Lawmaker unveils PAC for GOP veterans

by Martin Matishak - 01/27/15 10:37 AM ET

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), a former Navy SEAL Team Six commander, has launched a political action committee in the hopes of getting more GOP veterans elected to Congress.

The goal of SEAL PAC “will be to work across the country to elect more veterans and like-minded leaders — to strengthen America, protect the Constitution and ensure for our country the prosperity that our generation has known,” Zinke said in a statement.

{mosads}The PAC arrives as the total number of veterans in Congress continues to decline. Only about 100 lawmakers today have served in the armed services, the lowest total since the 1950s.

“It wasn’t too long ago, back in the 1970’s, that military veterans made up more than three-fourths of the membership of Congress,” Zinke states on SEAL PAC’s website. “Sadly, the number of veterans in Congress has declined to less than 20 percent in both chambers.”

By electing more Republicans with a service record, “think of how better informed we can make our debates on defense policy, military procurement, and veteran’s benefits,” he added.

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Zinke is one of several freshmen lawmakers with a military background assigned to the House Armed Services Committee.

Democrats named nine members to the panel, including a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq and the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in congressional history.