ADDRESS OF SENATOR JOHN McCAIN
                  VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

                  Thank you for the warm welcome. It's a great privilege and honor to speak to you on your 100th
                  anniversary - and at our final convention this century. 

                  As the days remaining in the 20th Century -- the American Century -- dwindle down to a few, we look
                  with pride upon our country's role in world history. We are justifiably proud, but we also are humble.
                  Humble in the knowledge that we possess our freedom because of the devotion of those Americans
                  who sacrificed greatly to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity -those brave
                  Americans to whom duty, honor and love of country were more dear to them than self. 

                  And, we are humble as we remember our sons and daughters who stand their posts today in foreign
                  lands across the globe--the thousands of young men and women who stand guard for freedom. Their
                  service and sacrifice is our nation's highest honor, and always will be. 

                  The world that most of us served in was a dangerous one, but more stable than the world today. It was
                  a world where we confronted a massive, organized threat not only to our interests overseas, but to our
                  very security at home. Our enemy was evil, but not irrational. And for all the suffering endured by
                  captive nations; for all the fear of global nuclear war; it was a world made fairly predictable by a
                  stable balance of power between two superpowers. 

                  That world is gone, and please don't mistake my reminiscence as an indication that I miss it. If I'm
                  nostalgic for it at all, it is only an old man's nostalgia for the time where his youth was misspent. For
                  that world, after all, had much cruelty and terror, some of which it was my fate to witness personally. 

                  I have memories of a place so far removed from the comforts of this blessed country that I have
                  learned to forget some of the anguish it once caused me. But I have not forgotten the friends who did
                  not return with me to the country we loved so dearly. 

                  The memory of them, of what they bore for honor and country, causes me to look in every prospective
                  conflict for the shadow of Vietnam. 

                  I don't let that shadow hold me in fear from my duty as God has given me light to see that duty. But it
                  no longer falls to us to bear arms in our country's defense. It falls to our children and their children.
                  Should their duty lead them to war, I pray that the battle will be necessary and the field well chosen. 

                  But that is not their responsibility. It is the duty of the nation's civilian commanders, and those of us
                  privileged to be America's political leaders, to ensure the service of our sons and daughters is
                  ordered for causes important enough to justify the sacrifices we ask of them. 

                  It is up to us to follow rules that should govern the use of force; rules that we have learned from bitter
                  experience. It's up to us to make every possible effort to guarantee that the men and women we send
                  into harm's way are amply provided for as a superpower with global responsibilities should provide
                  for its forces. 

                  I am sorry to admit that for nearly a decade now, the government has failed to meet its most important
                  constitutional responsibility, "to provide for the common defense." 

                  The failure is both the Administration's and Congress, Democrats and Republicans. It is our disgrace,
                  and we should be decent enough to accept the blame for it, and not subordinate this, the gravest of our
                  responsibilities, to the usual partisan games. 

                  Almost 100,000 Americans are serving overseas in an unprecedented number of contingency,
                  peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Our armed forces are deployed to more countries in
                  greater numbers for these purposes than at any time in our history. 

                  While we debate the merits of these numerous contingencies, it is beyond dispute that the decade of
                  declining defense budgets and ever more frequent deployments have stretched the services perilously
                  close to the breaking point. 

                  We are -- as anyone who is not in the most determined state of denial knows --on the razor's edge of
                  hollowing out, having forgotten the most important lessons of our defense failures in the 1970s. 

                  As always, the approaching crisis is most evident in its effect on human resources. Recruiting and
                  retention problems have grown so acute that they are rendering some units unfit for deployment. 
                  Last winter the carrier Enterprise deployed to the Adriatic to support our effort in Kosovo
                  undermanned by 800 sailors. 

                  The Air Force is losing pilots to the airlines faster than we can train them. Five of the Army's ten
                  divisions have far too few majors, captains, senior enlisted personnel, tankers and gunners to operate
                  anywhere near their peak efficiency. 

                  Many of us who have been criticized for sounding the alarm bell in the past now have the empty
                  satisfaction of seeing the Clinton Administration admit that there is more to maintaining a strong
                  defense than falsely promising to do so. 

                  After six years of severely underfunding the military, the President reversed himself and proposed
                  increasing the defense budget. Once again, however, his rhetoric has far exceeded his actions. 

                  Please don't mistake these observations for a partisan tirade. Congress deserves as sharp a rebuke as
                  the President. While many Republicans and Democrats in Congress recognize our problem and wish
                  to devote greater resources to the military, they often cannot restrain the oldest of all Congressional
                  afflictions, an all-consuming addiction to pork barrel spending. 

                  While Congress increased the President's budget requests, it diverted far too much of the additional
                  money to garden variety pork barrel projects that had little if anything to do with readiness and the
                  well being of military personnel. And in the most galling and self-interested neglect of national
                  security, Congress repeatedly refuses to close bases that everyone knows we no longer need and can
                  no longer support. 

                  It is unconscionable that we spend money on local depots, or on bases scheduled to be closed, or on
                  unneeded weapons systems when 12,000 enlisted personnel, proud young men and women, subsist on
                  food stamps. That, my friends, is a weak defense and this nation deserves better service from us than
                  that. 

