Many of our military veterans have health issues stemming from their service to our country in foreign wars. These issues often require ongoing caregiver assistance. Veterans who served after 9/11 have received the most generous benefits, which has left our other veterans scrounging to cover needed care.

Senator Patty Murray’s latest attempt to bridge this disparity, the Military and Veteran Caregiver Improvement Act, has been stuck in Senate committee since 2015. This act is important because so many of the caregiver programs are geared toward post- 9/11 military veterans. Meanwhile, the veterans of our wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and others have been forced to rely on their family and friends for needed care.

Many spouses are faced with the tough choice to put their loved ones into a nursing home so they can get a job to help support their family. Others, like my own mother, stay at home to care for their veteran and are forced to scrape and scrounge every single penny to make ends meet.

Veterans from all eras have sacrificed to serve and protect our nation. They have seen and experienced things that few of us could even imagine. And many of them have been exposed to weapon materials that are extremely toxic and dangerous -- leaving them with ailments that plague them for the rest of their lives. We have to do more to care for these heroes.

If you believe that our veterans are valuable and deserve the resources necessary to ensure a decent quality of life. If you agree, please sign and share this petition to tell Congress to pass the Military and Veteran Caregiver Improvement Act, or a bill similar in wording.