Senator Sherrod Brown

Supporting Our Troops

Supporting our troops is an imperative shared by everyone in Congress. Our troops must get the support and the protection they need. From providing them with body and vehicle armor, to boosting their base pay, our troops must come first.

In late 2007, I held a roundtable meeting at the Louis Stokes VA Hospital in Cleveland where I heard directly from returning service members about challenges they face when returning to civilian life.  Several young Ohio service members spoke of the difficulties they encountered when their college careers were interrupted by deployments.  When soldiers head off to war, they need to know they will be given the time and support they need without falling unnecessarily behind academically or financially when they return to their normal lives as college students. 

To ensure our service members receive the support they need, I introduced the Veterans Education Tuition Support (VETS) Act.   This legislation would extend the time period before returning service members must reenroll in school or begin repaying their student loans and caps student loan interest rates at 6 percent during deployment.  In addition, the VETS Act would require colleges and universities to restore service members’ academic status when they return.  These provisions were enacted in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 and apply to all National Guard, Reservists, and active duty military members.

While adjusting back to civilian life can be challenging for all service members, the transition is especially difficult for those suffering from combat-related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Earlier this year, I introduced legislation to provide greater protections for these service members and ensure they receive accurate and timely information regarding their military discharge and benefits.  The Discharged Service Members Protection Act would clarify and improve information for members and former members of the Armed Forces on upgrades of discharge and prohibit personality disorder discharges in cases of PTSD and TBI.

Congress must also take steps to ensure the families of our troops receive the support they need.  I worked to include provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 to require the Department of Defense to deliver the remains of fallen military personnel to the military or civilian airport nearest to the final destination chosen by the family.  The Department was previously free to use any combination of air, rail, or road transportation to bring a body home, and the adoption of these provisions ensures rural families will no longer be forced to travel several hours to meet the remains of their loved ones when they are returned home.

Empowering our National Guard

Ohio’s National Guard remains the best in the country. I will do everything I can to help ensure that they receive the support and benefits they’ve earned. Ohio’s National Guardsmen and women have performed admirably in Iraq and other foreign theaters and continue to maintain the highest level of preparedness despite the tough strains the War in Iraq has placed on their personnel, equipment, budget and families.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of the National Guard Empowerment Act, which would give the Guard a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assure that state governors retain control of National Guard forces during emergencies, and provide separate budget allocations for Guard operations. As the Guard is asked to do more and more both at home and abroad, we must ensure that they have the resources to meet these duties.

BRAC and Ohio’s future

While Ohio suffered a number of significant reductions in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the state made a number of important gains.  Wright Patterson Air Force Base Brown grew significantly, and I will continue to fight to ensure Ohio’s military installations and operations get the funding mandated by BRAC.

Ohio jobs depend on BRAC getting done on time.  To ensure Ohio bases receive the money they were promised, Congress must have accurate information on the funding required to complete the project.  I worked to include provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 that would require the Department of Defense to provide comprehensive accounting on the funding required to complete BRAC mandates.  The report was issued as part of the Bush Administration's FY 2009 budget.

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