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Tom Coburn Named as Senator Holding up Veterans Bill
Maybe Jesus told Coburn to screw veterans. Go to Sen Tom Coburn’s website … call and raise hell. Main: 202-224-5754 —
By Rick Maze – Thirteen major military and veterans groups have joined forces to try to force one senator — Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — to release a hold that he has placed on a major veterans benefits bill. Coburn has been identified by Senate aides as the lawmaker preventing consideration of S 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, by using an informal but legal practice of putting a hold on a bill.
Coburn’s staff did not respond to questions, but Senate aides said the first-term senator has expressed concern about creating new and unfunded benefits and wants the opportunity to amend the measure.
One of Coburn’s suggestions is to divert money from unspent economic and job stimulus programs to cover costs of new benefits for veterans and their families, according to sources who have discussed the issue with Coburn’s staff.
So far, at least, Senate leaders don’t want to let Coburn offer any amendments because of the precedent that would set to delay other legislation. Actual funding for benefits traditionally is handled separately from the bills that authorize the benefits, Senate aides said.
Earlier this fall, Coburn placed holds on S 252, the Veterans Health Care Authorization Act of 2009, and S 728, the Veterans’ Insurance and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2009, which led to the introduction of S 1963, which combines key provisions of the two earlier bills in an effort to get around Coburn’s opposition.
In a letter sent Monday night to the Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the 13 military and veterans groups ask the Senate to get on with it.
“It is essential that Congress act on this comprehensive measure without further delay,” the letter reads. “Thousands of disabled veterans with serious medical conditions and the family members who care for them are counting on this additional support.”
The letter says passing the bill by Veterans Day would be a “fitting way” to honor veterans.
Those signing the letter include the nation’s major veterans groups — The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, AmVets, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Blinded Veterans Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Jewish War Veterans, plus the Military Officers Association of America, National Military Family Association and Wounded Warrior Project.
Steve Robertson, legislative director for The American Legion, said delaying the bill hurts families caring for severely wounded combat veterans who would benefit from the stipends, health care, counseling and respite care that would be provided to caregivers in the bill.
“For a lot of family caregivers, delay is costing them their jobs and their savings. It’s having a big impact,” he said.
Robertson said he has spoken to Coburn’s staff about the earlier holds on S 252 and S. 728, but the conversation was fairly one-sided, with Coburn’s aides trying to get Robertson to dissuade veterans from flooding the senator’s office with calls.
“They made it clear that Sen. Coburn sees this as using his rights as a senator to place a hold on a bill, and that he was not doing anything illegal or wrong,” Robertson said. “I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to hold up a bill that would do a lot of good things for veterans that has cleared a committee and is ready for a vote.”
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate assistant majority leader, mentioned Coburn’s hold in a Tuesday floor speech without citing Coburn by name, saying that the bill was being held up by one senator over cost.
“How much is a veteran’s life worth?” Durbin asked, adding that he hopes the hold is lifted.
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=9251
Posted by Yanira Farray on Nov 4 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Veteran Service Organizations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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This is very, very, very good. This is perfect. This is more than any of us could have hoped for.
This takes us down to the very bare bones of why veterans must be active in government oversight.
If we are not actively pursuing beneficial veterans’ legislation at all times in email support and phone calls and demonstrations, our needs can very easily be blocked or diluted by one person in government.
Do you see how this works now? One person can very easily affect millions of people for an undetermined amount of time if he or she is making important political decision based on ideology.
What we have here is ideology standing in the way of common sense legislation. Now to be fair to Senator Coburn, I am quite sure that these Veterans’ Bills are very expensive. He is absolutely correct to ask "where is the money coming from to pay for this legislation?". I have no problem with fiscal responsibility from a GOP Senator. And I am active in Democratic Party politics here in Northern Virginia.
This is mainstream, traditional GOP conservative thinking about the role of government. The default GOP ideology is about maintaining government at a low level and controlling costs at all cost. Period. This is a lot more understandable and traditional GOP politicking than the kind that Coulter and Limbaugh do on a routine basis. There is no character assassination or goofy conspiracy theory nuttiness or rancor for the sake of media share here.
I do not agree with this kind of politicking but I understand it. This is traditional conservative American obstacle construction to radically new veterans legislation that does not address funding in a way that this Senator wants to see.
Now the real question is, what are we going to do about it? Emails from veterans in Oklahoma demanding action? Telephone calls to the Senators office demanding action? Demonstrations in front of Dept of Veterans Affairs facilities around the country demanding action? Any or all of them?
But even more importantly it has to be stated that as long as we leave this sort of action and representation to the so-called "Veterans’ Organizations" we are still out of the loop. That is not really veterans participation. What that really resembles is a "buy off" where we pay others to do out dirty work. That means we do not own the victory but we do own the defeat.
We simply must start getting involved more if we want real action on our issues.
So, where is the money going to come from for this and future necessary veterans’ legistlation and benefits? Well, how about we slash the 2010 Defense Budget of $680 billion dollars to about half that much? What say we start worrying about the veterans we have before we go around the world making new ones. Good idea?
As long as we have these massive Defense Budgets veterans legislation will face this sort of obstructionism from the conservatives in government year after year after year.
The days when we could be bought off with a parade or two or a politician speaking to a crowd and giving veterans verbal kudos are quickly drawing to a close in this country. So I ask American politicians: do you really want to honor us? Then slash the defense budget and send that money our way, every year, for all years in the future until all of us are adquately compensated especially those of us who are totally disabled.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
Oh…I should have mentioned…
This is exactly why I have never been able to figure out exactly how the GOP is consistently able to position itself as the party of national defense and veterans’ rights. They are neither.
They are the party of the war industry captains, the energy cartel monopolies and the low budget or "no budget" social infrastructure. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the second most expensive department in government. Only the Defense Department has a bigger budget.
