Q: Under what circumstances would you vote to authorize the president to take military action?
A: I respect the president’s role as commander-in-chief, but believe he should consult with
Congress on major military actions. A strong case must be made the US interests are at risk and our people threatened.
Source: Citizens for Global Solutions: 2008 Senate questionnaire
Sep 9, 2008
Ratify Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; no new nukes
Q: Do you oppose the development of new nuclear weapons by the United States or any other nation?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
A: Yes.
Source: Citizens for Global Solutions: 2008 Senate questionnaire
Sep 9, 2008
Repeal the Patriot Act
The Patriot Act granted the federal government far too many powers to pry into the private lives of Alaskans & other Americans. Fighting terrorists doesn’t require that we invade the lives of innocent Americans at the expense of essential civil liberties
Mark will work to repeal the Patriot Act and put in place national security resources built on human intelligence and Special Forces that will identify, focus on and respond to real terrorist threats--and not what books you read at the local library.
Source: Campaign website, www.begich.com
Aug 19, 2008
Pledges full support for the 21st Century GI Bill
The 21st Century G.I. Bill provides veterans the financial support needed to go to college--that means covering not just the cost of tuition--but also room and board, books and tutoring. Right now, under the current GI Bill, veterans only get an average
of $1,100 a month. This falls far short of covering the costs of school. When our veterans come home from Iraq, Afghanistan, or other areas, we want them to have the same educational opportunities as those that served before them in World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam. To support anything less is wrong. The 1,600 plus veterans currently enrolled in the University of Alaska system should not have to be saddled with thousands of dollars of debt when they graduate. Senator Webb’s bill provides those
who have served our country since 9/11 the full cost of going to the highest cost public school in each state. It also creates incentives for private universities to partner with the federal government to cut the cost at private institutions.
Source: Campaign website, www.begich.com, “Issues”
May 21, 2008
Increased Anchorage’s support for military personnel
With one of the nation’s largest concentrations of both active duty military and veterans, Begich has increased the city’s support for military personnel. At his request, the U.S. Conference of Mayors established a new
Community/Military Relations Task Force. Anchorage First Lady Deborah Bonito has raised thousands of dollars for military personnel and their dependents.
Military spouses don't lose voting residency while abroad.
Begich signed Military Spouses Residency Relief Act
A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to guarantee the equity of spouses of military personnel with regard to matters of residency, and for other purposes.
Prohibits, for purposes of voting for a federal, state, or local office, deeming a person to have lost a residence or domicile in a state, acquired a residence or domicile in any other state, or become a resident in or of any other state solely because the person is absent from a state because the person is accompanying the person's spouse who is absent from the state in compliance with military or naval orders.
Prohibits a servicemember's spouse from either losing or acquiring a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation because of being absent or present in any U.S. tax jurisdiction solely to be with the servicemember in compliance with the servicemember's military orders if the residence or domicile is the same for the servicemember and the spouse. Prohibits a spouse's income from being considered income earned in a tax jurisdiction if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of such jurisdiction when the spouse is in that jurisdiction solely to be with a servicemember serving under military orders.
Suspends land rights residency requirements for spouses accompanying servicemembers serving under military orders.
Begich signed Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act
A bill to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to:
report on barriers to the receipt of comprehensive health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) encountered by women veterans, especially those of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom;
provide for an independent study on health consequences for women veterans serving on active duty in deployments in such Operations; and
report on the employment of full-time managers for women veterans programs at VA medical centers.
Requires the Secretary to:
develop a plan to improve the provision of
VA health care services to women veterans;
carry out a program of education, training, certification, and continuing medical education for mental health professionals providing care for veterans suffering from sexual trauma;
carry out a pilot program of providing reintegration and readjustment services in group retreat settings to women veterans recently separated from service after a prolonged deployment; and
carry out a pilot program on subsidies for child care for certain women veterans receiving health care from VA facilities.
Requires women veterans recently separated from service to be included on the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
Authorizes the Secretary to furnish care to a newborn child of a woman veteran receiving VA maternity care for up to seven days after the birth of the child.
