding domestic agency budgets that bust budget limits issued by Bush in February. But Edwards and other Democratic leaders are calculating that Bush will spare the veterans spending bill from a veto given the popular support for providing returning soldiers with medical care.

“Despite what the director of the White House budget office has said, I cannot imagine President Bush wanting to veto a bill that makes good on our promises to veterans and military families during a time of war,” Edwards said.