This is why Republicans watch the veterans’ budget every year like hawks. It is a massive entitlement program and it is something that their ideology will not allow.
That is why they claim to speak for veterans, because if they can get that status from us as a plank of their Party then they can control costs at our expense. This is not hard to see and Senator Coburn is simply following suit on generations of Republican cost cutting to the national budget at our expense. They do this every year but finally it has come to light.
Do you see now?
How in the name of all that is reasonable can the GOP be seen by us as the friend of the American veteran when they will cut our costs for earned entitlements at any possible opportunity? They have been doing this exact same thing for generations.
Now, before this seems too partisan for your liking, I must admit something about the National Democrats, of which I am one. They are not our friend either. They have completely different agendas which see money spent on veterans as something less than primary. They have much more immediate concerns that encompass more than veterans. They will only support our needs if they see political gain in it. We are not seen as a primary constituency of the Democrats.
In short, both parties will leave us behind if not controlled by consistent and even brutal veteran attention to what they are doing relative to our issues at all times. I only want to make the point here that unlike the National Democrats, the GOP consistently claims that it is the party of national defense and veterans issues. It is not. It never was.
The GOP is the party of extreme and cautious expenditures for any sort of social entitlement. That means us. Don’t ever forget that. It is worth knowing and acting upon at election time when our benefits are threatened.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
I see and understand. Now what can we do?
What can we do as veterans to slow this kind of anti-veteran politicking? Plenty!
First and foremost we have to make the GOP (and the Dems) work for our vote. They must fear us and the 8% of the electorate that we represent or they will not hesitate to behave in this manner.
We have to stop just allowing the major veterans organization to get in line behind the GOP like so many bought and paid for lobbying groups do.
We have to personally take our Congressmen and Senators to task in our state whenever they stray from veteran supportive legislation.
We have to follow closely who is and who is not ‘veteran friendly’ in their voting records in both parties and vote accordingly at the next opportunity.
We have to get active, at least on the level of a bi weekely email, to your representatives and senators expressing our opinions on veterans issues. They do not ignore emails. Trust me.
We have to find out who our representatives and senators are and call their office in the home state to register our opinions as veterans on issues that effect all of us.
We have to make our representatives and Senators pay when they do not pass veteran friendly legislation. If there is no price for voting against us or if they do not fear our influence, we are a paper tiger who should be ignored by them.
That is just a few things. I am sure that there are others. Basically, like any other problem in life that faces us, we have to take personal responsibility for fixing it.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
We were the richest nation in the world 5 years ago. Republicans Buyer pushed to rip off the psych bandeges on thousands of PTSD vets on a latter proven lie that there was fraud. Sen Larry Craig the gay guy cautght in the Mpls bathroom. Put in legislaton to incress vets copays.
Its really not so much where the money comes from. But how much can be stolen from vets who deserve this money. Its a sport to them. So many vets were rail roaded out of there comp, that they are actully paying for there own injuries. Before I got my VA comp. I was required to pay for my service connected injuries. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
These veterans are by law have been injuried by the US Government in defence of it. Paying not what ever the government can get away with, and not what is equatibel for the complete care and compensaton for the vet regardless the cost. WE can always print the money. The national bank system is not circulating the massive amounts of money out there and in fact is takeing the money in and not distrubiting so at least the dollar keeps its value inside the USA. The money is out there. However the veterans themselfs and public have tolerated these behind the secenes people to put there boots on the veterans throat.
Terry
“He is absolutely correct to ask “where is the money coming from to pay for this legislation?”.”
I disagree. The money should have been included when we went to war and with every additional appropriation. This is one of the expenses of war and those who want it have to face up to it. Everybody said, “We support our troops,” but I don’t remember anyone talking about how will we take care of them when they come back.
So where should the money come from? From the wealthy corporations who profited from war. From people who made so much money from shoddy personal armor that they could hold a $10 million bat mitzvah for a 13-year old, from profiteers whose captive labor built showers that electrocute, who employ mercenaries who are accountable to no one, from big finance who nearly bankrupted the whole country and are receiving trillions.
God have mercy for our leaders surely don’t
The entire Congress of the United States is corrupt. And I mean both Houses and I mean both major parties..
I realize that a few Members of each House are trustworthy, but, as a group they are absolutely the most corrupt bunch to ever disgrace our Nation.
In November of 2010 the entire House of Representatives will stand for re-election; all 435 of them. One third of the Senate, a total of 33 of them, will also stand for re-election. Vote every incumbent out.
And I mean every one of them. No matter their Party affiliation. Let’s start all over in the House of Representatives with 435 people who have absolutely no experience in running that body, with no political favors owed to anyone but their own constituents. Let’s make them understand that they work for us. They are answerable to us and they simply have to run, that body with some common sense.
Two years later, in 2012, vote the next third of the incumbents in the Senate out.
We can do the same thing in 2014 and, by that time we will have put all new people in that body as well.
We, the People, have got to take this Country back and we HAVE to do it peacefully.
That’s what the Framers of our Constitution envisioned.
I am also suggesting term limits on the new bunch: 8 years for Representatives and 12 years for Senators – no exceptions. The longer they stay in office, the more power they get, and they love it and will do anything to get re-elected.
We have term-limited the President, now let’s term-limit the Legislators. Why not, it’s only FAIR
I forgot to add every reader should call 866-272-6622 and ask for Coburns Office, flood him with calls demanding he release the bills!
I know for a fact that this President and his administration has done more in the last 10 months for Va and troops than President Bush and his administration ever did, and Bush was the one who started 2 off the book wars, with no way to pay for any of it. If you don’t believe me look it up for yourself. I know we have a long way to go but with this President I think we can go alot farther.