No time for troops as session ends

In the rush to adjourn this week, Wisconsin lawmakers are passing bills left and right to keep their commitments to the special interests whose help they want in the fall campaigns.

Was that cynical? Just truthful.

One bill the Republican leadership has decided it doesn't have time for is one that sounds like a no-brainer. Introduced by two Dems (is that the problem?), it would insure that Wisconsin National Guard or Reserve troops sent into combat are equipped with the best body armor available.

It's something that would be unnecessary if the GOP-controlled Congress, the White House or Defense Dept. would make it a priority. But they haven't.

The legislation, authored by State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, and State Rep. Tom Nelson, D-Kaukauna, comes after a recent Pentagon study that showed 80% of Marine casualties in Iraq could have been avoided with extra body armor.

“If the federal government won't take care of our troops, then Wisconsin should,” Nelson said. “This bill simply makes sure that our citizen soldiers receive the basic protective gear to do their job.” The National Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the state and consequently, the state has a responsibility for those soldiers.

Senate Bill 609, Hansen's bill, was scheduled for a public hearing last Monday. Over the weekend, Senate Veterans Committee Chairman Ron Brown, R-Eau Claire, pulled the bill from the hearing schedule.

Nelson then tried to attach the bill as an amendment to another Assembly bill, but the GOP leadership refused to consider it.

“I find the actions of leadership in this instance very bewildering. This bill has bi-partisan support in both houses. We can afford to do this because our troops cannot afford to be without the best available protection we can provide them. It should be an easy vote. But, for some reason people around here apparently don’t want to vote on this,” Nelson said.

The Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Champion State Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, Rep. Mark (Victory in Iraq) Green and others you would expect to be in the front ranks on this issue are silent. Milwaukee County Exec Scott Walker likes to hold rallies for the troops, but does nothing substantive.

Is it because the Republicans don't want Nelson, a freshman who defeated an incumbent Republican last year, to get any credit? He is a prime target for the GOP this fall. Or is it because it will point up the failure of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld to take care of the troops?

Next time some right-wing legislator sounds off about supporting the troops, ask him where he was when the troops needed his support.