It can't be posted enough: these 41 Senators just blocked veterans' benefits

[Recursion]

I'm sure this is already on here, but as a vet I feel the need to shame these alleged public servants. These 41 alleged Senators blocked benefits for veterans. Because, you know, we don't need them, or anything?

[Le Taz Hot]

1. K & R

[NYC_SKP]

2. Yes indeed!

[sarisataka]

3. Before I look

let me guess, all Republicans hawks?...

Wow am I surprised

[SamKnause]

4. Yes, mine is on the list. (Portman R-OH)

You can not shame a politician.

The majority of them have no conscience.

You can not shame someone without a conscience.

[AnneD]

5. Been trying to get rid

of our Texas senators. You would think that with all the bases and vetrens in this state, they would know better. Hope Cruz is a one term and Cornyn has overstayed his welcome.

[freebrew]

44. In my experience, the military supports the GOP.

I have no idea why. Maybe the Dems don't start enough wars.

[Dustlawyer]

79. Almost all Veterans are Republicans, same as cops. Most are so brainwashed the

Republican politicians can shit on them at will, blame it on the Democrats and Obama, and skate free!
Right now Vets need America's help. Thanks to Bush Co., we have a lot more of them and they are beat and bloody from too many years in impossible situations. The Republicans are the war makers and the Pentagon knows it. That is who butters their bread, so soldiers are indoctrinated into RW world.
I hope they figure it out soon, it would be great to flip the Vets and the military.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Thanks, Grassley.

He's been so quiet of late, I figured he was napping until he could retire. Sure didn't want to wake him.

I wonder if he ever served?

[progressoid]

20. Grassley's military service: NONE

Harkin, on the other hand:

Harkin was stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan, where he ferried aircraft to and from the airbase that had been damaged in the Vietnam War and in operational and training accidents. He was also stationed for a time at Guantanamo Bay, where he flew missions in support of U-2 planes reconnoitering Cuba. After leaving active duty in 1967, he spent three years in the Ready Reserves, and transitioned into the Naval Reserves in 1970. He retired in 1989 with the rank of commander.

[Frustratedlady]

89. Thanks! Figures. Quite a contrast to Harkin. eom

[cer7711]

7. Hmmm . . . Something In Common Here . . .

Can't quite place it . . .

[Laf.La.Dem.]

31. I do not see the "something in common" (LOL)

[Rhiannon12866]

83. Just a guess, but could it be the letter R after all their names?

Today, I'm grateful I live in New York.

[JayhawkSD]

8. A little too generic for me to jump on board.

And yes, I am a veteran. But what benefits did they decline to vote for? What else was in the bill?

I got mousetrapped into outrage once before. My Senator voted against a bill I supported. And then I found out that, like many bills, it had a "rider." This "rider" was a addon that was unrelated to the original bill but which would pass into law along with it, and which was totally unacceptable. She could not vote in a manner that allowed the rider to become law, and I totally agreed with her.

The bill was later reintorduced without the rider and she voted in favor.

And even though I am a veteran, that does not mean that I think every suggested benefit should pass. Should a bill granting $1 million monthly to every veteran pass? Extreme example, but before I suppoeert even a veteran's benefit I need to know what it is.

[deutsey]

15. Very good point.

[WinkyDink]

66. You REALLY have to wonder about something rejected by all those Republicans??

[UTUSN]

9. R#9 & K for, the same, tired list of Rethugs. Here's what the bill was about:

*********QUOTE*******

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politic/federal_government/senate-rejects-far-reaching-veterans-affairs-bill/2014/02/27/1d10801c-a001-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html

Senate rejects far-reaching Veterans Affairs bill

A broad Department of Veterans Affairs bill that would have expanded benefits for former service members and repealed a military pension cut for future troops was rejected in the Senate on Thursday.

The measure, sponsored by Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), did not garner enough Republican votes to waive a VA spending limit established under the budget Congress and President Obama approved in December. Sanders’s office estimated that his legislation, which included more than 140 provisions, would have cost $21 billion over 10 years.

*********UNQUOTE*******

[Firebrand Gary]

10. Kirk, Grassley, Toomey and especially Johnson

See ya when your cycle comes up, your ass is toast!

[mikeysnot]

11. Only in the US does 41 beat 59

what the fuck is wrong with my Senator Kirk, every now and then he seems reasonable then he pulls this...

[karadax]

12. Wasn't this in February ? OP says just. N/T

[jberryhill]

22. That's the problem with a graphic that says "this week" and no date

[karadax]

26. Bill #s would be nice too.

Some of us actually look the stuff up. Wasted 10 minutes googling for something that didn't exist.

