The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake defended her vote against expanded college benefits for veterans on Monday, saying she would not support legislation that President Bush has promised to veto.
Drake, surrounded by about a dozen veterans, held a news conference on military issues in front of the battleship Wisconsin.
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a new GI Bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, to expand college tuition grants to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure, estimated to cost $51 billion over 10 years, would provide benefits similar to the original, World War II-era GI Bill.
The House approved it in a 256-166 vote, with several Republicans crossing party lines to support the bill. Drake, originally a co-sponsor of the legislation, said she supports the expanded benefits. But she said she disagreed with several other provisions in the large defense bill.
Her opponent in the November election, Democrat Glenn Nye, said Drake chose the wrong side.
“She has let down our service members,” he said, adding it was “another example of Washington politics at its worst.”
The GI Bill still faces scrutiny from the Senate and Bush.
As part of another military bill considered last week, Drake inserted a provision requiring the secretary of the Navy to study and report on the economic impact that losing Navy ships would have on Hampton Roads.
Drake is concerned that the Navy will move ships from Hampton Roads and other bases to Mayport Naval Station in northern Florida. The Navy is studying 13
options for Mayport, which will lose its fleet of frigates.
The cost of renovating Mayport to accommodate new ships and a nuclear-powered carrier is estimated at nearly $500 million. Drake said she would like any decisions on ship transfers delayed until after a new administration comes to the White House.
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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If Drake wins this fall
I will personally veto it. HA! So you better vote NO for Thelma.
Vote No to Drake this Fall
By some of the comments, it seems that some are not aware that Drake IS up for re-election this fall and is opposed by Glenn Nye. So you CAN help vote her out if you want change in representation (of lack of).
Marionette
Its a shame that Thelma's sycophant-driven tenure coincided with that of the most unpopular presnit in modern Mercan history. If only she coulda been a sycophant for a less unpopular one.
RE: Amazing
"Then again, I guess it is a rare day when you actually see an elected member of the government show some fortitude and conviction for what they really believe in anymore."
Please remember Thelma Drake was bought and paid for by the Bush/Cheney and even Laura Bush who all came here to campaign for her.
I can't help but wonder who will tell Drake what to say, and how to vote after Bush is out of office. The woman does not have a mind of her own!
Amazing
Here I was thinking that the legislation was an entirely different branch of the government from the executive branch. Must have been that wonderful public education I received that steered me wrong.
Memo to Drake: The sole reason you are there is to try to pass laws that will better the country and the citizens who live in it. If the President wants to veto something you're putting up, then let him do the job that he was elected for. It's hard to tell whether she is a gutless coward who bows to the bullying of the White House or if she is a spineless sissy who wants to stay in the good graces of a lame duck office. Either way, it's a disgusting representation of my city and state that she is puting up in D.C. right now.
Then again, I guess it is a rare day when you actually see an elected member of the government show some fortitude and conviction for what they really believe in anymore.
Anyone but Drake
No surprise. Like most real estate sales people, she'll tell you and sell you what she thinks you want to hear. Don't buy it. She snubbed President Bush when he came to town with a phony excuse of a conflict; but now wants to snub the troops because the President might veto the bill. So what if he does.
She does
what she is told to do. Nothing more, nothing less.
Here's What Senator Webb Has To Say, Thelma..
Webb: No president in history has, has vetoed a benefits bill for those who’ve served. So on the one hand, we have this rhetoric, which goes to what I was writing/saying, “This is the next greatest generation, these guys are so great.” And then we see this president, he’s fine with sending these people over and over again where they’re spending more time in Iraq than they are at home. He’s fine with the notion of stop loss, where we can, we can make people stay in even after enlistments are done. And then we say, “Give them the same benefit that the people in World War II have,” and they say it’s too expensive?
Your response, Thelma?
DON'T SURPRISE ME
DRAKE.....Do you really think she would make it any better for anyone other than....SHE needs to walk.....
Thelma In The Vets Corner? Yeah, Right.
And I've got some Kool-Aid for sale. This poor excuse of a representative cares less about what this region/district believes. She kowtows to the administration and will not do anything unless directed to by similar puds like Randy Forbes, et al. She's not the sharpest tool in the shed and is known for being a fellow obstructionist to prevent any positive legislation from advancing that is not a product of her corrupt party. But she will be the first to take to the airwaves to tout her invovlement with legislation and point the finger at everybody else when things aren't rosy. I urge everybody to look at the Virginian Pilot on Saturdays (voting section) and determine for yourself how she continuously votes. You'll see quite clearly whose lead she's following, and it's not the wishes of the MAJORITY of her constituents.