Remarks on Standing With Veterans Action Plan

General Clark, thank you so much for being here, for your faith in this campaign, and -- most important -- thank you for your example. Thank you for your leadership, your service to our country, and your work with service men and women and veterans. I've been really privileged to call General Clark a mentor and friend.

You know, one of the reasons I badly wanted to work for the General was because of my grandfather and what he taught me. His name was Rube Byhoff, and he fought in World War II. A lot of our grandfathers did. I was close with him, and I've kept his diary from the war. It's on my book shelf. And I just wanted to share a short passage:

Apr 11, 1945: "In spite of the fact that everyone at home feels the war is over, we lost about four men yesterday due to sniper fire. Got my itchy finger on the trigger each time I get more than 200 yards from the command post."

Now, beyond those words, I can't tell you much more about what my grandfather was thinking on that day -- but I can tell you what he definitely wasn't thinking about -- he wasn't thinking about politics. He wasn't wondering if the guy walking with him 200 yards from the command post was a Republican. He wasn't wondering if Harry Truman -- who would ascend to the presidency one day after that entry was written -- was a good Democrat. Or about General Dwight Eisenhower, who was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces at the time, and later President, was a good Republican.

My grandfather -- and those he represented -- just wanted not to be forgotten by those at home. He wanted people to know his struggle and have his back.

And one of the reasons I have a deep respect for General Clark, is that he's always understood that -- that politics must stop at the waters' edge. As you said to me once, General, "When you're in the bunker… no one asks your party affiliation. They just want to know that you'll have their back."

And for me -- that's one of the prime reasons I'm running for Congress.

Because the truth, right now in this District, we don't have a congressman that looks after our veterans. We've got a Congressman that looks after his perfect Tea Party record.

I want to share with you a letter, published in the Bergen Record, from a man who works for Passaic Veterans services. He wrote about a new veterans' center that was opening in our district, Paramus, -- and the strange guest who showed up at one of their events…

"Scott Garrett," he wrote, "attended the medal ceremony at the Paramus State Veterans Home, which received $2 million from the [government] for its improvement. I was among the people gathered for the occasion," he said, "Many who attended gave Garrett accolades and words of gratitude … which he was all too willing to accept."

Garrett never admitted that he voted against [the bill that provided the funding] and, therefore, tried to block any… funding from ever getting to… veterans at the Paramus home.

I do not know how a person finds the ability to honor a veteran in one moment," the man wrote, "and then accepts credit for aid to veterans that he tried to obstruct. There is no honor in that.."

There is no honor in that…

Unfortunately, it was neither the first -- nor the last time--Scott Garrett displayed something less than honor. It was neither the first -- nor the last time -- that he voted against our veterans, and then tried to take credit for helping them.

Garrett has been in Congress 14 years, and in that time he's voted against PTSD support…against funding for veterans' healthcare clinics… against prosthetics for veterans who have returned from war. Scott Garrett voted in favor of sending our troops to war but refused to care from them when they returned home. He voted to spend almost $2 trillion dollars on the Iraq War but said it was too expensive to provide veterans the support they need when they came back. Garrett was even the only member of Congress in New Jersey to vote to fly the Confederate Flag in Veterans cemeteries. Imagine that. Is that how we honor veterans who fought to preserve our union? Garrett was more interested in defending a symbol of the Confederacy and bigotry.

And yet, just two weeks ago, Garrett put out a press release, announcing that a group of veterans, most Republican elected officials, was supporting him because he told them about all the wonderful things he's done to help vets and first responders… like voting for the Zadroga Act, which provided health care for 9/11 first responders.

Which would have been a great thing. Except Garrett voted against it and against them.

When the media caught up with Garrett -- and called him out on his lie -- his response was that he wanted to support their health care, but that it had become part of a larger package, and he could not -- in good conscience -- vote for that.

Plausible story? Well, consider this: Scott Garrett has consistently voted for plenty of package bills -- including the one that contained the Bridge To Nowhere. So, he was okay with the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska in 2011, but came out against health care for our 9/11 first responders here in our back yard in 2006 and again in 2015?

