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Boehner Uses Veterans as a Pawn in the Debt Ceiling Crisis
Boehner Uses Veterans as a Pawn in the Debt Ceiling Crisis
by angelajean
Representative John Boehner is promoting a doozy of an idea!
In case you hadn't heard, families like mine with a service member who has served his or her twenty years (career military you might say) or is just about to have finished serving their twenty, had their retirement benefits cut by Congress back in December. It was a pittance according to many, just 1% of COLA every year until age 62. And then Congress will give some of it back. Just not that $80,000 to $120,000 per family that would have accrued in between. Those same legislators conveniently forgot that military pensions are actually deferred compensation - a benefit earned while serving but paid after retirement. Those same legislators conveniently forgot that our career military sign a contract at 15 years specifically accepting that cut with a cash payment or refusing it and choosing to retain full COLA. Those same legilators conveniently forgot that these so-called retirees can be called back to active service at the President's discretion. They may be retired but they are not finished serving their nation.
These same legislators shed crocodile tears and lined up by droves to co-sponsor legislation that would fix the broken promise. Yet no legislation has actually come to a vote so it's very hard to tell who really supports reinstating full COLA and who is just trying to cover their ass.
And now, John Boehner might be a hero or he might be a pariah... depends on how you want to write the story. Mind you, we know that John Boehner has no desire to fix this cut:
Veterans have just become a pawn in the political game called The Debt Ceiling Hike.
- more -
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/06/1275496/-Boehner-Uses-Veterans-as-a-Pawn-in-the-Debt-Ceiling-Crisis
by angelajean
Representative John Boehner is promoting a doozy of an idea!
Boehner proposes linking debt-limit hike to a restoration of recent cuts to military benefits
In case you hadn't heard, families like mine with a service member who has served his or her twenty years (career military you might say) or is just about to have finished serving their twenty, had their retirement benefits cut by Congress back in December. It was a pittance according to many, just 1% of COLA every year until age 62. And then Congress will give some of it back. Just not that $80,000 to $120,000 per family that would have accrued in between. Those same legislators conveniently forgot that military pensions are actually deferred compensation - a benefit earned while serving but paid after retirement. Those same legislators conveniently forgot that our career military sign a contract at 15 years specifically accepting that cut with a cash payment or refusing it and choosing to retain full COLA. Those same legilators conveniently forgot that these so-called retirees can be called back to active service at the President's discretion. They may be retired but they are not finished serving their nation.
These same legislators shed crocodile tears and lined up by droves to co-sponsor legislation that would fix the broken promise. Yet no legislation has actually come to a vote so it's very hard to tell who really supports reinstating full COLA and who is just trying to cover their ass.
And now, John Boehner might be a hero or he might be a pariah... depends on how you want to write the story. Mind you, we know that John Boehner has no desire to fix this cut:
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, signaled in a brief hallway conversation with The Associated Press that he would oppose a broader drive to repeal the entire pension provision, which saves $6 billion over the coming decade by reducing the annual cost-of-living adjustment for working age military retirees by 1 percentage point.
http://cjonline.com/news/2014-01-16/kansas-senators-split-11-trillion-spending-bill
Veterans have just become a pawn in the political game called The Debt Ceiling Hike.
- more -
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/06/1275496/-Boehner-Uses-Veterans-as-a-Pawn-in-the-Debt-Ceiling-Crisis
Military pensions and Boehner’s debt-ceiling idea
By Josh Hicks
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reportedly urged his GOP allies on Wednesday to consider raising the nation’s borrowing limit in exchange for ending a recent military-pension cut that conservatives and progressives in Congress have vowed to repeal.
President Obama and Democratic lawmakers have long said they will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. Aside from that, a few Democrats, along with Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have already proposed legislation to stop the pension cut. Then again, so have Republicans.
In an interview on Wednesday, Sanders insisted that raising the debt limit is “not negotiable,” adding that Congress has an obligation to pay the nation’s bills.
The pension cut will trim cost-of-living adjustments for working-age military retirees by 1 percent starting in December 2015, although the original rate will apply once those individuals reach age 62. Military and veterans groups have strongly opposed the measure....Sanders introduced a sweeping Veterans Affairs bill to repeal the benefit reduction and expand certain veterans benefits, such as dental and medical care, education and caretaker stipends. He estimated that the measure would cost $30 billion over 10 years.
- more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/02/06/military-pensions-and-boehners-debt-ceiling-idea/
By Josh Hicks
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reportedly urged his GOP allies on Wednesday to consider raising the nation’s borrowing limit in exchange for ending a recent military-pension cut that conservatives and progressives in Congress have vowed to repeal.
President Obama and Democratic lawmakers have long said they will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. Aside from that, a few Democrats, along with Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have already proposed legislation to stop the pension cut. Then again, so have Republicans.
In an interview on Wednesday, Sanders insisted that raising the debt limit is “not negotiable,” adding that Congress has an obligation to pay the nation’s bills.
The pension cut will trim cost-of-living adjustments for working-age military retirees by 1 percent starting in December 2015, although the original rate will apply once those individuals reach age 62. Military and veterans groups have strongly opposed the measure....Sanders introduced a sweeping Veterans Affairs bill to repeal the benefit reduction and expand certain veterans benefits, such as dental and medical care, education and caretaker stipends. He estimated that the measure would cost $30 billion over 10 years.
- more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/02/06/military-pensions-and-boehners-debt-ceiling-idea/
Senator Shaheen also introduced a bill. More here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024240453
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