Any sensible candidates on the campaign trail this fall will say they support veterans. Officials at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America want voters to doublecheck that pledge.

On Monday, the advocacy group released its 2014 voters guide, offering a checklist of six issues for veterans and military supporters for use in quizzing their congressional hopefuls: suicide prevention, the veterans claims backlog, female veterans support, burn-pit illnesses, veterans education benefits and post-military employment opportunities.

"We thought about a scorecard, but instead we wanted this to be a call to action, arming veterans with information and specific questions to ask of their candidates," said Bill Rausch, political director for the group.

The six issues in the guide — out one month before the midterm election — reflect the group's own legislative priorities for the year. Officials hope it not only keeps veterans issues in the forefront of campaigns across the country but also starts a more in-depth conversation about each one.

IAVA Legislative Director Alex Nicholson said the Veterans Affairs Department's medical appointment delay crisis — which forced the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in May — has pressured lawmakers to educate themselves on a host of veterans issues.

"So I think folks do get it now," he said. "But they're still legislating from crisis to crisis. We'd love to see VA and Congress working together, proactively working on these issues before the next crisis occurs."

For months, veterans groups including IAVA have been pushing lawmakers to pass a comprehensive suicide prevention bill, adopt new legislation to continue to reduce the disability claims backlog, and better monitor the long-term health effects on troops of exposure to open-air burn pits in the Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones.

The voters guide contains specifics on those efforts, and follow-up questions for candidates on the other issues: Will you support increasing the number of female-specific health care providers in VA? Will you protect Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits? Will you support programs to transfer military skills into civilian jobs?

IAVA's internal surveys show that 94 percent of its members are registered to vote, and 93 percent intend to vote in the November election. Nicholson said the guide will help give those voters the information they need to make the right decisions.

The guide is available online at http://iava.org/2014voterguide.■

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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