Ground Zero Monday Night Houston, Texas USA AMERICA 10/7/2013

Dear James,
Ted Cruz and his fellow extremists have gone too far.
As a veteran, I can tell you that this shutdown hurts me and my family. It needs to end, immediately.
Tell Ted Cruz and his Tea Party colleagues to end the shutdown immediately.
Here’s just a few ways the shutdown hurts veterans like me, and active military service members and their families:

• The Pentagon is no longer able to pay military families a "death gratuity" -- a payment to help the family deal with the cost of putting a loved one to rest.
• The GOP shutdown has suspended the program that covers costs for loved ones to travel to Dover Air Force Base to meet a fallen soldier, as well as covering funeral and burial expenses for fallen soldiers.
• And the U.S. Veterans Affairs disability claims have been slowed or delayed since the shutdown began, threatening recent  progress being made at eliminating the backlog of processing veterans’ benefits.

It is clear that the Republican Party is willing to do anything to pursue their extreme, ideological agenda -- even if it means denying federal aid to the families of our fallen heroes. Our military members are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our country, a sacrifice which allows us to live in freedom and safety.
Tell Ted Cruz -- enough is enough. End this shutdown right now and begin providing death benefits to military families immediately.
Ted Cruz should find something better to do with his freedom than to shut down the government and cause great grief to the families of veterans.
Texas veterans and active service members deserve better than this.
Garrett Windle
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, and Texas Democrat