Bottom line: Garrett waves the flag during campaign season. He puts his arms around our troops, but then turns his back on them after the voting is over. He calls in their support when he needs it, but when they need him, he hides. Well, he can't hide any more.

How you vote -- and who you stand with -- is your character. And Scott Garrett's character is that of a coward.

As it's said in Scripture, "faith without works is dead."

I never served in the military. But I have been near women and men who have been on the front lines with "deeds and truth" -- men like General Clark, men like my grandfather, and my father-in-law. I have great respect for them, enormous respect. And one of the reasons I'm running is to, in some small way, repay their sacrifice. To serve them.

Today, I am proud to announce my Standing with Veterans Action Plan.

My plan adds to the work of others here in our community. Our County Executive, Jim Tedesco, for example, has been executing on a stellar veterans plan and thanks to his efforts -- and others -- the Department of Housing and Urban Development recently declared that Bergen County has ended all veterans homelessness. That's something to be proud of. But we must do more here and across the country.

First and foremost, we need to build a stronger VA -- one with more accountability and less red tape.

Today, nearly half a million veterans are still forced to wait more than 30 days to see a doctor. That's unacceptable -- especially because we have a greater percentage of wounded vets returning home than ever before.

During World War II, 30 percent of all the military members who were wounded on the battlefield, died. Now, that number is far lower -- ten percent. That's great news -- our wars are less deadly -- but it also means we have to do a better job of caring for wounded vets when they come home. We need to make it as easy as possible for vets to get care. Making an appointment to see a doctor should be no more difficult than buying movie tickets or ordering groceries online.

Second, we need to improve mental health care for vets. Every day, twenty veterans in this country take their own life; members of the US Armed Forces account for one out of every five suicides in the United States. There's a PTSD epidemic among our vets, and it needs to change.

We need to invest in the best mental health care for our veterans. We need to devote more resources to screening so that we can quickly diagnose those who need treatment -- especially in rural areas, like in parts of Sussex and Warren counties, where they've traditionally lacked the doctors to do this. We can be innovative to solve this problem -- and use new technologies like telemedicine.

That's why I'm proposing that the VA ensures that veterans who suffer from PTSD related to Military Sexual Trauma are uniformly eligible for disability compensation and treatment.

Third, we need to better help troops make the transition from service to citizen. We need to support career training and transition Assistance Programs like Hiring Our Heroes, extend GI Bill benefits to entrepreneurs, and help provide veteran owned businesses with access to capital.

Finally, we must treat our reservists better. Too often, the National Guard and Reserves are TOO OFTEN treated like the minor leagues of our armed forces. Yet these organizations play a critical role in keeping us safe at home and abroad. As of 2013, slightly more than a quarter of the 37,000 troops that had been deployed more than 5 times were from guard and Reserve units.

We have to make sure that those serving in the National Guard and Reserves are provided with the training and equipment needed to do their jobs and the care for their sacrifice -- something my opponent has refused to do. Scott Garrett voted against a defense bill that would have resupplied depleted equipment, combat vehicles, and new battle gear for the Army National Guard and Reserve. Worst of all, in 2012, Garrett voted against paying our National Guard in the event of a government shutdown, only to go on and spearhead a government shutdown in 2013.

The bottom line, I believe you stand by those who stand by you, especially those on the front lines against terror at home and abroad. First responders, law enforcement, service men and women, our veterans. There is no room to compromise. Doing right by others isn't a Democrat, Republican, or Independent issue. It's about being an American. And I'm not going to let my opponent's Tea Party extremism get in the way of standing by those who've served.

If you're a Congressman, you take an oath -- almost the same oath that those in our military take -- an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."

The oath doesn't say, "preserve, protect, and defend the United States… so long as it's convenient for you." It doesn't say "preserve protect and defend so long as your vote doesn't screw up your Tea Party rating." Nor does it say "preserve, protect, and defend only if its good politics."

It says, "I will preserve, protect, and defend the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic."

I will. Thank you and may God Bless the United States of America.

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