Perry praises Texas’ efforts to support veterans
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, praised his state’s commitment to veterans and their families during an appearance in Houston late Saturday.
“There is no other state that takes care of its veterans better than the state of Texas,” Perry said. “Just this week, the Texas Veterans Commission announced that we had helped over 40,000 of our state’s veterans in [entering] the workforce since last year.”
Perry got a warm reception at the Lone Survivor Foundation’s second annual gala at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, according to the Houston Chronicle, where he wore cowboy boots. Guests also paired boots with cocktail dresses and suits.
The Lone Survivor Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is building a ranch facility to support veterans and their families affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and combat injuries. The group was founded by former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.
“These are our precious sons and daughters; they are our flesh and blood,” Perry said. “We must take care of every last one of them. Organizations like the Lone Survivor Foundation are part of our helping meet that obligation, but the state has a role to play as well.”
Perry, whom the Associated Presspointed out has spoken out against government spending and meddling in people’s lives, spent a lot of time Saturday talking about the need to fund programs to improve veterans’ lives.
“Returning from war, our veterans come home to a place that’s instantly recognizable yet significantly different than the place that they left months or years ago,” he said. “Loved ones must learn to reconnect and become families again. Fathers and mothers return home to children they haven’t seen in months or years. Relatively mundane demands of living life away from the front lines, finding a job, reestablishing a career, paying bills, can start to seem pretty overwhelming.” Tens of thousands of military service members are from Texas, and honoring their service must not end when they get home, Perry said.
“Just as we owe them our very best when we send them off to defend our freedoms or to free oppressed people, we owe them our very best when they come home,” he said. “We must devote whatever resources are necessary to help them heal and lead better lives.”
Perry said Texas has invested in programs to provide emotional support to returning veterans, eliminate red tape at the Department of Veterans Affairs, help them earn college credit for what they learned on duty and ensure that fully disabled veterans pay no property taxes.
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-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske reporting from Houston