This is the most important election year in the lives of military veterans, retirees, their families and friends. We are at war and, according to our government officials, it will last for years. We need a Congress with the knowledge and understanding to provide funds and leadership to see us through this struggle and make sure our military never again is slighted in such a way as to place our nation in jeopardy, as we were by the previous administration.

We must also encourage Congress to pass pending bills to end discrimination against military retirees and their spouses and thus demonstrate a commitment to our current, all-volunteer military forces that promises made will be promises kept.

Before promising your vote for re-election, educate yourself on the current issues; look at your representatives’ and senators’ voting records on security, national defense, Department of Defense funding and the military’s quality-of-life programs. Take a good look at the candidates with a strong military background and those with proven track records of supporting our veterans and present armed forces, and consider them for Congress.

Also, remove from Congress those who have been using our tax dollars to finance their campaigns by doling out pork projects ($20.1 billion so far this year) to their largest contributors. We can no longer sit by and watch the biggest crooks in our country rob us blind while we continue to re-elect them.

Eileen Shellabarger

Steuben