Chet Edwards For Congress

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Shortcuts to issues and hot topics in the 17^th Congressional District

Fighting Hard for America's Veterans and Military Retirees

Congressman Chet Edwards believes America has a solemn commitment to America's veterans and military retirees - to see that they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, and to see that our government honors their service and sacrifices not just in words, but in deeds.

As the Ranking Member of the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, Chet is a leader in the Congress when it comes to fighting for the men and women who have fought for us.

Fighting to Save the Waco VA Hospital

Chet Edwards has led the fight to save the VA Hospital since the day the CARES Commission recommended closing the historic, 73 year-old facility in 2003.

Working alongside area veterans, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and local leaders, Chet exposed the VA's phony cost-benefit analysis they tried to use to justify the Waco VA's closure and pointed out the increasing need for the Waco VA's services in light of the tens of thousands soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The VA has been forced to reevaluate its plans, and the current and former VA secretaries have visited Waco personally at the request of Chet and Senator Hutchison, seeing firsthand the quality of care provided by the hospital's 800 dedicated employees.

Chet secured $3 million for PTSD research in 2005 that will involve the Waco VA, Baylor University, Texas A&M 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) and to pass legislation prohibiting the VA from reducing the mission of any of the facilities under study by the CARES Commission.

Supporting a Strong National Defense & the War on Terrorism:

Chet Edwards is a leader in Congress on national defense issues. As co-chairman of the bipartisan House Army Caucus, Chet has been a strong voice for supporting our men and women in uniform and seeing that they have the resources to fight the war on terror and defend our homeland.

• Chet is the Ranking Member of the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees $136 billion in annual spending.




• Chet is a strong supporter of the war on terrorism and has worked hard to see that our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe have the equipment and tools they need to do their jobs.




• Chet led the effort to stop the Department of Defense from cutting two divisions of the Army - some 40,000 active-duty troops - in 2001.

Securing our Borders & Stopping Illegal Immigration

While others have talked about securing our borders, Chet has done something about it.

• Chet helped write the law that added 1500 additional border patrol agents and has supported legislation that would add 6000 more, to better police our borders and stop the influx of illegal immigration.




• Chet has secured $16 million for Waco's L-3 to build P-3 aircraft, a surveillance tool for securing our borders, catching drug smugglers and stopping illegal immigration.