Selling Out Our Military

I am once again completely ashamed of our Members of Congress. There’s really no other way to put it. In the two-year budget agreement that was passed by the House of Representatives, there is a provision that would cut retirement benefits for military retirees by $6 billion over ten years.

It’s come to this: rather than actually eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, once again Congress is cutting funds that are allocated to our wounded veterans. Ahead of the final budget vote, Senator Jeff Sessions tried unsuccessfully to employ a parliamentary tactic that would force a vote on the amendment that would undo these cuts to military benefits.

These men and women made innumerable sacrifices in order to protect freedom here at home and around the globe. And this is how our government repays them? Senator Tom Coburn just-released "Wastebook 2013," he highlights 100 examples of egregious waste on the part of our government. Were these forms of waste eliminated in the two-year budget agreement? No, of course not. Instead, the budget agreement between Representative Paul Ryan and Senator Patty Murray targets the benefits that our men and women in uniform have not only earned through their service to our nation, but depend on for their survival.

Congress must restore these benefits to our military heroes. With Christmas coming up next week, it must be our gift as a nation to these men and women to restore their benefits. How dare Congress not only pass such a cut, but think that the American people would sit idly by and not fight for those who fought so bravely for us. Enough is enough, Speaker Boehner and the House should come back from their comfortable Christmas break and give our soldiers the benefits they deserve.