GOP Senator Anonymously Blocks COLA Increase for Veterans

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AtomicMouse1950

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This Washington Post article from today seems to hedge back from Murray's allegation a bit, quoting a spokesman for Richard Burr, ranking R on the Veteran's Affairs committee as saying no hold exists. Not sure I believe that, though, as the Rs in the Senate have wasted years by putting up little blockades here and there on issues that aren't even the least bit controversial. The article mentions another of these from just last week, Senate Rs "procedural objections" to the creation of a job corps for vets. It's hard for me to forget the nastiness all over this country about 10 years ago, post 9/11 and trying to whip up support for the Iraq war. Remember all that? As an anti-war liberal I sure the fuck do. It was depressing to be inundated with so much polarizing rhetoric, "if you're not with us then you're with the terrorists" and those damn Dixie Chicks, etc etc. My point (and I'm trying to be brief) is that the ones who were crowing and chest-thumping and accusing others of not being patriotic or American enough were the Republicans, and not just Bush. Many of these same Rs today have absolutely no qualms at all about voting down or blocking bills that address helping vets once they have returned from battle, but can you even imagine the shit storm that would have erupted had a D done the same 10 years ago? The hypocrisy is mind-numbing.
 

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Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?
 

balsary

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Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?

Since when does not increasing equal cutting? I'm pretty sure you're not going to find many Democrats that are for cutting military pay, or benefits for veterans. It's the waste that needs to be cut. If you've ever been a part of the military it would be clear to you how much money is truly wasted.
 

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It is perfectly reasonable to want to be more fiscally responsible with the military budget and keep the promises we made to those who have served at the same time. What would you have us do - increase spending and screw the vets at the same time?

Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?
 

Mensch1351

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Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?

It's precisely this kind of thinking that makes me want to choke the speaker!!! "We're broke" say the corporations, "but don't ask us about the huge bonuses we paid to our CEO's -- just whine and bitch about the 2,500 employees we just HAD to lay off!" My friend -- there is a huge difference between cutting the funding for some damned newfangled death machine we don't need just so our military industrial complex can get another 6, 8 or 10 billion of taxpayer money --- and de-funding the benefits that individuals have earned because they were willing to put their ass on the line for the country! Or...........maybe you really don't see that! Amazing!
 

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Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?

No...And here is why.... Even the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs agree that there needs to be military cuts. The military has ballooned up since Bush. Bigger than it ever has been.
 

AtomicMouse1950

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well duh, using my money to support vets is like totally socialism, dude.

We ask our youth to sacrifice everything to go to war, when they get back home, we should at least take care of them & their needs & their families. Its only right.
 

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Don't give me that hypocrisy nonsense. Democrats are all "cut the military". Shouldn't you guys be cheering the Republicans for not increasing the military budget?

To bad there wasn't a time where you could been have put into a helicopter w/o a flak jacket in the middle of a fire fight in Afganistan. You appreciate this country more...Or not.
 

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So shout out to the first person who can identify what COLA actually is and what this bill would have done to OCONUS (that's the bonus acronym) expenditures.
 

sillystring

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Cost of living allowance, anyone that's served should know that one. No idea on the other.

That's what it means for active duty, and the active duty COLA is updated annually by law to keep up with emerging price discrepancies between locations.

This bill seems to affect primarily the retired and disabled vetrans and is tied to Social Security in some way (what that is I do not know yet). What that means is that it is an additional non-budgeted expense the GAO has to account for, and the hold on this bill may be tied to mandated reductions in Defense Department spending as ordered by the President.

Here's info on the bill from earlier this year:

House approves COLA bill for veterans - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

The article in the OP says a hold was placed on the bill, not that the bill was killed. It's still set to be voted on. The DoD is set to experience a 7 year lean cycle soon, this may simply have been a precautionary check on the numbers.
 

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That's what it means for active duty, and the active duty COLA is updated annually by law to keep up with emerging price discrepancies between locations.

This bill seems to affect primarily the retired and disabled vetrans and is tied to Social Security in some way (what that is I do not know yet). What that means is that it is an additional non-budgeted expense the GAO has to account for, and the hold on this bill may be tied to mandated reductions in Defense Department spending as ordered by the President.

Here's info on the bill from earlier this year:

House approves COLA bill for veterans - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

The article in the OP says a hold was placed on the bill, not that the bill was killed. It's still set to be voted on. The DoD is set to experience a 7 year lean cycle soon, this may simply have been a precautionary check on the numbers.

I guess until we find out all the details, there's no reason to discuss this. But why the anonymous blockage?
 

sillystring

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I guess until we find out all the details, there's no reason to discuss this. But why the anonymous blockage?

I don't know. Probably for the same reason we have people pinging in here about it. The LAST thing any politician wants is to have a huge voting demographic such as veterans, supported by quite a few well funded and connected veterans organizations, breathing down your neck for doing the do-diligence on a bill.

A rubber stamp mentality in a weak economy is just bad business. If I wanted to make sure we could afford to pay for the increases without devastating some active-duty training or equipment costs I would probably try a secret hold too.
 

balsary

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I don't know. Probably for the same reason we have people pinging in here about it. The LAST thing any politician wants is to have a huge voting demographic such as veterans, supported by quite a few well funded and connected veterans organizations, breathing down your neck for doing the do-diligence on a bill.

A rubber stamp mentality in a weak economy is just bad business. If I wanted to make sure we could afford to pay for the increases without devastating some active-duty training or equipment costs I would probably try a secret hold too.

This seems like more than due diligence, but again, without all the facts, who knows. It is still public that it is a Republican that is holding up the bill. Whether the reason is honorable or not it looks bad for the entire party as is versus one guy that could be doing the right thing. Thanks for the info though.
 

AtomicMouse1950

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side note to anyone tying this to military spending: veteran's benefits are separate from the military budget

Exactly! Veterans benefits are not apart of the Military budget. Never has been, never will be. And long before the VA came into existence, Veterans concerns were tied to The Red Cross. And it was through citizens donations, that veterans got any subsistence at all. This was even true, after WWII.