Yet another issue Vets might want to be aware of - democrats want to rename the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center after Wellstone:
3 state Republicans block Wellstone honor
Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press
October 23, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two years after Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash, legislation to rename the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for him has languished on Capitol Hill because of objections from some Minnesota Republicans.
Rep. John Kline, a Republican from Burnsville, has led the opposition, arguing that the hospital should be named instead for a "real war hero."
The bill, which would rename the hospital the Paul Wellstone Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was introduced by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Rep. Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul, as a way to pay tribute to Wellstone's work on behalf of veterans.
"Certainly, Senator Wellstone deserves honor and recognition as a U.S. senator from Minnesota," said Kline, noting that a community center in St. Paul has been named for Wellstone and his wife, Sheila, who was also killed in the crash.
"But we're talking about a VA Center. It seems to me that Senator Wellstone was a senator who couldn't find his way to supporting defense budgets, and had some reputation as an anti-war protester. And while it's certainly his place to do that, it seems to me that a VA center ought to be named for a veteran who is a real war hero."
Monday is the second anniversary of the plane crash that killed the Wellstones, their daughter Marcia Markuson, and five others.
At a congressional hearing last year, the Veterans Affairs Department's general counsel, Tim McClain, said that renaming the VA hospital for Wellstone would be an "altogether fitting tribute."
The bill also has the backing of Minnesota's two senators, Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Mark Dayton, as well as five of the state's eight House members, including Republican Jim Ramstad, who was a close friend of Wellstone.
But it's opposed by Kline and fellow Minnesota Republicans Mark Kennedy and Gil Gutknecht. That's enough to doom the bill this session.
The legislation passed the Senate as part of the Veterans Affairs health care bill last year but was dropped in House-Senate negotiations because it lacked a united front from the Minnesota delegation.
McCollum noted that the bill has the support of the major national veterans groups and their state chapters, including AMVets, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans.
"It's most unfortunate that Congressman Kline won't support the veterans in this state, who want to see the VA Medical Center named for Paul," she said. "He worked tirelessly to make sure veterans with disabilities had access to the clinics, he worked for veterans who were exposed to radiation."
One of Wellstone's major accomplishments was pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand the number of veterans eligible for compensation for cancer-causing radiation during atomic tests.
He also won passage of legislation to expand services for homeless veterans, putting a hold on all Republican non-emergency legislation to get the bill passed.
Wellstone's relationship with veterans didn't start out smoothly. He angered many when, soon after being elected in 1990, he staged an anti-war news conference in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He had also been an outspoken Vietnam War protester. But he came to see veterans in the context of his progressive politics.
In an interview with the Associated Press just two weeks before his death, Wellstone reflected on how his attitudes had changed since coming to Washington.
"The most dramatic example is veterans," he said, unprompted. "Who would have ever -- it's such a close bond. It's unbelievable. It's emotional and powerful. It's just been amazing."
Wellstone said he hadn't known that so many veterans were on long lines for health care, or mental health services, or were homeless.
"I just didn't realize all the ways in which our country hasn't said the proper thank-you for what they've done," he said. "So to me, this became just a huge justice question."
Veterans groups rewarded Wellstone with numerous honors.
Richard Jones, national legislative director of AMVets, said he recognized that Wellstone was not a war hero and had been a war protester.
"But while a senator, he always took a strong stand to ensure that veterans health care, in particular, was fully funded," he said.
Hank Sadler, commander of the Minnesota chapter of Disabled American Veterans, said he was upset that the bill hasn't gone anywhere.
"Here's a guy who wasn't a veteran himself, but he went to the wall for veterans," Sadler said. "Sometimes the non-veterans support the veterans more than the veterans do."
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