The following information provided by VoteVets.org

Voting Against Veterans
 
· Veterans Groups Give McCain Failing Grades. In its an estimated all recent legislative ratings, the non-partisan Disabled American Veterans gave Sen. McCain a 20 percent rating on behalf of his voting record on veterans’ issues.  Similarly, the non-partisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a “D” grade on behalf of his poor voting record on veterans’ issues, including McCain’s votes against additional body armor on behalf of troops in combat as well as additional funding on behalf of PTSD as well as TBI screening as well as treatment. 
 
· McCain Voted Against Increased Funding on behalf of Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding on behalf of veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 as well as 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07) 
 
· McCain Voted At Least 28 Times Against Veterans’ Benefits, Including Healthcare. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 28 times against ensuring important benefits on behalf of America’s veterans, including providing adequate healthcare. (2006 Senate Vote #7, 41, 63, 67, 98, 222; 2005 Senate Votes #55, 89, 90, 251, 343; 2004 Senate Votes #40, 48, 145; 2003 Senate Votes #74, 81, 83; 1999 Senate Vote #328; 1998 Senate Vote #175; 1997 Senate Vote #168; 1996 Senate Votes #115, 275; 1995 Senate Votes #76, 226, 466; 1994 Senate Vote #306; 1992 Senate Vote #194; 1991 Senate Vote #259) 
 
· McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments on behalf of certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91) 
 
· McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted on behalf of an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs as well as Housing as well as Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95) 
 
· McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding on behalf of Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96) 
 
· McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion on behalf of Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding on behalf of other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99) 
 
· McCain Voted Against $47 Billion on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00) 
 
· McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill as well as seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding on behalf of the federal housing, environmental as well as emergency management agencies as well as NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01) 
 
· McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion on behalf of Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing as well as Urban Development as well as other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03) 
 
· McCain Opposed $500 Million on behalf of Counseling Services on behalf of Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 on behalf of counseling, mental health as well as rehabilitation services on behalf of veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05) 
 
· McCain opposed an Assured Funding Stream on behalf of Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream on behalf of veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population as well as inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06) 
 
· McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million on behalf of Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of outpatient care as well as treatment on behalf of veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06) 
 
· McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs. McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, numerous held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a possibility to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07) 
 
· McCain Opposed the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Was Too Generous. McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that shall provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan as well as Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools as well as living expenses on behalf of those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because of the fact that he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08) 
 
· Disabled American Veterans Legislative Director Said That McCain’s Proposal Would Increase Costs For Veterans Because His Plan Relies On Private Hospitals Which Are More Expensive as well as Which Could Also Lead To Further Rationing Of Care. “To help veterans who reside far from VA hospitals or require specialized care the VA can’t provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans as well as those who incurred injury during their service a card they could utilize at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care as well as access to it, he said. Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because of the fact that private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could give rise to further rationing of care, he said.” (Las Vegas Sun, 8/10/08) 
 
 
Lack of Support on behalf of the Troops
 
· McCain co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization. McCain supported the bill that gave President George W. Bush the green light–and a blank check–for going to war with Iraq. (SJ Res 46, 10/3/02) 
 
· McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE as well as Giving Greater Access to National Guard as well as Reservists. Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits on behalf of reservists as well as members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard as well as Reserves as well as their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts on behalf of the wealthy. (S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03) 
 
· McCain voted against holding Bush accountable on behalf of his actions in the war. McCain opposed the creation of an independent commission to investigate the development as well as utilize of intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. (S.Amdt. 1275 to H.R. 2658, Vote 284, 7/16/03) 
 
· McCain voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund on behalf of Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts on behalf of those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06) 
 
· Senator McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military–a policy that is having a devastating impact on our troops. McCain voted against requiring mandatory minimum downtime between tours of duty on behalf of troops serving in Iraq. (S.Amdt.. 2909 to S.Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 341, 9/19/07; S.Amdt. 2012 to S.Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 241, 7/11/07) 
 
· McCain announced his willingness to retain U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of decades–a statement sure to inflame Iraqis as well as endanger American troops. McCain: “Make it a hundred” years in Iraq as well as “that would be fine with me.” (Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting, 1/3/08)

