Press Coverage

Roll Call: Report Card Has a Few Surprises

Vote Ratings by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans' Group Has a Few Surprises

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Just in time for the midterms, a group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has given grades to Members of Congress.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund looked at 169 House votes and 155 Senate votes on such matters as funding for body armor, health insurance for veterans and National Guard members, brain injury research and an increase in the military's death benefit. The group averaged how each Member voted and produced a letter grade.

Some of the grades were surprising.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a Vietnam veteran, received a D from the group, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi scored a B-plus.

The group's executive director, Iraq War veteran Paul Rieckhoff, said his group is not politically motivated and that people from both parties received grades ranging from A to F.

"We don't want to be directly involved in campaigns," he said, noting that the IAVA's membership is evenly split among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

"A lot of the grades did surprise me, to be honest," he said. "We input the data and it spits out a grade. We were disappointed in McCain because he's a Vietnam vet."

Members running for re-election are "talking about who supports the troops the most, but their rhetoric doesn't always match up."

Only 14 Members secured A's, while 86 received D's or F's, Rieckhoff said.

Rieckhoff said his group did not include the vote to authorize the war in Iraq as part of its scorecard. "We don't take a position for or against the war," he said.

A searchable list of each Member's grade is available on the group's Web site, www.iavaaction.org.

- Kate Ackley