I come from a military family, and have two brothers currently serving. I know the sacrifices made by not only our service members themselves, but their families as well. Every day our men and women in uniform work to keep the rest of us safe, and we must keep our promises to them.

That’s why I’ve voted against legislation that damages our military, from the poorly conceived sequester created by the Budget Control Act to the recent budget agreement that cut military pensions. Our homeland depends on a strong, robust military, and an inadequately funded and ill-equipped Armed Forces is no way to fulfill a constitutional obligation to defend our nation.  We must commit to protecting America in an increasingly dangerous world and continue to invest in our military strength.  Our men and women in uniform deserve nothing less.

As those who serve our country leave the military, be it through retirement or the end of their commitment, we must ensure they receive the honor and respect they have earned. There are approximately 400,000 veterans in the state of South Carolina, and we must protect what has been promised to them.

We must keep our promises, and protect our veterans health benefits moving forward. That is why I have fought to end the claims backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and voted against veterans’ pensions cuts. I have also introduced the SEA Jobs Act as part of my Opportunity Agenda, which creates a veterans workforce training program to help our veterans find employment in the energy industry.

Every year, we hold honor ceremonies for our state’s veterans, with World War Two veterans in 2012, Korean War veterans in 2013 and Vietnam War veterans in 2014.