Now, I don't really think anyone besides CNN still believes this stuff. Perino's excuse for Mr. Bush was that he wants a 'clean' bill for veterans, something he chose not to require of the last Republican Congress. Why is that, exactly? This administration has a dreadful record regarding veterans' care. The president has slashed proposed funding year after year, and this year he has to have a stand alone funding bill so he can sign it on Veterans Day or else he's going to stomp his feet and head down to the 'ranch' to cook hamburgers for that nice German lady and complain about the Democrats' desire to support our veterans AND other domestic needs.

So, what was so 'unclean' about the bill that pesky co-equal Congress dreamed up? Well, to be perfectly honest, it contained some truly outrageous 'Democrat' stuff. Like education funding and heating assistance and job training. Things that make people's lives, well ... better. OK, maybe not so horrible. Even if it were, though, I'm pretty sure the vets wanted that money regardless of what other spending bill it was attached to. Even one that provided money for *gasp* health research.

Anyway, nice try, Mr. President, but no one's buying what you're selling any more. This was not the Democrats failure to provide veterans funding, it was your administration and your Republican obstructionist lapdogs in Congress who removed the funding and that would give our veterans the care they deserve.

Retired US Navy Admiral, Congressman Joe Sestak, explained in Saturday's Democratic Radio Address that Democrats in Congress support our veterans. It's time for the Bush administration to start doing the same.

I said yesterday that I'd point to some legislation Senator Kerry co-sponsored in addition to the long list that he's written for our veterans. Well, I didn't have time to put a list together, but this did pop up in my email yesterday.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) yesterday introduced the Veterans Homelessness Prevention Act, which would launch an innovate pilot program to pair housing for at-risk veterans and veteran families with supportive services in an effort to prevent veterans from falling into homelessness.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over the course of 2006, there were approximately 495,400 homeless veterans. Although it may take years for veterans to fall into homelessness, hundreds of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already found themselves in this situation and, based on reported VA estimates, 1,500 seemed at high risk of becoming homeless. This bill will create housing targeted at veteran families and pair the housing with needed critical services such as mental health counseling, financial planning, and employment training. This bill is co-sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Congressmen Al Green (D-TX) plans to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives next week.