Bob Dole Lobbying that hurt our Veterans

Bob Dole cuts a sympathetic figure. He makes his lonely treks around North Carolina campaigning for his wife, Elizabeth Dole. He's quite a bit older than Liddy who is 71 and I'm sure all this campaigning is wearing him ragged. He's also a WWII veteran.

With that in mind, you'd think that he would be a voice for other veterans which certainly doesn't explain why in 2004 he chose to lobby for a company that cheated veterans and their families. According to the Senate Lobbying Database, First Command paid Bob Dole's firm $140,000 for Dole to lobby on their behalf. The firm contracted with Dole on September 23, 2004. About two weeks prior to that date the U.S. House of representatives voted to ban the sale of the First Command Mutual Fund to military families.

These mutual funds charged massive fees and little benefit to the families that purchased them. They included expensive insurance policies with low death benefits and the fees could consume up to 50% of the first year contributions. [New York Times, 9/10/04; New York Times, 12/10/04; New York Times, 12/16/04; New York Times, 7/20/06]

When the bill was introduced in the Senate and referred to the banking committee, Elizabeth Dole refused to or failed to sign on as a cosponsor of the bill.

Bob Dole's lobbying efforts hurt veterans and their families and he padded his bank account with the fees he earned for his efforts. Elizabeth Dole had a chance to step up and see legislation through that would protect our veterans and their families from predatory investment schemes and she dropped the ball.

I have more coming on this later.