                  The President's empty promises and the irresponsible spending habits of Congress offer little real
                  remedy to our readiness crisis. I've never believed that lack of military service disqualifies one from
                  occupying positions of political leadership or as Commander and Chief. In America, the people are
                  sovereign, and they decide who is and is not qualified to lead us. But, as in every walk of life,
                  experience counts and in an administration with so few in its upper echelons who wore the nation's
                  uniform, the inattention to our military and our veterans, while inexcusable and dangerous, is sadly,
                  not surprising. 
                  The American people must recognize the gravity of the problem before their employees in Washington
                  will fear to do the wrong thing more than they currently fear to do the necessary things. I and others
                  who share my concerns have failed to make our case to the people. I regret our failure very much, and
                  I can only promise you that I will try harder in the future. 

                  We have made some significant headway this year. To address the personnel retention problem the
                  Senate passed legislation that raises the pay of all servicemen and women; restores military
                  retirement benefits to fifty percent of active duty base pay; makes retirement COLAs automatic; and
                  gets enlisted families off food stamps. 

                  We are also making some progress this year in better funding modernization. But our forces are still
                  required to rely too much on equipment that should have been replaced long ago. Much of that
                  equipment, including certain aircraft, helicopters, vehicles, and some weapons, are older than the
                  people who use them. 

                  Many of our most critical decisions such as the deployment of a national missile defense program,
                  reassessing roles and missions, and improving the mobility of our forces to deploy anywhere in the
                  world still suffer from inattention and a lack of dedicated resources. 

                  Most disturbing, we have yet to develop a national military strategy that realistically addresses the
                  challenges and threats of this era consistent with our available resources. 

                  The President makes a good point about assuring that impoverished Russian scientists don't sell out to
                  terrorists. That's why I have supported many of the existing aid packages under the Nunn/Lugar and
                  Partnership for Peace initiatives through which we have spent billions. But in all due respect,
                  increasing the pay of Russian scientists who may go on the take, must not come at the expense of
                  increasing the pay of American patriots who have to go on foodstamps. 

                  The simple truth is that true peace will be more directly related to the strength and preparedness of
                  our military than our ability to buy friends overseas. So, any plans to further dilute the Pentagon
                  budget by spending on purposes not directly related to our readiness, even under the guise of
                  purchasing peace, would be a dangerous and self-defeating exercise. 


                  Until America's political leaders show one tenth the courage and patriotism that have been the
                  hallmark of Americans in uniform, we will keep squandering this priceless national asset - the
                  greatest military in the history of the world. 

                  We should be especially careful not to use the relief we feel over our apparent defeat of Mr.
                  Milosevic to indulge an impulse to pronounce ourselves smugly satisfied with the means we used to
                  win that conflict. 

                  It would be a tragedy far outweighing the enormous good that was achieved by our victory if we used
                  it as a model for meeting future military challenges. Nearly running out of cruise missiles should alert
                  the Administration that it really has neglected our defenses. The inexcusable delay in getting Apache
                  helicopters to the theater should also have raised an alarm, as should the fact that we went for a
                  period of time without an operational carrier in the Pacific. 

                  Had North Korea chosen that moment to commit a truly irrational act or China decided to resolve by
                  force the Taiwan question we would have faced much graver consequences of that neglect. 

                  The failure to learn the lessons of Kosovo and repair our flagging readiness would be a perilous
                  mistake, because surely even greater threats to peace and our national interests lurk ahead. 

                  The threats to peace and stability are most profound in Asia. India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers,
                  almost went to war over Kashmir. North Korea is readying another missile test. The potentially
                  destabilizing Asian economic crisis is not yet over, and, the China question remains a potential flash
                  point. 

                  It surpasses outrage that while 37,000 young Americans stand their posts in harm's way on the Korean
                  peninsula, and our carriers must be ready to rush into the Straits of Taiwan to check Chinese sabre
                  rattling, political donations from a subsidiary of the People's Liberation Army are funneled into the
                  Clinton administration's campaign coffers and nuclear secrets are hustled out the backdoor of our
                  defense laboratories. That's wrong my friends, terribly wrong. 

                  An irresolute and ambiguous America, where pursuit of domestic political advantage supercedes
                  security demands, and where photo ops and false comity and not sound security relationships are the
                  primary object of foreign policy, invites instability and danger to our interests and values. 

                  Our goal at home must be clear, political leadership that puts security ahead of politics. Leadership
                  that has vision about the nation's standing in the world, not one's political standing in the polls. And
                  leadership that understands the nature of our interests in Asia and how to protect those interests. 

                  And, our goal in Asia must be no less ambiguous: a stable and secure region, in which we staunchly
                  support its free and democratic nations, while we confidently support and encourage political change
                  in China.That is the best guarantee that China will become a responsible great power. 

                  To the leaders of China we must say, if you desire to be a responsible member of the world
                  community we will support you. But, if you want to join the club, you must play by the rules. 