[joeglow3]

53. I do too.

Did you find the bill in particular (so I can save time)?

[karadax]

64. S.1982

Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014


http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00046

[Cartoonist]

13. Shame?

I asked my conservative brother, who is in the military, how he can support the GOP on this. He won't discuss it or anything else. It's now a faith thing. When you give up logic and reality to believe in a political party, nothing will undo the foundation.

[karadax]

21. From my understanding it was two things that caused R's to vote no.

#1 the bill was going to be paid for out of the overseas contingency fund. That's supposed to be for sudden out of the blue costs associated with war. R's wanted the money to pay for it to come from someplace else.

#2. R's wanted to impose sanctions on Iran tied into the bill.


I would say they mostly voted no because of #2.

[Cartoonist]

25. Obfuscation

R's wanted the money to pay for it to come from someplace else
-
Like from SS or Medicare.

[sakabatou]

14. Nope

[Stuart G]

16. According to this link, this was in February..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politic/federal_government/senate-rejects-far-reaching-veterans-affairs-bill/2014/02/27/1d10801c-a001-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html

I haven't heard any thing this week.
Did this happen this week too? ...???

[jberryhill]

23. Who knows

The graphic says "this week", and so no matter who sees it when, it will always say "this week", since there is no date reference in it.

[oldandhappy]

17. the R folk shed tears of love over the military

in public speech and then find it hard to support vets. I do not know about this exact instance, but the list is telling.

[AsahinaKimi]

18. BASTARDS!

"SUPPORT THE TROOPS, Support THE TROOPS" Every Senator who voted this down should have to fork over money to one Disabled Veteran they sent to the Middle East or DO COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER work at a VA hospital. OF course they won't. THEY will go on FOX NEWS and call them "ENTITLED" for taking money for that leg or arm they lost during the wars in the middle east.

BASTARDS!

[Doctor_J]

19. I was surprised the president didn't stomp on Ed Henry last week

when the Fox whore commented on the dead veterans in AZ, Obama should have said, "Well, Ed, as a spokesman for the Republican party, I was hoping you could give us a clue why your party consistently blocks benefits for our soldiers and veterans".

[hue]

24. Reposting on FB!! K&R!

[SoapBox]

27. Billboards nationwide!

Bumper stickers too!!!

[heaven05]

28. McCain???? Shame!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going to hell in a hand basket. Starve them, let em die with no healthcare or home. Teahadist RW rethuglican killers are in leadership positions and the sad thing is, they were voted in. What does that tell a person?

[90-percent]

29. Well, thats easy

How many veterans are .01% members of our American Oligarchy? Not many, or else they could get bills like this passed.

#2 - NICE DEMOCRACY WE GOT WHEN A 59% MAJORITY STILL CAN'T GET A BILL PASSED

But, then, around 90% of ALL AMERICANS want at least good background checks for buying guns, but the NRA doesn't want it, so the wishes of 90% of American voters goes ignored. There was a time when 51% majority got things passed. Now things that have a 90% backing of all of America (90% of 237,657,645 voters over 18 is 214,000,000) can't even get passed.

90% is a super-duper-lord-god-king-boofoo majority and that doesn't even work. Guess this stuff happens when you legalize political bribery?

-90% Jimmy

[El Shaman]

30. Look like:

an S.O.Bs list to me!!!

[Feral Child]

32. K&R n/t

[SummerSnow]

33. Republicans...we support the troops...pathetic

How do these people keep winning elections???

[SummerSnow]

34. Wow, McCain..the so called model soldier..the veteran..

So all that I support the troops was grandstanding.Of course it was

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

37. I've always held out hope...

that one day McCain would prove himself to be more than just an insignificant little prick.

I guess today was not that one day...

[SummerSnow]

67. party loyalty first is the GOP

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

69. It is now, I suppose...

McCain had bucked the party line before. I thought if ever there were a time for him to rediscover his testicles, this would be it.

[SummerSnow]

70. Im really surprised at him. It would be interesting to know his reasons

for voting that way.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

35. My bi-polar Wisconsin Senate Delegation

Tammy Baldwin - Rocks!
Ron Johnson - Rocks in his head!

[Enthusiast]

47. LOL!

[Hekate]

36. And now, they want to get rid of General Shinseki.

Hell's Bells.

[Aldo Leopold]

38. Sure enough, Tool-me is on the list!

[jopacaco]

39. Susan Collins shows how moderate she really is

Susan Collins also voted against bringing the minimum wage increase bill to the floor last week. I hate when people call that woman a moderate. She is a Republican through and through and no one (particularly the DSCC) should ever forget that.

