Brian Tumulty Wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who lost a limb or have been hospitalized for more than 21 days will automatically begin receiving temporary disability payments once they file a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs, under a provision authored by Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains. Until President Bush signed the legislation earlier this month, the VA had discretion whether to award a temporary benefit to veterans with obvious disabilities before all their paperwork was processed. If the VA didn't exercise its authority to act, it meant newly discharged veterans had to wait months without any financial support. For Hall, a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, this provision in the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 is part of his effort to counter claims made by his Republican challenger, Iraq war veteran Kieran Lalor of Peeksill. The two are contesting the 19th Congressional District seat. Lalor maintains that the freshman Democrat has not been an advocate for veterans. The Hall-authored legislation also requires the VA to develop a plan for converting the existing paper-based system into an electronic one, compatible with medical records kept by the Defense Department to speed up claim processing. The VA has 388,345 cases awaiting a decision on what percentage of a benefit to award individual veterans, with 81,398 of those cases more than 6 months old. Lalor is downplaying Hall's legislative achievement, noting in an interview that the bill, packaged with other veterans' measures, passed the House and Senate unanimously last month. "John Hall has, in my opinion, exploited veterans for his own political progress," Lalor said. He said his endorsement by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee shows he would be a better advocate for veterans. "If you think about it, there are 29 members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee," Lalor said. "John Hall is the only one the VFW is actively working to defeat." Hall downplayed the VFW PAC endorsement. "It's only natural for them to endorse a member who is a veteran," he said, The endorsement, announced last month, could play a role in the outcome of the Nov. 4 election, given that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is part of the 19th Congressional District, and veterans make up a significant voting bloc. Lalor got the endorsement after making a pitch for support to Karl Rhode, legislative director of the state VFW and Putnam County director of Veterans for McCain. Rhode said yesterday that he was one of about a half-dozen VFW activists who wrote to the national political action committee urging an endorsement of Lalor. None of the local VFW members wrote letters on Hall's behalf, he said. Rhode described Hall as having "zero knowledge" in veterans issues and faulted him for not forming a veterans advisory committee in his congressional district. He also pointed to Hall's opposition to a constitutional amendment that would outlaw flag burning and his opposition to the war in Iraq as evidence he is out of sync with positions held by most veterans. Rhode acknowledged that the new law, to ease the ability of veterans to receive disability benefits, was a "good bill as far as it went," but said it did not go far enough. Hall, for his part, said the legislation was endorsed by the American Legion and other veterans organizations. He took credit for pestering senators to take up the bill before Congress adjourned for the year. Kerry Baker, assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, said his organization supported the legislation. He also credited Congress for funding the hiring of thousands of new VA employees to handle disability claims, which along with the new legislation, should help reduce the backlog. "I don't think this is going to solve all the problems," Baker said, adding that what's needed now is better training of the VA staff, because one in every eight claims is appealed.

Times Herald-Record - Lalor Seeking Votes Everywhere Underdog vet meeting folks nearly nonstop By Alexa James Kieran Lalor pulls his SUV up to the gas pumps and climbs out, a stack of his campaign brochures in hand. As he fills up, he scans the empty rides parked around him: a red pickup with Vietnam veteran plates and a black SUV with a Barack Obama bumper sticker. It's still early on a Thursday morning, but Lalor is talking fast as espresso, ready to tell his 60-second life story to anyone in earshot. When the driver in the red pickup returns, Lalor reaches out for a handshake and asks him about his military service. The name's Paul Marco and he's a former Marine, just like Lalor. "Do you mind if I give you some campaign literature? I'm trying to become the first Iraq vet in the U.S. Congress." Raised in Wappingers Falls, Lalor worked at a gas station to pay his way through Providence College in Rhode Island. He spent two years teaching high school social studies at Our Lady of Lourdes in Poughkeepsie, then joined the Marine Reserves in 2000. After a tour in Iraq in 2003, he went to law school at Pace University, where he met his wife, Mary Jo. They have two girls, Katherine, 2, and Riley, 1, and a son due in December. Marco slaps a Lalor magnet on his truck and introduces him to another Marine — the Obama fan parked nearby. Larry Peruyero is a retired New York City police detective. Lalor's father-in-law was NYPD. Turns out, they know each other, and by the time Lalor fills his tank, he's pretty sure he's got two more votes. This is what he does all day. Lalor quit his job as a night security guard in July to campaign full-time for a House of Representatives seat. In the mornings, after Mary Jo, a teacher, leaves for work, he spends time with the kids in a small condo strewn with toys. When grandma arrives, he dashes off to the festivals, business expos, golf tournaments and pancake breakfasts. At a barbecue for senior citizens in Warwick, Lalor says he met 700 old folks. "I shook every one of their hands." He even introduced himself to the cookout's cleaning crew, to no avail. "Why