Up North Progressive

Congressman Benishek is the only Michigan representative on the House Committee of Veterans’ Affairs. Being a former VA hospital surgeon it would seem logical that he would vote in favor of increasing VA benefits, funding and making it easier for veterans to do things like buy a home or get health care when they need it. The opposite is true. Dan Benishek voted in solidarity with the other Republicans in Washington D.C. who vote based on the belief that if President Obama wants it, they must do the opposite.

From 2011 to 2013 Benishek voted to make it more difficult for low-income veterans and Social Security recipients from hiring a lawyer to file civil cases against the United States Government. He also voted against helping vets with mortgage relief and a bill that would have provided $75 million to help homeless veterans find a place to live.

And that was only in 2011! In 2012 Benishek voted against housing assistance for veterans again. He went on to vote against medical and prosthetic care research that would have benefited veterans. Something that is very odd for a former VA hospital surgeon to do.

In 2013 he voted against the Veterans Backlog Reduction Act. You know, all of those sick and wounded veterans dying while waiting to see a doctor? Benishek voted against doing anything about that. This is the same issue that Republicans have used to force Erik Shinseki to resign and hold over President Obama’s head as if it’s his fault. When the government shut down in the fall of 2013, Benishek stood with his fellow Republicans and supported it. He even turned down the chance to keep veterans services open by voting no on a new budget with the rest of the Republican Party.

A former VA Doctor from Iron Mountain who served for 20 years treating veterans knows how important it is that these men and women get the best care America can provide them, it’s only a small part of the debt this nations owes these people for serving their country. Shame on Dan Benishek for playing party politics instead of doing the right thing and taking care of our veterans. It’s time for him to retire from Washington D.C. this November.