Active Duty and Reserve Duty military veterans have been for decades some of the most forgotten individuals when it comes to receiving even basic benefits to survive. Despite dedicating years of sacrifice and service, the challenge to have themselves and their families provided for can be enormous. Yesterday, Congressional VA-01 District Democratic candidate Qasim Rashid announced his plan to aid veterans with his Compassion for Veterans Plan.

Per a press release from the campaign, Rashid highlights the importance of providing veterans with access to health care, housing and educational resources. “My brother defended our country for four years as a United States Marine. His service makes this policy proposal personal to me and to my family,” said Rashid. “The First District is home to over 100,000 veterans and when I’m in Congress I’ll fight for every single one of them. Here in Stafford, many of my neighbors and friends are members of our vibrant veteran and military family community. I’m proud of our campaign as a whole, but I’m especially proud of our veterans committee, who led the development of this Veterans proposal. Our veterans have sacrificed immensely for our nation and when elected I will deliver for these heroes.”

According to the campaign website, the Compassion for Veterans Plan outlines the following severance package for honorably discharged service members:

• A year of health care coverage under Tricare. Double that for veterans who served in combat, and three years for anyone wounded in action. 
• A lump sum payment of a month’s base pay per year of service up to ten.
• A year of military housing allowance based on pay grade at discharge and geographic location paid monthly. 
• A combat tour bonus of $2,000 for each tour in a combat zone and a $5,000 bonus for Purple Heart recipients.
• Giving veterans control over their education benefits by creating an Education Resources Account they can use to pay for college or other training for themselves or their families.

For more details on the Compassion for Veterans Plan, click on the following link.