[Wellstone ruled]

40. My Retired Marine Neighbor

bitches and complains about the VA everyday. His answer is impeach Obama so he can get his VA bennies. Go figger.

[madokie]

41. Both of mine, inhofe and coburn

I won't give them the respect of capitalizing their names either.
Sorry if I offend anyone here, mybad

[FairWinds]

42. The Costs of Care for Veterans is going up . .

because hundreds of thousands of them have been gravely damaged
physically or mentally, or both. "More than half of the 2.6 million Americans
dispatched to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with physical
or mental" health issues. (WP) That would be more than 1.3 million young lives destroyed.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/04/poll-most-recent-vets-battle-physical-mental-issues

We think we are using violence in other countries - but we are actually using it against our own people.

So how's that war economy and globe-spanning empire working for you?

Please think about joining Veterans For Peace and/or Iraq Veterans Against the War.

The madness has to stop.

[MADem]

43. Bastardi!!!!!

"Alleged public servants" is right!

[JayhawkSD]

45. Some of this makes very little sense.

For instance, Sen Richard Burr complains that "We have veterans dying from long waits for basic, necessary tests like colonoscopies,” but this bill would "expanding several veterans benefits, including dental and medical care ... that currently apply only to post-Sept. 11 veterans." But the bill does not, apparently, create more facilities, so the Senator wants to actually make waithing times longer and cause more veterans to die while waiting for care.

If you think about it, adding pre-9/11 veterans to the post-9/11 veterans means that combat veterans will get less care so that noncombat veterans can be cared for. That is a nonstarter for me, and I am pre-9/11 and a noncombat veteran. I have avoided the VA like the plague because I am not going to inject myself into a queue of men and women who are vastly more deserving of the VA's limited resources than I am.

The bill would have exceeded the "VA spending limit established under the budget Congress and President Obama approved in December," so the money is supposedly coming from "savings from reduced overseas contingency operations, formerly known as the global war on terrorism," otherwise known as the war in Afghanistan, except that this money is off-budget money and is currently being paid for with borrowed money.

I applaud the 41. This bill should not pass. It reduces benefits for combat veterans, and it spends more money than was agreed to by both sides in the budgeting process.

A seperate bill which reverses the pensions cuts should pass.

[nikto]

77. But as a Vet, on principle...

Does it bug you, at least a little, that there is always plenty of funding for
any and all wars/attacks on foreign countries with little debate (except for the Syria bombing),
but when it comes time to support the returning Vets in need,
America suddenly starts counting every dollar?



I'm not a Vet, but it bugs me.

Maybe I'm misguided?

[JayhawkSD]

81. We have too many knees jerking in this nation

Knee jerk support for anything is not support. It is jingoism and tribalism.

If he/she has a "D" after his/her name vote for him/her.
If it is "for the troops" vote for it.
If it is "liberal" it is good and must be supported.

Don't pay any attention to what it actually is. Don't pay any attention to what it actually does. Just salute and go with the flow based on the label which is applied to it. This bill is labeled as "for the troops" and is therefor good and holy and must be supported.

But does this bill really "support the troops" as it claims to do? No, it does not. Men and women who have been in harm's way in defense of their country are waiting for unconscionable lengths of time for health care at overburdened VA facilities. Do we help them by adding more people to those waiting lists? People who, while they have worn the uniform, have never been in harm's way? Do we help the people who have risked their lives on the field of battle by making them wait longer for the health care that they need? We do not. We do a disservice to the VA system and to the people it is trying to serve by extending eligibility to yet more people.

In the news today we hear that 60 people died while waiting for medical treatment at the VA medical facility in Phoenix. Why were they kept waiting? Because that facility is overburdened and has a long waiting list. Does this bill help our veterans by adding more people to that waiting list and making the wait times for health care even longer? Like hell it does.

As to your monetary point, yes, it does bug me that there is money for wars, and I oppose that spending as well. And I oppose that abuse and mistreatment of our military. If we actually "supported the troops" we would not send them on repeated combat tours in wars that do not serve the national interest. But spending money on wars does not justify spending money on anything else, any more than it was at one time sensible to say that we could send a man to the moon but could not build a decent mouse trap. One thing had nothing to do with the other, and one expenditure has nothing to do with any other expenditure.

Both sides sat down in December and established a budget upon which the government would operate. It was mutually agreed. Neither side objected to it, and neither side was forced to accept it. Part of that budget was how much money was agreement on how much money the VA would need to do its job. Now, just four months later, they want to spend more. How many more bills, how many more times, will they want to spend more? Where does it stop? What is a budget for if they just keep writing more checks?

