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Posted by Senate Blocks Ve on March Tue 4th 7:34 PM - Never Expires
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  1.    
  2. They�ll hawk for war - they�ll take you to war!
  3.  
  4. Then they�ll stab you right in the back!
  5.  
  6. http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140227/NEWS05/302270033/Senate-blocks-huge-vets-benefits-bill
  7.  
  8.  A massive veterans legislative package that would have expanded a
  9. host of post-military benefits was sidelined Thursday after Senate
  10. Democratic backers failed to find enough support among their Republican
  11. colleagues.
  12.  
  13.  A procedural motion to cut off debate and allow the bill to move to
  14. a floor vote fell short by four votes, with all but two Republicans
  15. voting along party lines. Bill sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,
  16. chairman of the Senate Veterans� Affairs Committee, called the defeat
  17. a frustrating disappointment and vowed to find a way to guide the
  18. measure through Congress this year.
  19.  
  20.  �I thought that maybe, just maybe, the Senate could come together
  21. and do the right thing for our veterans,� he told reporters after
  22. the vote. �But, no.�
  23.  
  24.  The vote came after three days of debate on the Senate floor �
  25. much of it focusing on what topics should be debated. Each day,
  26. Sanders implored his colleagues to focus on the veterans bill and
  27. avoid offering unrelated amendments.
  28.  
  29.  But Republicans shifted much of the floor focus to new sanctions
  30. on Iran for its nuclear program, a move opposed by the White House,
  31. and continued objections to portions of the Affordable Care Act.
  32.  
  33.  They also criticized plans to pay for the veterans bill with
  34. expiring overseas contingency funds, labeling it a budget gimmick
  35. that creates more long-term spending without a real offset.
  36.  
  37.  �That is more money we were going to spend that we haven�t spent,
  38. that we never had because we were borrowing it, and now we are going
  39. to use it to expand this,� said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., senior
  40. Republican on the Veterans� Affairs Committee.
  41.  
  42.  Both sides accused the other of attempting to paint their opposition
  43. as anti-veteran. Veterans groups, in turn, labeled the fight another
  44. Washington embarrassment.
  45.  
  46.  �The partisanship that has trumped most political action in
  47. Washington has left this important veterans legislation in its
  48. wake,� Paralyzed Veterans of America National President Bill Lawson
  49. said in a statement. �We are deeply disappointed that the Senate
  50. could not set aside its differences to support the men and women
  51. who have already sacrificed so much for this country.�
  52.  
  53.  Paul Rieckhoff, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America,
  54. was even blunter: �Republicans blame Democrats. Democrats blame
  55. Republicans. And veterans are caught in the crossfire.�
  56.  
  57.  Sanders� comprehensive legislative package was introduced in January
  58. as a vehicle to repeal unpopular trims in military retirement pay.
  59. But Congress overturned those cuts earlier in February in a separate
  60. vote, sapping much of the political urgency out of the omnibus bill.
  61.  
  62.  It contained a host of benefits and program changes advocated by
  63. veterans groups, including improved services for military sexual
  64. assault victims, new fertility treatment options for wounded veterans
  65. and an extension of health care coverage for recently returned veterans.
  66.  
  67.  Several provisions had received bipartisan support, such as language
  68. to ensure in-state tuition rates for all Post-9/11 GI Bill users,
  69. regardless of where they live. That move could save veterans using
  70. the benefit to attend out-of-state public schools tens of thousands
  71. of dollars in tuition costs.
  72.  
  73.  But the bill also had a hefty price tag. The Congressional Budget
  74. Office originally estimated its cost at $21 billion over 10 years,
  75. but the removal of the retirement issue would drop the total to
  76. about $15 billion over the next decade.
  77.  
  78.  Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., planned to offer companion legislation
  79. to Sanders� Senate bill with tweaks in how the overseas contingency
  80. funds are used to cover the bill�s costs.
  81.  
  82.  But its fate remained unclear. Despite passing portions of the
  83. Sanders� bill as stand-alone measures, House Republicans have not
  84. offered support for the whole package, expressing skepticism about
  85. using the expiring war funds to pay for the new programs and benefits.

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