2008 Alaska Election Coverage

The Anchorage Daily News asked Alaska candidates for Congress their views on a variety of issues. We're printing their responses between now and Election Day.

Q: How good a job is the military and the Veterans Administration doing in providing ongoing care to soldiers and ex-soldiers who served in the war? What specifically would you do to improve services?

REPUBLICAN

TEDSTEVENS2008.COM

Our VA Appropriations bill takes major steps to improve services. Increased funding insures screening of all returning veterans before being released from service. Since 2001, VA funding has nearly doubled. DOD/VA also greatly improved services for rural veterans, committing to maintain contact with them for five years. VA Secretary James Peake accompanied me to visit rural Alaska vets. Together, we are making plans to use teleconferencing for counseling and care of Alaska's rural veterans.

MARK BEGICH

DEMOCRAT

WWW.BEGICH.COM

The VA is woefully under-funded. All veterans deserve far better care. We must fully fund the VA, provide Alaska veterans quicker access to health care, finally build a veterans hospital in Alaska, and provide a "heroes access card" to access care anywhere, anytime. We also need more VA doctors whose specialty is helping veterans with PTSD and other mental health injuries. I also support and as mayor offered land for a Veterans Home in Alaska.

BOB BIRD

ALASKAN INDEPENDENCE PARTY

WWW.BIRDFORSENATE.COM

Giving the best care science and medicine can provide would certainly be a perfectly constitutional and just function for those who have served. Even though I would disagree with the causes of the wars, it is not the fault of the soldiery, which does not make policy. I have heard that the care in VA hospitals has become disgraceful. If this is true, I would support efforts to correct it immediately.

FREDERICK "DAVID" HAASE

LIBERTARIAN

WWW.DAVIDFORALASKA.COM

My Veteran Administration does a very good job and if elected I will support them and all veterans. There are a lot of things that will come up and I will address each with an open mind.

NOTE: Senate candidate Ted Gianoutsos (no party, www.tedandfred.com) says he is running on one issue: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, and chose not to answer individual issue questions.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DEMOCRAT

WWW.ETHANBERKOWITZ.COM

They can do much better. Our veterans should be treated like the heroes they are, and Congress must make sure veterans and their families receive the support they've earned. That means necessary funding and top quality management for the VA. It means health care here in Alaska -- our veterans shouldn't have to leave the state for medical care. It means the new GI Bill so returning veterans can afford college and get good jobs.

DON YOUNG

REPUBLICAN

DONYOUNG08.COM

The military and the VA must do a better job taking care of our veterans, especially rural veterans. Every veteran should be eligible for mental health services, including tele-health counseling for rural veterans. Travel benefits should be increased, the VA should contract with local providers in rural areas and more community-based outpatient clinics should be built, like the Kenai clinic and the clinics I helped convince the VA to build in Mat-Su and Juneau.

NOTE: House candidate Don Wright of the Alaskan Independence Party chose not to participate in the survey.

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