Peña and Ciro in March with the Veterans
I like the idea of elected officials blogging. My friend, LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti, does his constituents a service with his blog, in my estimation. I’ve also taken note recently of Texas State Representative Alex Peña. He recently has been blogging from the road about a march across South Texas by veterans protesting the lack of a veteran’s hospital. Ciro Rodriguez joined the marchers today - he has a strong record on veteran’s issues - and Dos Centavos and the Brownsville Herald have the story:
The idea for the march was originally conceived to mark the 20th anniversary of the march Valley veterans made to the Alamo to remember prisoners of war, said Jose Maria Vasquez, commander of America’s Last Patrol in the Valley.
It was later expanded to include the hospital issue, he said.
“We’re not asking for a handout,” he said. “All we want is what we deserve,”
Vasquez himself was moving quickly with the help of a walking cane to compensate for his uneven leg lengths.
Vasquez said Valley veterans feel deserted by the federal government that sent them to war.
“They call it a protest,” he said. “We call this a bitch. We’re bitching about it.”
Former U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez, who was defeated in 2004 and is running again for Congress in 2006, said the border is a logical place for a military and veterans’ hospital.
He sponsored legislation to spend $400 million on four military hospitals that could take patients in the event of biologic warfare and other emergencies. The bill passed, but the money never made it into the budget, said Rodriguez, who marched with the group in San Antonio.
Peña said he wants Texas’ senators in Washington, D.C. to engage in more discussion with the Valley veterans on the issue.
When he started walking with the group from the Hidalgo County Courthouse on Saturday, he though he would go for the day. He has made the entire trip.
