Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Beto (BET'-oh) O'Rourke is pledging to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and help create a federal health care fund to cover the costs of caring for those who serve in future wars by taxing those who don't.
The former Texas congressman unveiled his proposal Monday before attending a veterans' roundtable in Tampa, Florida, ahead of the first Democratic presidential debate in Miami on Wednesday.
The new health care fund would be paid for using a "war tax," ensuring Americans not serving share "some of the cost of going to war according to their means."
The proposal pledges to improve the Veterans Affairs health care system and provide immigrant veterans a "pathway to citizenship."
O'Rourke wants to expand "reverse boot camps" to better prepare veterans for life after the military.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
