Peter Roskam’s Empty Promise to Illinois Veterans

In an Op-Ed published March 19th on his Congressional web site, entitled “Keeping the Promise“, Peter Roskam blasts his colleagues in the House for having “incomprehensibly cut funding for Helmets to Hardhats by 80 percent, from $5.4 million to $990,000 last year – exemplifying the misplaced priorities for which Washington is infamous.”.

Helmets to Hardhats is a program that attempts to place National Guard, Reserve, and returning active-duty military personnel in union apprenticeships in the construction industry. A needed and useful program it would seem. And I’m sure Roskam is keen on it because it’s cost is negligible and it is liked by his contributors from the construction industry.

I can’t for the life of me find a record of how the funding came to be cut, but I’m sure there is more to the story than Roskam is telling.

In attacking the supposed funding cut, Roskam cites the high unemployment rate for returning vets and preaches that “our nation cannot look the other way while our veterans are in need.”

But Roskam did look the other way, just last fall, and, aligned with George Bush, refused to help veterans in need - twice! Democrats in Congress had proposed a package of aid for returning vets to the tune of several billion dollars. The money would have gone to programs for job training, employment programs, unemployment compensation, mental healthcare, and services for homeless veterans. Roskam voted against the package labeling it as pork. He then voted again to uphold George Bush’s veto of the package. This took place right around Veterans Day.

Roskam complains about his colleagues misplaced priorities but Illinois veterans must understand that they do not number among this man’s priorities. Peter Roskam has demonstrated again and again by his voting record that his only priority is reducing taxes for the wealthiest Americans and serving the interests of a corporate elite. Roskam has quietly supported the efforts of the Bush administration to prolong the military occupation of Iraq at the cost of the lives of thousands of military personnel and he has then refused to fund badly needed programs to help the veterans of that conflict on their return home after honorable service to their country. Peter Roskam is not a friend to veterans.