Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson is airing a new ad in New Hampshire and Iowa touting his record as New Mexico governor in securing approval of a law to pay for life insurance coverage for National Guard troops.

The ad was released Monday shortly before Democratic candidates met for a two-hour debate at a military college in South Carolina.

Richardson uses the latest ad to portray himself as an experienced leader with a record of accomplishments - a theme he stresses on the campaign trail - and to demonstrate his support for veterans. Last week, Richardson aired an ad in New Hampshire and Iowa that demanded the withdrawal of all U.S. troops in Iraq.

"When a National Guard soldier would fall in combat, the family was getting only $12,000. A national disgrace," says the narrator in the new ad. "Bill Richardson passed the first law in the nation giving National Guard soldiers $400,000 in life insurance."

In 2005, Richardson signed legislation that made New Mexico the first state to pay for $250,000 in life insurance for its National Guard members, many of whom have been called to duty in Iraq.

The amount later went to $400,000 after the federal government raised the amount of life insurance that all service members can purchase at a subsidized rate. That same 2005 federal law increased a separate death benefit from $12,000 to $100,000.

At the time the New Mexico law was enacted, National Guard soldiers could buy up to $250,000 in life insurance through a federal program at a subsidized rate or they could opt for reduced coverage at a lower monthly cost. Richardson pushed legislation to have the state underwrite the cost of premiums for its 4,000 National Guard members. Eighteen states have taken similar steps, according to Richardson's campaign.

The ad also mentions Richardson's proposal for a "hero's health card," which allows veterans to obtain medical care at locations other than at the government's network of veterans' hospitals and clinics.

The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department have come under criticism because of reports of poor outpatient care of injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and delays in providing medical services to veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

By BARRY MASSEY

The Associated Press