By Richard Sisk
The War Report
The White House and Congressional Republicans scrambled today to avoid blame if veterans benefits and military paychecks get hit in the backroom jockeying over the debt limit.
“It is outrageous that disabled veterans have become political pawns in the fight over how to increase the government’s borrowing authority,” Disabled American Veterans National Commander Wallace E. Tyson said in a statement.
Tyson spoke ahead of a hastily called meeting with vets groups at the White House aimed at getting ahead of a “virtual march on Washington” organized by the DAV on Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday to protect vets benefits and take military pay off the table in the political
debate over who gets what if the nation goes into default.
President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned earlier this month that veterans benefits could take a hit without a deal to raise the debt ceiling, and Republicans would be at fault. To avoid political blowback, White House officials at the meeting gave the vets gruops assurances — but no guarantees – that vets would be a priority in case of default.
Senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett told the groups that it was unclear “who would get paid and who wouldn’t get paid under default,” said Frederick Burns, director of administration and operations for the VFW’s Washington office.
But Jarrett said that the military and vets would get paid first, said Burns, who attended the meeting with representatives of the DAV, the American Legion, and several other vets groups.
House and Senate Republicans quickly followed suit with their own promises to vets and the military.
At a Capitol Hill news conference that also was hastily called, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and other Republicans said they were introducing the “Protecting American Soldiers and Seniors Act” to guarantee that Social Security checks and military paychecks to active duty troops would still
go out under default.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) said vets and other groups would be added to the protected list as the legislation proceeded. “Oh, we need to reassure them too. These are the groups President Obama is trying to scare,” Gohmert said.
The vets groups were skeptical of the commitments from the politicians. “They’re using the military and vets as pawns. Both sides are using scare tactics,” said Joe Davis, communications director of the VFW, “and both sides should know that a nation that creates veterans should take care of veterans.”
Veterans: What Priority?
Military service personnel of all branches of service, be it Army, Navy, Marine Corp,
Air Force or Coast Guard. They serve with pride and honor and are sworn to protect our Country’s borders, our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They serve in peace time and war time, all with one common goal, our Country’s Freedom.
We who served and those who now serve, ask only to be cared for by our Government if we have become sick with disease or injured in the line of duty. We are from all walks of life. We represent all religious faiths, all races, all political parties.
A bullet, a disease, does not discriminate who we are or what we are in time of war. A bullet or a disease does not care if we are of any one religious faith, black or white, yellow or red, democrat or republican or independent. We are all equals.
Some of us are injured by a bullet or explosive device. Some of us get sick by the use of poisonous herbicides that causes cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, and Ischemic heart disease, just to name a few. Some of us end up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes, some of us even end up with a whole deck full of problems.
Some of our Legislators introduce Bills to the House and Senate to care for us who are in need. We submit claims to Veterans Affairs. Mountains of paperwork is required for us to prove we have disabling problems during our time in service to our Country. It can take months, more likely even years for that paperwork to get through the system. In the mean time those Legislative Bills receive little to no action in a hurry up and wait mode of operation. Some of our Legislators aren’t sitting on their hands, some support us, they are of the minority. A few can not do the job needed, it takes a majority.
What are the priorities of our Legislative Body? Do they tax the very wealthy, millionaires and billionaires or give them tax breaks? To what countries do they give billions of dollars? To what banks do they give assistance? To what giant manufactures do they give assistance? What Pork Barrel projects do they support? Just to name a few top priorities. But our military personnel who are sick and injured, where are they on this priority list? At what point does the almighty dollar stop to help those who served? It seems to me, if the bureaucracy waits long enough and makes VA claims difficult enough, more of us will just die out, then there are fewer of us to be concerned about. Sounds like a rotten death sentence?
What say you, The American People, is this what it has come to? Are those who fought for Freedom to be forsaken? Ask your Congressional Representatives and your Senators, are those who served to be forgotten?
By: John J. Bury, US Navy/retired/war veteran
For immediate press release.
If one makes using an expert arrangement business pertaining to consumer debt relief, you can rest assured of several benefits in which few other person seeking credit card debt settlement …mortage help