“This is the worst kind of example of a shady, backroom deal.” — Col. Michael Barron US Army (Ret.)
The recent proposed federal budget deal cut by the former Republican vice presidential candidate will be payed for out of the flesh of uniformed retirees, as reported by the right-of-center news portal Breitbart.com on Dec. 16, 2013.
Citing CNN Money’s Jennifer Liberto, Matthew Boyle of Breitbart News notes that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) brokered a deal with Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) that ensured a mere handful of years worth of governmental spending would come at the expense of the annual COLA (Cost of Living Allowances) increases for those retired from the Uniformed Services, to include NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps) and the (Public Health Service Commission).
The Ryan-Murray deal comes on the backs of retirees who will see a cut of a full “1 percentage point for military retirees who aren’t disabled and not yet 62 years old.”
What both the Breitbart and CNN reports fail to cite is that the 2014 COLA for uniformed retirees was a microscopic 1.5%.
The Ryan-Murray deal guts that to an almost non-existent 0.5% increase for the cost of surviving in the current economy.
The proposed $63 billion spending increase sailed through the House of Representatives last Thursday evening on a vote of 332-94 with 169 Republicans voting in favor.
How It’s Paid for Just Found Out…
Reportedly, the revelation that military retirees would bear the brunt of the increase wasn’t been made public until after the House vote had already taken place.
Red-faced House Republicans that voted for Ryan’s deal note they were going off info Ryan assured them prior to the vote.
Despite the GOP being in the minority, the Senate Republicans are making a stand firmly against their chamber passing the proposal.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (R-SD) have all been unified in their voicing opposition to the deal.
Fortunately for the majority Democrats, all they need is four Republicans to cross over for the proposal to make it through Congress and be sent to the White House for signature by Barack Obama.
Cited as those that may cross the aisle are moderates such as Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Bob Corker (R-TN).
The Wife Nails It…
Married to a soldier with 18-years of active service to include 4 tours in Afghanistan, Rebekah Sanderlin stated:
The war has been very hard on our family.
We’d like to stay in, but it seems stupid to give more time to a government that goes back on their word.
To tax the very men and women who have sacrificed and served more than others is simply a foul.
The following groups have banded together to let the federal government just how betrayed they feel by the very same leaders they vowed to protect:
- Air Force Sergeants Association
- Air Force Women Officers Associated
- AMVETS (American Veterans)
- AMSUS, the Society of Federal Health Professionals
- Association of the United States Navy
- Chief Warrant Officer and Warrant Officer Association, U.S. Coast Guard
- Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc.
- Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States
- Fleet Reserve Association
- Gold Star Wives
- Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America
- Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
- Marine Corps League
- Marine Corps Reserve Association
- Military Officers Association of America
- Military Order of the Purple Heart
- National Association for Uniformed Services
- National Guard Association of the United States
- National Military Family Association
- Naval Enlisted Reserve Association
- Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces
- The Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America
- The Retired Enlisted Association
- United States Army Warrant Officers Association
- United States Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association
- Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
- Vietnam Veterans of America.
