Monday, November 11, 2013

Politicians Seek To Stab Veterans In The Back On-- What Else?-- Veterans Day

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John Mica (R-FL), no friend of veterans

Today, every candidate and every congressmember who ever managed to get their grubby paws on my e-mail address-- both parties-- sent out Veterans Day greetings. They were all pretty much the same pious ass-kissing, many from conservatives who expect the most from the military and who had actually voted against veterans over and over again. A Daily Kos diarist, War on Error, delineated 7 bills to benefit veterans that conservatives killed in Congress:
H.R. 466-- Wounded Veteran Job Security Act-- This bill would actually provide job security for veterans who are receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered while fighting in defense of their country. It would prohibit employers from terminating employees who miss work while receiving treatment for a service-related disability.

H.R. 1168-- Veterans Retraining Act-- This bill would provide for assistance to help veterans who are currently unemployed with their expenses while retraining for the current job market.

H.R. 1171-- Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization-– This bill would reauthorize programs in support of homeless veterans, to assist them with job training, counseling, and placement services through the Department of Veterans Affairs through 2014.

H.R. 1172-- Requiring List on VA Website of Organizations Providing Scholarships for Veterans which does nothing more than direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to include information about scholarships for veterans.

H.R. 1293-- Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009-- Here’s another bill in support of those who have fought for their country, passed by House Democrats and blocked from becoming law by Republicans.

This would increase the amount paid by the VA to disabled veterans for necessary home structural improvements from $4,100 to $6,800 for those who are more than 50% disabled, and from  $1,200 to $2,000 who are less than 50%, disabled. This means, if a veteran lost the use of his legs in service of his country, the country will pay for the wheelchair ramp so that he can live at home.

By the way, the last time this ceiling was lifted was in 1992. There isn't even a fiscal reason for being against this bill, as the total cost of this bill, according to CBO estimates, would be a “whopping” $20 million. That's about a quarter (25 cents) per family of four.

H.R. 1803-- Veterans Business  Center Act--  This bill would set up a Veterans Business Center program within the Small Business Administration, which would specialize in such programs as grants for service-disabled veterans, help them develop business plans and secure business opportunities. In other words, folks, it would create jobs and offer opportunities those who have fought in defense of our country.

H.R. 2352-- Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act-- This bill essentially combines a number of other bills that Republicans had blocked in the Senate previously, and adds a few elements. The bill would again establish a Veterans Business Center Program;… it would establish a Military Entrepreneurs Program
Or let's look at the SNAP program, through the eyes of Jonathan Capehart, and how the drastic cuts conservatives are pushing are disastrous for almost a million veterans.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), “in any given month, a total of 900,000 veterans nationwide lived in households that relied on SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] to provide food for their families in 2011, a previous analysis of Census data estimated.” The cuts to that benefit result from the expiration of a temporary increase in the food-stamp program through the Recovery Act of 2009. CBPP translated the economic impact of the benefit reduction into jaw-dropping dollars and cents.

The coming benefit cut will reduce SNAP benefits, which are already modest, for all households by 7 percent on average, or about $10 per person per month.  Without the Recovery Act’s boost, SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2014 will average less than $1.40 per person per meal.

That CBPP analysis highlighted the importance of SNAP for veterans.

Many veterans returning from service face challenges in finding work.

While the overall unemployment rate for veterans is lower than the national average, the unemployment rate for recent veterans (serving in September 2001 to the present) remains high, at 10.1 percent in September 2013. About one-quarter of recent veterans reported service-connected disabilities in 2011, which can impact their ability to provide for their families:  households with a veteran with a disability that prevents them from working are about twice as likely to lack access to adequate food than households without a disabled member.

Veterans who participate in SNAP tend to be young, but their ages range widely: 57 percent of the veterans in our analysis are under age 30, while 9 percent are aged 60 or older.
Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee-- a dedicated warmonger and the recipient of the second most bribes from military contractors and arms makers than anyone else in Congress ($1,456,600), was one of the 217 Republicans who voted for draconian cuts to veterans on food stamps. Same for his pal, John Mica in Florida, who has taken $238,604 from arms makers and war contractors.

Instead of sending out the same sappy, pious Veterans Day greetings that every other person running for Congress sent out, Mica's opponent, Nick Ruiz, took a real departure. Unlike just "the men and women from this district are an incredible national resource-- leaders with the convictions to fight for our ideals," Ruiz called out Mica for his unwillingness to support what veterans really want and need:
"On Veterans Day, I think it bears mentioning that while Rep. Mica and the GOP are offering their lovely wishes for veterans and their families-- behind their backs, Rep. Mica and the GOP are plotting the very worst pro-poverty agenda America has ever seen, that specifically insults veterans and their families by kicking them when they are down. Hundreds of thousands of veterans rely on SNAP funding-- the House Republican version of the farm bill removes millions of people from SNAP-- including 170,000 veterans. For the House GOP and Mr. Mica to act as if they care about veterans and their families, while literally voting to take food out of their mouths is disingenuous and Anti-American. We must do better than that for veterans and their families."
Help Nick replace Mica in the House of Representatives. Central Florida deserves better.

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