White House determined to balance the budget on the backs of veterans
The other day, Military.com reported that the House blocked the Department of Defense hikes to Tricare premiums and co-pays for retirees, doing their best to keep faith with veterans. Today Military.com reports that the White House has threatened to veto House Armed Services Committee’s proposed 2014 defense budget (National Defense Authorization Act – H.R. 1960) in the event that it lands on the President’s desk.
“…if the bill [HR 1960] is presented to the President for approval in its current form, the President’s senior advisers would recommend that the President veto the bill.”
The White House statement doesn’t enumerate the reasons that they’d recommend a veto, which is always helpful when issuing threats like that – since no one knows specifically what to change in order to get the President’s approval. But we can guess, since the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs were up there the other day trying to screw retirees to the wall with Tricare hikes. And if we read the White House’s position on veterans’ benefits, we can read between the lines to determine their intent;
The Administration believes that military retirees deserve an excellent, sustainable health care benefit. For this reason, the Administration strongly supports its requested TRICARE fee initiative that seeks to control the spiraling health care costs of the Department of Defense (DOD) while keeping retired beneficiaries’ share of these costs well below the levels experienced when the TRICARE program was implemented in the mid-1990s. The projected FY 2014 TRICARE savings of $902 million and $9.3 billion through FY 2018 are essential for DOD to successfully address rising personnel costs. DOD needs these savings to balance and maintain investments for key defense priorities, especially amidst significant fiscal challenges posed by statutory spending caps. The Administration strongly urges the Congress to support the proposed TRICARE fee initiative.
Yeah, all I needed to hear was the fact that we deserve an excellent and sustainable health care benefit and I knew what was coming. Just like the president’s promise at the American Legion convention a few years back when I heard him say that he wasn’t going to balance the budget on the backs of veterans, while he was planning to do just that.
If that’s what we deserve, then why are they raiding our Tricare surplus to spend in other areas of Defense? That’s a surplus of $708 million, which you would think would go a long ways towards providing an excellent and sustainable health care benefit. Wouldn’t you think?
No, the Department of Defense see retirees as a source of income and our out-of-pocket Tricare costs as a tax they can use to splurge on their shit. If there’s a surplus, obviously we’re sustaining our health care program just fine and we don’t need a hike to keep the benefit running as smoothly as it’s currently running.
The civilians at DoD don’t think that we earned that health care benefit, or at least that we haven’t paid for it enough to their satisfaction. And now they have the uniforms thinking the same way, or at least saying that out loud in public. Yeah, there were civilians at DoD who lobbied for this during the Bush Administration, but when Congress shut them down, they stayed down until the next year when they did the dance all over again.
But this White House is so determined to make veterans pay, they’ll continue to take bites at the apple until there’s nothing left. I’d say “I told you so”, but I’m better than that. Well, almost.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Veteran Health Care
I’m just not surprised at this.
Bodaprez is good at sales pitches, and that’s about all. He never had any intention of doing anything other than ripping off the military, active, vets, and retirees.
OH, I am SO glad I did not vote for that clown.
So it’s universal healthcare for everyone…except you savage veterans. You may have given umpteen years of your life to your country, but you have to pay for what has heretofore been free. Gee, I’m so glad Obabbler is so concerned for veterans and their welfare. What an honor he does to their service…
Oh, you told me so. I told me so too, many years ago.
Old proverb: Money politician get. Money politician own. Power politician get. Power politician not let go.
Lest we forget that Social Security was once a solvent retirement account for contributors and many, many taxes were “temporary”.
God and the Veteran all men adore
in times of trouble and never more.
When war is gone and all things righted.
God is forgotten and the Veteran Slighted.
author Unknown.
Maybe the next time a politician hands a Marine an umbrella, the Marine will take the opportunity to show the politician how it feels to be shafted.
Any headline that begins “White House Determined to Balance the Budget…” must fill me with skepticism.
I come from a country that has universal healthcare and allow me to tell the truth this idiots won’t say:
1. 32% of all the mexican salary goes to universal healthcare, and no you cannot have dinero back, the cash is gone have fun and smile!!!
2. Most people say this “Si te quieres morir vete al seguro” which means “If you want to die, go to the healthcare clinic” lines are epic is literally a cultural laughter that even ppl with chopped fingers (kid you not!) have had to wait up to 3 hours in the waiting room (They were cool, they did give him some ice to put the finger on, and I know this as a have a family member that is a doctor there and … guess what .. they have a quota … 35 patients a day
3. Most doctors have private clinics after hours, so they will give you an aspirin then send you to their private consultation
4. Most ppl endup having private healthcare, as it’s impossible to be treated humanly or fast in that situation
While is a great idea, is not only the balancing the way they are designing this is very VERY close to Mexican healthcare, and if my mother begged me to buy her a private insurance because she was scared that she was getting sick and dying in the hospital because of bad care … that’ll say something!
Their budget balance is just ridiculous, but I’m a bit hopeful that they have done so much stupid stuff the next one will have some sense and remove all the stupidity but until then…
I know it won’t change anything, as well I’m just nobody, but crap I can see this one going to go bad and it makes me sad … it does I love this country and I can’t stand to see them keep on making shitty decisions oh well …
Sad, but I’m not surprised.