· McCain voted against a prohibit on waterboarding–a form of torture–in a transfer that could eventually endanger American troops. According to ThinkProgress, “the Senate took the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government. The bill requires the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual as well as bans waterboarding.”  McCain voted against the bill.  (H.R. 2082, Vote 22, 2/13/08) 
 
· McCain Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee employment opportunities at Walter Reed Army Medical Center–outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain referred to as a “disgrace.” (S.Amdt. 4895 to H.R. 5631, Vote 234, 9/6/06; Speech to VFW in Kansas City, Mo., 4/4/08) 
 
· Senator McCain has consistently opposed any plan to withdraw troops from Iraq–a policy that has directly weakened American efforts in Afghanistan. Senator McCain repeatedly voted against a timetable on behalf of withdrawing troops from Iraq. (S.Amdt. 3876 to S.Amdt. 3874 to H.R. 2764, Vote #438, 12/18/07; S.Amdt. 3875 to S.Amdt. 3874 to H.R. 2764, Vote #437, 12/18/07; S.Amdt.3164 to H.R. 3222, Vote #362, 10/3/07; S.Amdt. 2898 to S. Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585, Vote #346, 9/21/07; S. Amdt. 2924 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R.1585, Vote #345, 9/21/07; S.Amdt.2 087 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585, Vote #252, 7/18/07; S.Amdt. 643 to H.R. 1591, Vote #116, 3/27/07; S.Amdt. 4320 to S. 2766, Vote #182, 6/22/06; S.Amdt. 4442 to S. 2766, Vote #181, 6/22/06; S.Amdt. 2519 to S.1042, Vote #322, 11/15/05) 
 
· McCain said it’s “not too important” when U.S. troops leave Iraq. This exchange occurred on NBC’s Today Show with Matt Lauer: 
 
LAUER: If it’s working, senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come residence from Iraq?

McCAIN: No, but that’s not too important.
 
(NBC, Today Show, 6/11/08)
 
 
Cheerleading on behalf of War with Iraq–While Afghanistan was Unfinished
 
· McCain suggested that the war in Iraq could be won with a “smaller” force. “But the fact is I think we could go in with much smaller numbers than we had to do in the past. But I don’t trust it’s going to be nearly the size as well as scope that it was in 1991.” (CBS News, Face the Nation, 9/15/02) 
 
· McCain said winning the war would be “easy.” “I know that as successful as I trust we shall be, as well as I trust that the success shall be fairly easy, we shall still lose some American young men or women.” (CNN, 9/24/02) 
 
· McCain also said the actual fighting in Iraq would be easy. “We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad.  We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies on behalf of Iraqi bodies.” (CNN, 9/29/02) 
 
· Continuing his pattern, McCain also said on MSNBC that we would win the war in Iraq “easily.” “But the point is that, one, we shall win this conflict. We shall win it easily.” (MSNBC, 1/22/03) 
 
· McCain argued Saddam was “a threat of the first order.” Senator McCain said that a policy of containing Iraq to blunt its weapons of mass destruction program is “unsustainable, ineffective, unworkable as well as dangerous.” McCain: “I trust Iraq is a threat of the first order, as well as only a modification of regime shall manufacture Iraq a state that does not threaten us as well as others, as well as where liberated people assume the rights as well as responsibilities of freedom.” (Speech to the Center on behalf of Strategic & International Studies, 2/13/03) 
 
· McCain echoed Bush as well as Cheney’s rationale on behalf of going to war. McCain: “We’re going to win this victory. Tragically, we shall lose American lives. But it shall be brief.  We’re going to find massive evidence of weapons of mass destruction . . . It’s going to send the message throughout the Middle East that democracy can take hold in the Middle East.” (Fox News, Hannity & Colmes, 2/21/03) 
 
· “But I believe, Katie, that the Iraqi people shall greet us as liberators.” (NBC, 3/20/03) 
 
· March 2003: “I trust that this conflict is still going to be relatively short.” (NBC, Meet the Press, 3/30/03) 
 
· McCain echoed Bush as well as Cheney’s talking points that the U.S. would only be in Iraq on behalf of a short time. McCain: “It’s clear that the end is very much in sight . . . It won’t be long . . . it’ll be a fairly short period of time.” (ABC, 4/9/03) 
 