                  If true, reports that China has decided to use force against Taiwan should convince the Clinton
                  administration to change its failed policy of pressuring only Taiwan to avoid open hostilities. If the
                  United States is to abide by the one China policy - and I have no quarrel with that - then we must be
                  no less committed to the other basic principle of our relations with China and Taiwan - that the
                  reunification of China must only occur peacefully, in other words, voluntarily. Strategic ambiguity
                  will not serve the United States interests or values in this crisis. We must be very clear with the
                  Chinese. The United States will do what it must to help defend stability and freedom in Asia. We need
                  not communicate with them through the New York Times or Washington Post. But we do need to
                  communicate - forthrightly. China must be made to understand that the use of force would be a very
                  serious mistake in judgment, a serious mistake with grave consequences. 

                  Throughout American history, patriots like you have answered the call to defend the rights we cherish
                  as God-given. And as you honored our nation's commitments, a grateful nation should honor its
                  commitment to you and to all veterans. 

                  Many of the extraordinary contributions you and other veterans have made to our great country have
                  been memorialized in bronze and marble. But more personally, America - our government and our
                  people-should show the same concern about your well-being, as you have showed for our country. 

                  Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the health care delivery system in our country - about
                  pending legislation that is being called the "patients' bill of rights." It is a vital issue of enormous
                  importance to our country. But what about a "veterans' bill of rights?" You know - and I know - that
                  many of the promises of benefits that were made or implied to active duty personnel and to us
                  veterans have been ignored, changed or abandoned over the years. This primarily is true in the area of
                  veterans' health care benefits. 

                  With regard to health care, the veterans' bill of rights should be relatively simple - honoring the
                  promise that we made to every veteran, particularly those with service connected conditions and
                  those who cannot afford other medical attention. You have earned the right to receive timely, high
                  quality medical care in an atmosphere of respect for the individual veteran. 

                  In 1997, despite the increasing needs and costs of an aging veteran population, Congress froze the
                  veterans' health care budget. But we added further insult to that grievous injustice by cloaking our
                  action with the kind of scam that is the fodder for the scornful reputation that many politicians too
                  often deserve. We based future budget increases on collection of money owed to the VA by insurance
                  companies - collections that are not being made - and may never be made 

                  I'm ashamed that Congress finds billions of dollars for pork barrel spending on subsidies for reindeer
                  ranches and power plants fueled by chicken waste, but finds it so difficult to fulfill our promise of
                  access to quality health care for those who unselfishly answered our country's call. And, regrettably,
                  the Clinton Administration and the Congress have for several years now under-funded veteran's health
                  care by billions of dollars. This abrogation of the nation's obligation to veterans is disgraceful. 

                  We have let you down, and we have let down the men and women who wear the uniform today. We
                  must repair this disgraceful abrogation of our public responsibilities. And I pledge to do all I can
                  toward that end - no matter what office I am privileged to hold. 

                  One important way we can start is to see that the Department of Veterans Affairs serves as the
                  advocate for America's veterans, working closely with the Veteran Service Organizations to ensure
                  that the concerns of all veterans as being taken into account. And VA and the Administration need to
                  change their present course and work diligently with the Congress to ensure that adequate funding is
                  obtained to meet the basic health care and disability needs of our veterans. 

                  This is your health care system, and changes to it should be made with the advice and consent not only
                  of the elected leaders in Congress, but more importantly, with the veteran who has earned that
                  consideration. 

                  Out of respect for your service and as a reminder to political leaders of our responsibilities, I want to
                  close by recounting an experience I had a few years ago that struck in me a deep chord of
                  remembrance about the meaning of patriotism. 

                  I was asked to speak at a small moving ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where a memorial was
                  dedicated to the Marines who fought in the last combat action of our war in Indochina - the rescue of
                  the Mayaguez, the American ship that had been seized by the Khmer rouge. 

                  I don't know how many here remember the rescue and the losses we suffered in its execution. Among
                  the casualties was a Marine fire team mistakenly left behind, almost certainly alive, the details of
                  whose fate we may never know, but who probably fought for days, even weeks, before all trace of
                  them disappeared. 

                  That tragic, closing episode in our long involvement in Vietnam is not ranked in the first order of
                  American battles. It was a quick, confused engagement that did not go according to plan. Except for its
                  brevity, the Mayaguez rescue could have served as a fitting metaphor for the whole of our war in
                  Southeast Asia. 

                  Like the war, the Mayaguez incident is recalled, when it is recalled at all, only for its mistakes and
                  not for the lessons of duty and honor exemplified in the conduct of the men who fought it. 

                  That is a shame. For in that encounter, as in the war that preceded it, Americans fought for love of
                  country, and their service should be remembered in this country as an affirmation of human virtue and
                  a priceless element of our nation's self-respect. 

                  When the time came for them to answer their country's call and fight on a field they did not know, they
                  came. And on a small island they served well the country that sent them there. In the fog of a hard
                  battle gone wrong, they held high a lantern of courage and faith that illuminated the way home with
                  honor. 

                  Where they rest is unknown. But their honor is eternal and will live in our country for so long as she
                  remains worthy of the sacrifice of such brave men. They were family and friends to some, heroes to
                  all - these men who lived, fought and died for duty, honor and love of country.

