Every November 11, Americans take time out to thank the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines that make up our armed forces. Now, as our president contemplates sending as many as another 40,000 American soldiers to Afghanistan, we should pause and consider practical ways in which we can honor our returning veterans — and with something more than mere parades and accolades.

It's a sad fact that we could do an awful lot better when it comes to honoring our veterans, many of whom will carry lifetime scars. And while patriotism is alive and well here in the U.S. — one need look no further than the flags we wave, the ribbons we tie, and the stickers we put on the bumpers of our cars, all showing our unwavering devotion to the troops we've sent overseas — our lawmakers seem to do a better job appropriating money to fight the battles themselves, than they do when it comes to providing funding for services veterans so desperately need. When our veterans return to American shores, it seems that we, the beneficiaries of their sacrifice, suffer from amnesia. Caring for our troops appears to end when the tickertape is swept up.

This past week, our own United States Senator, Chuck Schumer, released a report stating there are as many as 131,000 homeless veterans in the U.S. In New York State, alone, there could be as many as 14,000 veterans on the street. This is an unconscionable situation.

For further proof of how the federal government overlooks its veterans, much more evidence can be found. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect-scandal in 2007 brought the difficulties faced by our country's veterans to the national fore. And right here at home, the story of Eddie Ryan, and his struggles to have the government pay for his rehabilitation and physical therapy, has shown the mass of red tape he continues fight through. His struggle has switched from military campaign in the Middle East to a bureaucratic war right here in the United States.

The difficulties faced by the family of Sergeant Carmelo Rodriguez — another marine from Ellenville — who died of a cancer that was misdiagnosed by military doctors, highlights the injustice that often pervades our military institutions. The work of Congressman Maurice Hinchey to allow the Rodriguez's family to sue the military for obvious and repeated medical malpractice continues to this day, and it's a battle worth fighting, even if it shouldn't have to be fought in the first place.

And for every Congressman Hinchey, there is a lawmaker who seems to want to shirk the responsibility of paying for our veterans. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has a parliamentary hold on the Caregiver and Veteran Services Act of 2009, keeping it from a vote on the Senate floor. The irony is that the penny-pinching Coburn thought it perfectly reasonable to vote for a trillion dollars to fund the Iraq war, yet now he's against funding improved care for veterans, because he "hates the idea of creating new benefits without paying for them," despite the pleas to the contrary from numerous veterans' rights groups, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, to name just a few. All of these groups have demanded he remove the hold and release the bill for a full Senate vote.

As a nation we need to remember that caring for our veterans extends beyond praise. Veterans desperately need funding to treat them, assist them, protect them — and in some cases put a roof over their heads. We must not forget that our commitment doesn't end when the armed conflict does. Our veterans have paid the physical and mental costs to protect us abroad. America must hold up its end of the bargain and ensure that our military service men and women receive the kind of care befitting these brave men and women when they come home.