you talking to us?" the guys quipped. "We're in jail, man." Lalor shrugs: "If it's possible to campaign too hard, that's what I'm doing." At 33, with no political experience, the Peekskill Republican is gunning for an office on Capitol Hill, aiming to oust freshman Democrat John Hall, 60, in the 19th District. Lalor's been a longshot from the start — the anticipated also-ran who became the GOP's only taker. The 19th District, which includes parts of Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester counties, was GOP country until 2006, when Hall's grassroots campaign narrowly upset well-financed incumbent Sue Kelly. Registered Republicans still outnumber Democrats in the district by nearly 2,000, according to the most recent state Board of Elections figures. The National Republican Congressional Committee targeted Hall's seat as one of the key spots to recapture come November. Suitors included Katonah big shot Andrew Saul, vice chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, who dropped out abruptly last fall; former Congressman Joseph DioGuardi, an Ossining accountant who's lost several bids since 1988; and Westchester Legislator George Oros, an attorney from Cortlandt Manor who bowed out after losing the district's endorsement. Lalor became the party's unconventional choice, a young rookie with no personal wealth and no political pedigree. "I'm a stocky, bald, Irish Sarah Palin," he jokes. Don't think that hasn't helped him. Folks constantly contact his campaign office in search of Palin lawn signs. This presidential race has set the table for new blood, and Lalor says he fits the bill. Named after an Irish saint, Kieran Lalor sports the scrappy demeanor of a guy who grew up in the middle of a big brood. He's been a teacher, a bouncer and a waiter. Running for office, he says, is not unlike waiting tables at Olive Garden. "You hustle, you make people laugh, and you anticipate their needs." Lalor's campaign has cast his opponent as a liberal puppet, a hippy rock star out of touch with the Hudson Valley. Though Hall has spent much of his first term championing veterans benefits legislation, Lalor says Hall is just "trying to look moderate" and that his "concern for veterans is driven by pure political ambition." The Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee endorsed Lalor over Hall, who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "Mr. Hall and the entire 110th Congress were very generous to veterans this year," said Karl Rohde, state legislative director for the VFW PAC. "However, Mr. Hall has never been part of the veterans community ... he has no credentials." Lalor and Hall also spar over national energy plans. Lalor would like to see more offshore oil drilling and more nuclear power plants. He recently visited the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan and declared it a safe, clean piece of the state's energy plan. Hall, who has not visited Indian Point, is working with the state and assorted environmental groups to shut it down. He's pushed renewable wind, solar and hydro power as energy alternatives and fought to restrict new oil drilling leases. Lalor successfully petitioned for an "Energy Security Now!" third-party line on the ballot, but withdrew it after Hall's camp challenged the signatures and campaign tactics. Fundraising has also been a challenge for Lalor's campaign. The Federal Election Commission tallied just $490,000 in Lalor's war chest at the end of September. Hall's coffers had breached $2 million. Overall, the race for the 19th District has remained relatively mellow. Hall has been tied up in Washington working on the economic bailout plan, while Lalor spends much of his time introducing himself. At a business expo in Putnam County, he visits every booth: the blacktop contractor, the steakhouse, the pet headstones stand. At his own booth, his cousin-turned-campaign-counsel, Bill Lalor, puts a positive spin on their underdog status: "People can see hard work," he says. "It can make up for a lack of other things."

By Jenny Lee-Adrian Voters will see a spirited first debate between incumbent John Hall, D-Dover, and challenger Republican Kieran Michael Lalor when Cablevision's "Meet the Leaders" airs next week. "Meet the Leaders" host Terence Michos moderated a debate between the two 19th Congressional District candidates Friday at the Cablevision studio in Wappingers Falls. Lalor, an Iraq veteran from Peekskill, said, "I want to talk about the exploitation of veterans by my opponent." Lalor mentioned a veteran who was filmed receiving a giant check from Hall, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "Every vet who gave a public appearance asked to do it and approved of doing it," Hall responded. Lalor was endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee, while Hall said he received letters from the American Legion and VFW commending him for helping veterans. The pair also sparred on issues ranging from health care to the financial bailout package Congress approved. Hall voted for the $700 billion bailout package, but Lalor opposed it. "We had to do something," Hall said. "We're trying to provide a bottom. We're trying to keep the recession from becoming worse." Lalor said, "It's not the role of the federal government to bail out CEOs and bail out people who took bad loans." Hall supports universal health care, while Lalor said he believes the federal government should not deliver it. "Every ally of ours, every other country in the industrialized world, has some kind of national baseline health care," Hall said. Hall pointed out the federal government already provides health care through Medicare and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Lalor said a universal health-care system would do more harm than good. Lalor's older daughter has a severe heart condition and has had two surgeries. He said only a certain number of children with his daughter's ailment would get open-heart surgery in the nationalized health-care system of the United Kingdom. "Nationalized health care would be a nightmare for this country," Lalor said. "It would be a nightmare for my family."