McCain Gets a 'D' from Vets Group

Sen. John McCain may be the combat veteran and son and grandson of admirals, but he rates only a D when it comes to supporting veterans issues, according to the "Congressional Report Card" just issued by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Sen. Barack Obama is no veteran, but his votes in the U.S, Senate over the past year earned him a B, says IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff .

See congressional report card from the IAVA.

The report card rates every member of the Senate and House, he said, and with it "people can find out who in Washington really supports Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and who's full of hot air."

IAVA is not endorsing either presidential candidate, Rieckhoff said, but in a conference call interview with media it was the voting records of McCain and Obama that got all the focus.

At the same time, a great many veterans and active duty personnel have shown they back McCain because of his consistent support of the surge in Iraq when others, including Obama, predicted the effort would not work. McCain also draws in service member and veteran support because of his own military experience as a Navy attack pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam.

A Military.com online poll conducted earlier this month found 68 percent of readers favored McCain over Obama.

Critical to their report card grades, said Rieckhoff , was how and when they came out on the new GI Bill and how often they missed senate votes important to veterans. Each vote in favor of a veterans bill chalked up a point, while those who co-sponsored the new GI Bill got two points.

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No points were awarded for votes in opposition or missed votes, said IAVA policy director Vanessa Williamson.

McCain never supported the new GI Bill, and in fact hampered its passage by pushing for another bill that veterans groups considered inferior. Obama was an early advocate and co-sponsor of the bill.

Obama also fared better in the number of pro-veteran bills he voted for. Of nine pieces of legislation listed by IAVA, Obama voted for five, while McCain voted for three.

Neither voted in opposition to the nine bills, but instead failed to vote because they were campaigning.

"There was a lot of discussion in the office on whether people should get an incomplete if they can't vote," Williamson said, "but we felt it was really important (to factor that in). The troops fight every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't get to show up at my job 30 percent of the time "

Rieckhoff noted that Sen. Tim Johnson, D- S. Dakota, who suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in a coma for a time, missed fewer votes than McCain, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., missed fewer than both candidates notwithstanding he underwent brain surgery for a tumor.

"You cannot support the troops if you're not there to vote," Reikoff said.

McCain was one of only four senators to make the D list. The others are Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Michael Enzi of Wyoming and Jim DeMint of South Carolina.