John Kerry is trying to do something-some of this passed yesterday. I read it in the paper but I couldn't find the updated article online.
Maybe Bush doesn't have to do anything because he already got reelected
by Bryan Bender, Boston Globe Staff | April 13, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry yesterday used the $80 billion emergency spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to press a plan left over from his presidential campaign that would ensure that all military families are eligible for increased survivor benefits and can remain in military housing for up to a year after a loved one is killed in the line of duty
The Massachusetts Democrat is pushing some of the initiatives from his failed bid for the White House.
As the Democratic nominee he called for a Military Family Bill of Rights and other proposals to provide servicemen and women with financial, health, and other benefits he said they are being denied.
''This is the beginning of a larger effort to do right by our military families," Kerry told the Globe in an interview, adding that he plans to offer a full package of new benefits for troops and their families in a separate bill later this year.
Kerry's amendments were part of a wider effort by Democrats -- frustrated by their limited ability to affect the direction of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq and the war on terrorism -- to use the emergency spending bill as a vehicle for change.
A variety of Democratic amendments will be offered, including establishing a commission to investigate corruption in Iraq reconstruction contracts and barring the United States from transferring terror suspects to nations that engage in torture
The Democratic House leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, yesterday unveiled the ''GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century," pledging to enact legislation that would take better care of troops and veterans. The initiative would also increase death benefits for military families, while providing better healthcare for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and providing bonuses to troops.
''Every American is indebted to our troops for their bravery, their patriotism, and the sacrifice they are willing to make for our country," said Pelosi, flanked by fellow Democrats and former Democratic presidential candidate General Wesley K. Clark.
Kerry's proposed changes to the war spending bill-- which he says have the support of senior military officers and some Republicans -- would provide increased death benefits to the families of all troops killed while on active duty, not just those who lose their lives in a designated combat zone.
''We do right by our fallen police officers and firefighters, whose families receive $275,000, and it's time we did the same for our soldiers," Kerry told his colleagues. ''No one can ever put a price on a lost loved one, but we should do everything we can to help families put their lives back together. ''
Last year Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, first proposed increasing death payments from the current $12,420 to $500,000 through insurance benefits and a ''death gratuity." President Bush has embraced the proposal, but would restrict the $100,000 death gratuity to those who die in a designated combat zone. Kerry's amendment would provide the increased death gratuity for any service member who loses his or her life.
The second amendment he proposed yesterday would extend from 180 days to one year the length of time that families could remain in military housing after a loved one is killed.
Kerry's Military Family Bill of Rights, estimated to cost between $6.5 billion and $8 billion, would also allow Americans to donate to military charities on their federal income tax; allow penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts for expenses associated with deployments; and expand mental health programs at military hospitals.
Rendell 
