Richardson touts benefit plan for vets
By MASON KERNS
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT
November 4, 2007
Waterloo, Ia. - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson promoted his proposed veterans' benefits package Saturday, pledging to a Veterans of Foreign Wars post audience of 100 to end the "terrible mistreatment" that he said stems from a callous approach to veterans issues by the Bush administration.
The governor proposed spending $15 billion at the federal level to revamp the U.S. veterans' benefits system. Of that sum, $2.5 billion would fund a Heroes' Health Card program that would allow veterans to seek treatment at facilities of their choice as opposed to strictly government-run veterans hospitals. Another $4 billion would ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs receives substantial mandatory funding each year, Richardson said.
The plan would also give all veterans a 5 percent break on their federal income taxes for life and eliminate all federal income taxes during their first year as civilians, initiatives that would cost $6.1 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively, in lost revenue.
Those and other veterans programs would be paid for by closing capital-gains tax loopholes.
Bill Derocher, a Waterloo construction worker, said to Richardson, "I'm curious: Am I the only one in this room that gives a damn about our national debt? When I take out a loan of $100,000 from a bank, I have to pay it back, with interest, or I'm going to prison."
"That's why I'm proposing a constitutional amendment to balance the budget," Richardson said, adding that the process would likely span many years.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment