| Staten Island, NY – former Assemblyman Bob Straniere, the conservative Republican candidate for Congress in New York’s 13th District, announced his support for the online effort “This Is For the Soldiers” by the rock band Drowning Pool, 15 year-old YouTube video producer, Lizzie Palmer and the non-profit organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Bob registered his support by signing their petition urging Congress to support the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform bill, through their website www.ThisIsForTheSoldiers.org. In addition, Bob announced his support for comprehensive wounded warrior legislation as outlined below including full funding for The National Intrepid Center for Excellence.
Bob Straniere said, “The Congress of the United States needs to take action immediately to support the men and women who are serving our country. While Members of Congress are taking their summer vacations, veterans and their families are dealing with serious problems from their service to our nation. Members of Congress need to come back from their vacations today and support our military families.”
“Whether it is providing the necessary resources to get mental health treatments for veterans and their families to overhauling the veterans disability system to protecting our servicemembers from unfair contracts, the United States Congress needs to send a clear message: we support our troops and their families and we will NEVER forget their sacrifices,” Straniere continued.
Bob Straniere also called upon Congress to allocate the necessary funds to build The National Intrepid Center of Excellence on the campus of the National Naval Medical Center’s campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Straniere said, “Not only do we need to fully fund this world-class facility, we need to fund satellite campuses across the nation to ensure the most sophisticated treatment for our wounded veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury and psychological health issues.” Straniere said, “If that means one less ‘Bridge to nowhere’, then so be it.” To learn more about The National Intrepid Center of Excellence and the amazing work of non-profit organization, The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, please visit www.fallenheroesfund.org.
In addition to the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform Bill and financial support to build The National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bob Straniere announced his support for the following legislation as outline by the non-profit organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA):
· The Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act (currently, H.R. 3793)
· Mandatory and confidential mental health and traumatic brain injury (TBI) screening by a mental health professional for all troops before and after combat tour
· Overhaul the Military and Veterans Disability System by streamlining the systems to provide adequate compensation for the injuries suffered by today’s military personnel
· Make VA Health Care funding sufficient and mandatory by eliminating the need for veterans to fight every year to fund veterans’ health care and eliminate the difficulty for veterans’ hospitals to plan ahead for hiring or repairs
· Combat the shortage of Mental Health Professionals by recruiting and retaining military health professionals by authorizing and financially supporting the VA to bolster the number of professionals needed to meet this growing demand
· Protect Servicemembers from unfair contracts by reimbursing tuition paid by students who are deployed overseas for interrupted coursework and reinstating returning students with the same academic status they earned before they were deployed.
To learn more about these items as well as the tremendous work done by The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, please visit their website www.iava.org.
Bob has continued to receive commitments from additional congressional candidates throughout America making The Straniere Pledge to join The Wounded Warrior Workplace Initiative.
To learn more about Bob Straniere’s campaign please visit his website www.BobStraniere.com.
About Bob:
Bob Straniere is a former New York State Assemblyman who represented Staten Island for 24 years. He is a proud husband, father of four and grandfather of five. He is a successful entrepreneur and committed public servant. While Bob was a Member of the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, he fought for lower taxes, less government and more freedom. He is a graduate of Wagner College and New York University Law School. He has served for 25 years as an Independent Director of over 30 different American Mutual Funds, including equity, bond, international, tax-exempt and money market funds. As a Congressman, Bob will fight to increase funding for homeland security to protect our ports and tackle the transportation issues facing the district. He supports commonsense energy solutions that combine immediate tax relief for families and a combination of long-term solutions including drilling for more oil and investing in alternative sources of energy. Bob will continue to be a great advocate for our brave veterans and their families and will continue his fight to protect our most vulnerable citizens: seniors and children.
About the 13th Congressional District of NYS (the Republican District of New York City):
· The 13th Congressional District for the United States House of Representatives includes all of Staten Island and the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, and Gravesend in Brooklyn.
· For more than 27 years, this Congressional District has been represented by Republicans.
· Congressman Vito Fossella currently represents the 13th Congressional District but is retiring after more than a decade of public service.
· In 2006, the worst year for New York Republicans in generations (Elliot Spitzer elected Governor and Hillary Clinton elected Senator), Congressman Fossella was re-elected with more than 56% of the vote.
· In 2004, with President George W. Bush defeating Senator John Kerry in Staten Island by over 13 points, Congressman Fossella won by 26 points.
· In 2000, with Vice President Al Gore carrying the district against Governor George W. Bush, Congressman Fossella won with 65% of the vote.
###
|
