US Rep. Lynch: Returning vets deserve better care

BOSTON (AP) -- U.S. Rep Stephen Lynch is remembering the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war with a call for more timely veteran services.

Lynch is co-sponsoring a bill he said would require Congress to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs' discretionary budget a year ahead of schedule. He said that would help guarantee all VA services have predictable funding.

Lynch called for the bill's passage at a press conference Tuesday.

Both Lynch and fellow congressman and Democratic Senate candidate Edward Markey voted for the White House's Iraq war resolution in 2002.

A year later, Markey voted against the Bush administration's $87 billion war funding package, which Lynch supported.

Lynch and Markey are vying for the Democratic nomination in the special U.S. Senate election.

Three Republicans -- Gabriel Gomez, Daniel Winslow and Michael Sullivan -- are also running.