Legislation:   End U.S. Presence In Afghanistan & Give GWOT Vets $2,500 Bonus

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, and Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, introduced the bipartisan American Forces Going Home After Noble (AFGHAN) Service Act to “honor the volunteers who bravely serve our nation by providing bonuses to those who have deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism, and redirect the savings from ending nation-building in Afghanistan to America’s needs at home,” according to an announcement.

If passed, the AFGHAN Service Act would also permanently end America’s involvement in Afghanistan and overturn the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, said the lawmakers, who serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I believe that in addition to any bonus there should be resources to expedite the benefits those who have served have earned instead of waiting for them to be approved that can often be a long process too.

The question to everyone and please let us know what you think is:  Do you think we can end our military presence and involvement in Afghanistan? 

The U.S. House recently approved H.R. 1694 and passed it on to the Senate for consideration. The legislation, drafted by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-PA, would include veterans in the Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.

“The Fairness to Veterans for Infrastructure Investment Act is a bipartisan, common sense way to update legislation that redresses the exclusion of veteran small businesses at no cost to the taxpayer,” said James Oxford, chairman of the American Legion’s Veterans Employment and Education Commission. “The American Legion encourages the Senate and the White House to level the playing field for these veterans by turning Rep. Fitzpatrick’s legislation into law.”

“This legislation is necessary to provide parity for the nearly 1 million veterans who are small business owners seeking government contracts,” Oxford said. “Veterans should not be placed at a disadvantage in competing with other government procurement programs.”

According to the Small Business Administration, veterans own 380,395 construction firms, 64,542 manufacturing companies and 414,519 businesses in the professional, scientific and technical services. Currently, only half of the states meet their DBE goals. Adding veteran small businesses to this program would increase the pool of eligible firms at the states’ disposal.  For states that already meet their goals, this bill does not affect them or the small business contractors they employ.