Join the VSOs – the American Legion, VFW and whatnot; they’re the only ones working for us. And if you don’t like smokey bars with cheap drinks (I don’t), you don’t have to go. One can always be a state member not affiliated with a Post.
Just like with the NRA, organizations with large numbers of voting members have some voice with politicos.
/end PSA
Until we get some Congress critters with the guts to put a stop to this nonsense it will continue. I care not the gender, the race, the party of same, just get us some folks who listen to themselves as they take the oath of office and feel the full weight of the Constitution as they swear to uphold it.
“Just like the president’s promise at the American Legion convention a few years back when I heard him say that he wasn’t going to balance the budget on the backs of veterans, while he was planning to do just that.”
Barry has a habit of making promises in public, but once he’s behind closed doors, he undermines those promises by doing exactly the opposite of what he says he believes.
He’s been doing it with the Constitution, so it’s no surprise he’s doing it with veteran’s benefits.
Jonn (Tricare WAS solvent) and #3 FormerUSN (SSN WAS solvent until LBJ yanked it out of its own self-sufficient fund and put it into the open General fund) already made my points.
This effort to raise Tricare (which I’m not eligible for being a retired American soldier, so if it goes up, great!) will get platooned with Amnesty for the illegals, and the GOP will pass it near unanimously.
This should be no surprise. It’s all part of Left’s publicly-stated doctrine:
“From each according to his ability (to pay, as we determine); to each according to his need (as we define it).”
Don’t worry, be happy. Baracka and Mooooch are going on vacation back to find their roots, or something. It’s only going to cost us millions of $$$, according to the Daily Mail and the WaPo. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2341276/White-House-cancels-Obamas-African-safari-plans-revealed-include-SWAT-team-SNIPERS-high-powered-rifles.html
But, apparently, he won’t be taking a sniper team if he goes on the safari.
And of course, they need the extra $$ to fund yet another terrorist overthrow of a ME nation.
What Obama wants is to get rid of TriCare, the VA, and put everyone on a government-mandated healthcare plan. I kid you not. There is simply no other reason for him to be doing the things that he is doing.
These leftists simply won’t stop until they get an entrenched socialist government that brings the living hell of socialism to every single American.
Only then will our people realize that the goal, overall, is to convert us from citizens to subjects.
@16 Yes, Yes, and yes. He and all his scumbag minions have stated this many times behind closed doors and have written it down in numerous left wing think tank studies. Sadly most Americans couldn’t be bothered ever scratching the surface of just how insidious these progressives, both dems and repubs, truly are.
Its so sad and pathetic that these high ranking officers (who will retire soon themselves mind you) don’t have the balls to stick up for our promised benefits. Absolutely pathetic. The likes of Ike or Patton would roll over in their graves seeing the toxic leadership or straight up pussy’s we have now.
time for another “Bonus March” a la 1932?
@8: Most Posts are non-smoking now, plus you can be a member of a Post and still not have to go into the building, if you so choose. But you are right; Vets need to join the VSOs, because this is the type of stuff that they are there for. The American Legion was instrumental with getting the original GI Bill created and signed and they have been fighting for Veterans ever since. There have been countless stories right here on these pages about the National Commanders of the Legion and VFW taking the administration to task in face to face meetings. TSO can probably tell you many stories of walking the halls of congress on behalf of Veterans, back when he worked in DC.
No, the Department of Defense see retirees as a source of income and our out-of-pocket Tricare costs as a tax they can use to splurge on their shit.
This is why we are f#cked, these idiots don’t even understand simple math. Military retirees are paid from what monetary source? The federal budget….it’s not income when you don’t spend it, increased income is a monetary source unavailable previously not a reduction in outgoing spending….these 4ssholes in DC use some really creative accounting for all this. Try that kind of accounting in your personal life you will most likely end up bankrupt and possibly imprisoned.
All they are doing is giving out less without actually bringing in more…this is how Washington does accounting and why liberal 4sswipes think Clinton had a budget surplus. These are the lies politicians tell themselves, that by paying out less they are actually increasing income. F#cking morons. If they are going to f$ck anybody how about those pr1cks who are here illegally? Why do I pay a full state tuition and an illegal alien gets a subsidized rate? What the h3ll is going on these days?
I will let Senator Graham, who I disagree with usually, speak for me:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), ranking Republican on the subcommittee, expressed disappointment that colleagues have declined again to embrace any TRICARE fee increases, particularly on working age retirees. He intended to argue during full committee mark-up of the bill that senators embrace at least “modest adjustments” in fees to ensure that the prized TRICARE benefit is “sustainable” as overall defense budgets slide.
“If we just keep punting this thing,” Graham said in a phone interview Wednesday evening, “we’re going to have a contest between retiree health care and force readiness, and nobody wants that.”
“It’s better for a guy like me to talk about it,” said Graham, an Air Force Reserve colonel, “because nobody questions whether I’m pro-military.”
http://www.military.com/benefits/2013/06/13/55k-retirees-due-back-pay-might-never-see-it.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=3
When the next war come and it will and people don’t come and fight what will we tell our grand kids babe soldier cost to much and we did not want to pay for them so you might not have freedom anymore