| With Edward's stepping aside Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs director Major Tammy Duckworth appears to be the frontrunner for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. According to an article in the Washington Post organizations such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the Disabled Veterans of America would endorse the choice. Paul Rieckhoff, director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, was quoted in the article as saying that Duckworth "is an incredibly inspiring leader and she has the potential to be our generation's Max Cleland."
Duckworth also attended a Veterans Day ceremony with Obama at the Bronze Soldiers Memorial at Soldier Field on November 11th; and the two placed a wreath in front of the memorial and afterwards shared an embrace.
This relieves some tension being felt by Democrats in the Texas 17th Congressional District; a week after the election no prospected was more daunting than a special election in the spring if Edwards had accepted the nomination as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. To be candid there is simply no Democrat with the body of work that could compare to Chet Edwards, who lives in the district, who could compete for the seat.
Also, it makes more sense to promote someone like Duckworth to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs than it does Edwards; Edwards growing seniority in Congress and his Chairmanship of the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee places him in a unique position to support veterans issues.
Also, with the agenda that Obama has set on Veterans Affairs, having someone with Edwards experience in pushing through legislation will be invaluable. Edwards was able to push through the largest increase in funding in the history of the VA. According to Change.gov Obama's Veterans Affairs agenda includes reversing the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income veterans and improving care for polytrauma vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, and women's health.
Having an Iraq veteran who was wounded in action and a Congressman who pushed for $11.8 billion increase in VA funding should put President Elect Obama's agenda for Veterans well within reach.
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