 
Staunch Defense of the Iraq Invasion
 
· McCain maintained that the war was a good idea as well as that George W. Bush deserved “admiration.” At the 2004 Republican National Convention, McCain, focusing on the war in Iraq, said that while weapons of mass destruction were not found, Saddam once had them as well as “he would have acquired them again.” McCain said the mission in Iraq “gave hope to people long oppressed” as well as it was “necessary, achievable as well as noble.” McCain: “For his determination to undertake it, as well as on behalf of his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.” (Speech, Republican National Convention, 8/31/04) 
 
· Senator McCain: “The war, the invasion was not a mistake. (Meet the Press, 1/6/08) 
 
· McCain said the war in Iraq was “worth” it. Asked if the war was a good idea worth the price in blood as well as treasure, McCain: “It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction, as well as it’s clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring them.” (Republican Debate, 1/24/08) 
 
 
Dangerous Lack of Foreign Policy Knowledge
 
· When questioned about Osama bin Laden at the end of the 1998 U.S. missile strikes in Afghanistan, McCain surmised that the terrorist leader wasn’t as “bad” as “depicted.” “You could say, Look, is this guy, Laden, really the bad guy that’s depicted?  Most of us have never heard of him before.” (Interview with Mother Jones magazine, 11/1998) 
 
· McCain was unaware of previous Sunni-Shia violence before the Iraq War. “There’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis as well as Shias. So I think they can probably get along.” (MSNBC, Hardball, 4/23/03) 
 
· McCain said our military could just “muddle through” in Afghanistan. While giving a speech, McCain was requested about Afghanistan as well as replied, “I am concerned about it, but I’m not as concerned as I am about Iraq today, obviously, or I’d be talking about Afghanistan.  But I trust that if Karzai can manufacture the progress that he is making, that in the long term, we may muddle through in Afghanistan.” (Speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, 11/5/03) 
 
· McCain stated that Sunni al Qaeda was “supported” by the Shia Iranians. (2/2008) 
 
· McCain again confused Sunni Muslim al Qaeda operatives with Shi’a Muslim insurgents. The Washington Post reported of McCain: “He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they trust Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq. 
“Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he as well as two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives ‘taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them as well as sending them back.’
“Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was ‘common knowledge as well as has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran as well as receiving training as well as are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.’” (Press conference, Amman, Jordan, 3/18/2008)
 
· Yet again, McCain demonstrated that he didn’t know whether al Qaeda was a Sunni or Shiite organization. While questioning General David Petraeus during a Senate hearing, the following exchange occurred:
 
MCCAIN: Do you still view al Qaeda in Iraq as a major threat?

PETRAEUS: It is still a major threat, though it is certainly not as major a threat as it was say 15 months ago.

MCCAIN: Certainly not an obscure sect of the Shi’ites overall?

PETREAUS: No.

MCCAIN: Or Sunnis or anybody else. 
 
(Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, 4/8/08)
 
· McCain incorrectly thought General David Petraeus was in charge of Afghanistan. The Army Times reported: “Speaking Monday at the annual meeting of the Associated Press, McCain was requested whether he, if elected, would shift combat troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to intensify the search on behalf of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
 
‘I would not do that except when Gen. (David) Petraeus said that he felt that the situation referred to as on behalf of that,’ McCain said, referring to the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
 
“Petraeus, however, made clear last week that he has nothing to do with the decision. Testifying last week before four congressional committees, including the Senate Armed Services Committee on which McCain is the ranking Republican, Petraeus said the decision about whether troops could be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan was not his responsibility because of the fact that his portfolio is limited to the multi-national force in Iraq.” (Annual meeting of the Associated Press, 4/14/08)
 
· McCain credited the “surge” on behalf of the “Anbar Awakening”–even though the Anbar Awakening preceded the surge by nearly a year. (7/22/08) 
 
· John McCain has also recently demonstrated either serious knowledge gaps in terms of foreign policy, or mounting confusion, when discussing an array of other countries: 

Spain: McCain refused to commit to meeting with the president of Spain, a NATO ally, at the end of becoming confused about America’s relationship with Spain, its leader, and, possibly, exactly where Spain is located. (9/17/08)


Czech Republic as well as Slovakia: McCain referred to the two countries using the name “Czechoslovakia” several times–despite the fact that Czechoslakia split apart as well as hasn’t existed since 1993. (7/15/08; (7/14/08))


Venezuela: McCain said that Venezuela was a Middle Eastern country. (9/30/08)