[Enthusiast]

48. CHICKENhawks

[IronLionZion]

49. Support the troops by screwing them

oh well, I guess defense contractors got theirs during the Bush years. Gotta cut funding for everything now.

[spanone]

50. yet many of these same senators will get re-elected....stupid nation

[Martin Eden]

51. All (R-**)

Does this mean they have to remove their SUPPORT OUT TROOPS bumper stickers?

[JustAnotherGen]

52. A kick

Because this is important - and has a far reaching impact on individual Americans. The 'topic du jour' does not.

Thank you for posting something important.

[jaysunb]

54. John McCain

One sorry SOB and a poor excuse for a human being that's served in the military.

[notadmblnd]

55. I clean house for a man 78 years old and has carried shrapnel in his back for the last 40+ years

The shrapnel has led to a host of complications over the years including esophageal cancer. To make a long story short, the bullet finally moved close enough to the surface that if was no longer life threatening to remove it, so a couple of months ago the VA finally took it out.

He was telling me yesterday that he got a letter this week telling him that he is no longer considered 100 percent disabled and that his benefits will be cut from 2800 a month to 390.

[Major Hogwash]

63. We should clean house this year at the polls and get rid of these unpatriotic Republican azzholes!!

I don't see how the warmongering crowd of just a few years ago can now simply justify this "no" vote in America.

[Stainless]

56. All Republicans!

You really should have posted the names of the few Republicans who supported Veterans Benefits. I already know that the two Republican Senators from my State (Utah) are total hypocrites when it comes to support for Veterans.

[blkmusclmachine]

57. Any DINO's in there?!! Wouldn't surprise me AT ALL. "Bi-partisanship," y'know!

[rhett o rick]

65. They didnt need their DINO's this time so the DINO's voted with the Democrats most likely.

I dont know which bill this is referring to.

[Leith]

58. Surprisingly Enough, Dean Heller's Name Is Not There

He doesn't toe the party line like the rep in my district (Joe Heck - UGH!), but he's not exactly much in line with my opinions. He's the one who called Cliven Bundy a patriot for refusing to pay his bills for 2 decades and calling in armed loonies to fight for him.

But, I'll take a whiff of sanity where I can get it. Or maybe he was absent that day.

[JI7]

59. any comment from the american legion

[whathehell]

60. No money for Vets or the Unemployed, but how about more Millionaire tax cuts?

How any veteran or working American can support these scumbags is beyond me.

[NastyRiffraff]

61. Et tu, McCain?

The old bastard loves to drone on and on about how he supports the military. Now this.

[MarianJack]

62. That's YOU, Susan Collins...

...GO Shenna Bellows!

PEACE!

[Cha]

68. KICK!

[niyad]

71. you know, I am not even surprised to see insane mccain's name on that list.

[Stellar]

72. I hate Mark Kirk....

with a purple passion!


one reason : http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/rep-mark-kirk-r-il-i-told-china-not-to-believe-u-s-budget-numbers?ref=fpb%20t

[nikto]

73. The Democrats on that list should be especially ashamed for being such scumbags!

...

Oh.











Never mind.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_I5F4U2tYwmk/TD_DkOOfQFI/AAAAAAAACYA/SnSahR6FnQ8/s400/Emily+LItella.jpg

[nikto]

74. GOP Hates Vets

It's empirical.

Debating to the contrary is a fool's errand.

[nikto]

75. John frikkin' McCain TOO?! OMG

He is a disgrace.

[quarbis]

78. GOP does hate Vets

Just ask they've screwed every since I enlisted in 1968 and they double down yearly.

[awoke_in_2003]

80. Both of mine. nt

[AverageJoe90]

82. Sad to say both of mine did.

Cruz and Cornyn, though.....no fucking surprise about that shit right there.

[rtracey]

84. and now

And now a problem has risen in the Phoenix area of the VA.... The right wing cuts the funding, and now will hold hearings on why there are problems....2-faced, arrogant bunch of creatins. Why does the right wing hate the American soldier? they send them to war they don't need to be in, they cut their funding, they cut their food stamps, they cut their healthcare, and yet, i would wager to say most right wingers in Congress are thinking, perhaps we should send some troops to Ukraine......

JERKS

[spanone]

85. kick....veterans are pawns in republican games...nothing more. props.

[jpak]

86. What was the bill number?

[Sam1]

87. What do unborn babies and solders have in common?

Republicans don't give a shit about either one after they are out!

[Generic Other]

88. This happened February 27

You only now are discovering?