Democratic congressional challengers Joe Garcia and Annette Taddeo stood with a Homestead Army veteran Monday to accuse their Republican rivals of ignoring troops who have returned home from the Iraq war.

Seeking to underscore one of their biggest policy differences with the Republicans, Garcia and Taddeo criticized the GOP incumbents for what they said were votes against improving conditions for returning veterans.

''My opponent has sided with George Bush, rather than the veterans,'' said Garcia, who is running against Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart. By his side: Fuller Haring, 28, a Purple Heart recipient who said he was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq but encountered faulty medical care upon his return.

A lifelong Republican, Haring said he plans to vote for Garcia. ''The Republicans failed us,'' he said.

A spokesman for Diaz-Balart dismissed the criticism.

''This is another pathetic Joe Garcia gimmick,'' spokesman Carlos Curbelo said. ``Congressman Diaz-Balart has visited our troops in combat and has a solid record of voting to fund their needs.''

Taddeo, a Pinecrest businesswoman, is challenging incumbent Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Several of the bills the Republicans voted against included setting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, which Bush and many Republicans GOP opposed.

Taddeo accused her opponent of being a rubber stamp for President Bush. Taddeo said she was opposed to the war from the start; Ros-Lehtinen voted for it.

''We're being represented by someone who talks a lot about veterans but votes against them,'' Taddeo said.

A spokesman for Ros-Lehtinen discounted the criticism, noting that her stepson, Doug, and his wife, Lindsay, served in Iraq and Lindsay also served in Afghanistan.

''Ileana knows first-hand the sacrifice made by every man and woman of our armed services,'' said spokesman Alex Cruz. ``That is why she has supported numerous bills in support of those who give their all for our freedom.''

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, joined the candidates at the press conference, echoing their criticism of his Republican peers.

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