Peter Roskam is at it again. He’s using a feeble gesture to attempt to convince Illinois veterans he’s on their side, at least long enough to get their votes this fall. Veteran’s should not be fooled.

There’s a “News Item” posted on Roskam’s House web site today announcing that “today reaffirmed his strong commitment to the men and women of our Armed Forces”. How did he do this? By proposing to make it easier for employers who hire veterans to receive tax breaks.

A commendable idea, I guess. But the problem is, for any program to help Veterans (or anyone else for that matter) to earn Roskam’s approval it has to somehow involve tax benefits to business. Any thing else is a non-starter for him. It is tax breaks that motivate Roskam, not the true needs of veterans.

Veterans do need jobs. They also need adequate medical and psychiatric care. They need rehabilitation. They need re-training. They need homes There are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans on any given night).

Roskam had a chance last fall, right around Veterans Day to help veterans begin to meet these needs. He said no. Twice. Too expensive.

Meanwhile, John McCain, who Roskam has endorsed for President, and who has supported Roskam, refuse to back a new GI Bill in the Senate. On his website, he says “America owes its liberty, its prosperity, and its future to our veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our great country.” He’s right. So why is it that he and Roskam will spend billions and billions of dollars sending these men and women off to fight and then won’t help when they come back to us wounded, unemployed and homeless? The only interest Roskam and McCain have in veterans is in getting their votes.

What follows is a short film by Robert Greenwald on McCain’s failure to support the new GI Bill: