I am a US Army veteran. I was hurt while in basic combat training. Because I enlisted as a Reservist, I do not qualify for ANY benefits. I propose that ANY and ALL veterans of the US Military who served any time regardless of enlistment status, reserve, national guard, or active, should qualify for veterans benefits, especially in the case of becoming injured while in training.

With the high cost of food I feel that single mothers making 40,000 or less should recieve some type of food stamp help. We work hard for our childern without any other type of help and I feel we should at least be able to get help in that department. Thank you

Public transportation after bar time on weekends. Portland Oregon has a great night life. It is surprising hat such a modern city does not have public transportation after midnight. it just makes a lot of sense to have one last max( street train) or Bus on every line so that people can use. Even if its wrong people still drink and drive, that is a reality if people could simply take public transportation and not take the risk of causing or being in an accident or getting a DUI. plus not have to deal with parking would also be a good selling point for getting party people of the roads. One last run of public transportation will surely prevent accidents. Even if it was only one accident prevented it would be worth it.

Republicans keep stating social security and medicare/medicaid are entitlement programs. we pay into these programs from the first day we start working.They are earned benefits.

Ryan's plan is to keep senior vote by exempting those over 55. What about those 40-54, not to mention future generations who are counting on medicare as well? Let's not let them divide us up!

This country needs to build for tomorrow, not simply to try to fix what was built yesterday. And, we need to put people to work by providing businesses and entrepreneurs the most forward-looking infrastructure that we can provide as a Nation. From immigrant grandparents, my businesses have flourished because I was provided the best in education, technology and infrastructure. We need to do the same for every American.-Stefan P. Kruszewski., M.D., Princeton AB, Harvard Medical School MD and whistleblower. Harrisburg, PA 17110 USA

Ohio has the largest backlog for social security disability applications in the entire country. This is not something that happened yesterday, this issue has been given lip service for years now. According to Sen.(Dem) Sherrod Brown the current backlog is at 40,000 and continues to grow. Is this how the state of Ohio rewards its tax payers, by making them wait 3 to 5 years for something they paid tax money into ?

Putting a reasonable cap on what apartments can charge for rent. Affordable housing shouldn't be just for the poor. I am in the process of trying to buy (and currently living with friends and family) because it was cheaper to have a mortgage, HOA fee, and taxes for a bigger place then to rent a small modest 1 bed apartment.

Spreading the wealth of USA citizens should be Patriotic rather than letting the Republicans refer to it as communism or socialism. It does not start in local government, churches, etc. It is the responsibility of the Federal Government. We citizens should be PROUD of spreading the wealth which kept our country from going into the direction of other countries. Haiti would be one example in my mind at the moment.

Governor Mark Dayton has used good sense in how he governs Minnesota. He was a good senator too. He won the race for governor--although he was not endorsed by the Minnesota DFL party--because people think he is a smart, honest, and fair person, and the best leader for the job.

Massachusetts elected officials must stand united in rejecting H.R. 6083 and endorsing Rep. Jim McGovern's Resolution to protect SNAP benefits. Here is a link to the resolution: http://www.frac.org/pdf/HR_760_McGovern.pdf

Many destructive religious groups are tax exempt in the U.S.A. Personally,my life has been destroyed by a extremely financially successful cult. This group has done little, to nothing to contribute to others' in need across this country. There should be close examination of those who receive tax exemption status, and do so while calling themselves a "religion."