Veterans and a Strong Defense Industrial Base

Veterans

The UAW has always supported the federal programs that compensate and honor our nation’s veterans for their service. We fought efforts by the Bush administration and GOP congressional leaders to shortchange veterans and their health care programs. As the overall veteran population ages, and a rapidly growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war vets sustain physical and psychological injuries requiring costly and long-term treatment, there is an ever-increasing demand for veterans’ health care services. And as health care costs rise generally, there is a corresponding need for greater funding for veterans’ health care programs. To meet this need, the UAW strongly supports legislation to require mandatory funding for veterans’ health care. Mandatory funding would require the federal government to pay all the costs of veterans’ health care and would eliminate the annual struggles over how much to appropriate for the services in the following year. Until mandatory funding is enacted, the UAW will be working with veterans groups to ensure that the annual appropriations measures provide adequate funding.

In the last Congress, Democratic congressional leaders achieved a major victory by enacting a new GI Bill for the 21st century, the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act. Under this legislation, veterans receive tuition reimbursements up to the highest in-state public tuition rate in their home states, as well as payments for books, fees, and a living stipend. The bill eliminates a $1,200 enrollment fee, extends the use-or-lose benefit period from 10 to 15 years, and greatly enhances the amounts paid to National Guard and Reserve members. This new GI Bill automatically adjusts payments as tuition increases, and provides a dollar-for-dollar tuition match for private colleges and universities who choose to participate in the program. In addition, the bill allows re-enlisting service members to transfer their educational benefit to their spouse and/or children.

During the coming year, the UAW will continue to advocate for programs to assist our nation’s veterans. This includes measures to improve health care, education and other benefits for veterans.

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Maintaining a Strong Defense Industrial Base

Since January 2001, the United States has lost almost 4 million industrial jobs, nearly 25 percent of America’s manufacturing workforce. The UAW believes this erosion in manufacturing seriously undermines our defense industrial base. In addition to hurting workers, their families and their communities, the hollowing-out of our manufacturing base places our national security at risk. The United States needs a strong manufacturing base to maintain a strong national defense.

UAW-represented draftsmen at the Electric Boat facility in Groton, Conn., have designed a submarine that plays a vital role in stealth intelligence-gathering and deployment and recovery of elite and Special Forces in dangerous places around the world. In 2008, with help from our Democratic allies in Congress, we were successful in persuading Congress to pass a defense budget that codified a build rate of two Virginia-class submarines a year, with advanced procurement funding through 2013.

With the help of an enthusiastic and effective grassroots effort, the UAW also continued our lobbying for increased funding for the C-17 Globemaster. This versatile aircraft, capable of landing on short, poorly maintained runways, has delivered arms and troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and has been instrumental in civilian relief efforts in natural disasters. Last year, with the help of key Democratic appropriators, we were able to secure in the FY 2008 defense supplemental spending bill $3.6 billion for 15 C-17 aircraft. We will continue our push for increased funding for this vital aircraft in the 111th Congress.

Upon taking office, President Obama was presented with many difficult spending decisions that will affect our defense industrial base. The new president and his national security team will be making these decisions in a challenging environment, given the state of the economy and the decrease in federal revenues.

To help reverse the loss of manufacturing jobs and to ensure that the U.S. keeps a strong defense base, the UAW supports tougher Buy American requirements for defense procurement. President Obama – in stark contrast to former President Bush – has signaled his support for scaling back the latitude of the Defense Department to waive Buy American requirements. The UAW also supports legislation to strengthen these Buy American provisions.

In 2009, the UAW will continue to support efforts to provide adequate funding for needed defense programs that employ UAW members. We will also work with other unions, the Obama administration, and allies in Congress to strengthen and enforce the Buy American requirements for defense procurement.

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