Chet Edwards For Congress

August 21, 2007

Editorial: Edwards' help still needed at VA

Waco Tribune Herald
By Editorial Staff

If anyone deserves a tribute for working to save the Waco Veterans Affairs Medical Center it is U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards.

He will get it Wednesday when the city hosts a reception in his honor.

But it needs to be more than a tribute. It needs to be a pep rally. As much as Edwards and other allies have done to preserve the hospital, much needs to be done to enhance services and utilize an under-used campus.

In June, a similar reception was held to recognize U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for her decisive efforts in saving the hospital.

In her campaign to save the VA campus, Hutchison made several important visits to Waco, especially when she accompanied both the VA secretaries on tours of the facility.

She also sponsored legislation to designate the hospital a “mental health center of excellence.”

But no one was as diligent about this task as Edwards. His hands-on efforts helped blunt the proposal to move all of Waco’s mental health treatment programs, blind rehabilitation treatment and geriatric care units to the Olin E. Teague Veterans Medical Center in Temple and to farm its services elsewhere around the country.

Working Hard for Waco & McLennan County

Chet Edwards has worked hard for McLennan County and his hometown of Waco, using his seniority and seat on the House Appropriations Committee to bring some of our tax dollars back home.

Since the November 2004 election, Chet has secured $44 million in investments over Administration budget requests for defense jobs, better roads, protecting the Waco VA Hospital, cleaning up Lake Waco and other key priorities for McLennan County.

"VA Hospital"

Select video:

"Our fight to keep the Waco VA Hospital open is about respect – it’s about sacrifice – and it’s about keeping the promises we’ve made to those who’ve served.

When some bureaucrats in Washington tried to close our Veterans Hospital, I stood up to them, and I’m fighting to make sure we keep its doors open and keep our word to our veterans.

I’m Chet Edwards, and I approve this message, because I’ll never give in on the promises we’ve made."

August 4, 2006

We are writing you today to ask you to join with us and thousands of other veterans and spouses of veterans in supporting the reelection of an incredibly strong and effective voice for veterans, their families and our military, Congressman Chet Edwards of Waco.

Chet Edwards is the son of a World War II veteran and got his start in politics working for the legendary Chairman of the VA Committee, Congressman Tiger Teague. Because of the profound influence Chet’s dad and Mr. Teague had on him, Chet is an unwavering supporter of veterans and their families. While every political candidate in America will say they support veterans, Chet has a proven record of being a national leader on our issues and is one of the most respected and influential voices in the entire Congress for veterans.

Because of his loyalty to our troops and veterans and his effectiveness in advocating for us, Chet has received numerous awards and recognitions from leading veterans and military organizations including the “Unsung Hero” Award from the American Legion in 2004 and “Legislator of the Year” from the Association of the U.S. Army in 2003.

Working Hard for Waco & McLennan County I
Fighting to Save the Waco VA Hospital

• Chet secured $3 million for PTSD research in 2005 that will involve the Waco VA, Baylor University and Fort Hood.




• Chet worked with Senator Hutchison to declare the Waco VA a Center of Excellence for Mental Health and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)




• Chet worked with Senator Hutchison to pass legislation prohibiting the VA from reducing the mission of any of the facilities under study by the CARES Commission.