First off, congratulations to Sen. Susan Collins on her recent re-election. She should be very proud of the positive and clean campaign she ran. It should be a true model for all politicians.

I am writing to her because of her longtime support for veterans. There was recently a poignant political cartoon showing a split screen with the Tomb of the Unknowns on one side appropriately adorned with flowers, and an image of a homeless vet begging for help on the other. This is an unfortunate truth, especially for many older vets.

In trying to think of a way to combat this from an organized perspective, while not adding to any financial debt for the nation, I thought perhaps we could take the current check-off on the income tax form for campaign contributions and replace it with a new fund totally dedicated to relief for vets.

I mean this as a serious proposal and hope that Sen. Collins and the rest of Maine’s delegation might consider sponsoring this initiative in Congress. If ever there was an issue that could bridge the partisan divide, I believe this might be it.

I am not a vet. In fact, I actively worked against the Vietnam War and the military draft. I am definitely anti-war, but am not, nor have ever been, anti-vet.

Kevin J. Clark

Hallowell