Boccieri delivers Memorial Day radio address for Democrats

State Sen. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown)State Sen. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown) was tapped to deliver the Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address on Saturday. Boccieri is running in a hotly contested race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Navarre) in the 16th Congressional District, a seat that has been targeted by national Democrats.

In the Memorial Day weekend address, the Air Force Reserve Major and Iraq war veteran called on President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain to rethink opposition to a new G.I. bill that would give soldiers full collegiate scholarships after three years of service.

President Bush threatened to veto the measure, and McCain opposed the bill as it was moving through congress. The Pentagon also opposed the legislation. The opposition is based on the thought that the bill could negatively affect military retention, and the failure of the legislation to include transferability of education benefits within a soldier’s family, which was requested to be included by the Bush administration.

Boccieri said a veto of the bill would send a message that politics has defeated patriotism. “If our veterans want to go to college, they should be able to do so the minute their boots hit the ground,” he said. “I applaud leaders in Washington for passing the bipartisan 21st Century G.I. Bill to give today’s new veterans the same educational benefits as our World War II veterans.”

McCain has said he opposed the bill because it would be a disincentive for service members to continue service as non-commissioned officers. McCain, along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), had proposed alternative legislation that included benefit incentives based on continued military service. The G.I. legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) passed in the Senate by a vote of 75-22.

In his radio address, Boccieri also continued a theme of his campaign for Ohio’s 16th Congressional District, calling for better trade negotiation. He said American families are frustrated with trade agreements that have cost Americans jobs.

“As we spend billions on the war, hardworking middle class Americans are losing their jobs, paying more for food and gas, and going without health care,” he said.

Boccieri also noted the cost of the war.

“We’re spending more than $10 billion a month on the war while the quality of life for millions of Americans goes from bad to worse. We’re building brand new roads and bridges, and schools in Iraq when we need the same things right here in Ohio and in communities across our country.”

His opponent in the race, state Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) has said economic development in the area comes down to the way government taxes businesses, and supports working to develop high-tech jobs to keep college graduates in-state.