Government shutdown & the VA

The Washington Times reports that Congress passed the latest of a long stream of stop gap bills to continue funding the federal government without actually passing a budget. However, the bill delays Obamacare for a year, which has prompted the White House to announce that the bill is DOA, because you know, the word “compromise” isn’t in their vocabulary as anything that the rest of us would recognize. They delayed the healthcare bill in regards to employers, but not for the rest of us.

Aided by some Democrats, the GOP passed legislation to repeal a widely despised Obamacare tax on medical devices, to halt the entire health law for a year, and to ensure troops get paid even if the government shuts down.

The votes send the spending bill back to the Senate, though Majority Leader Harry Reid called the moves “pointless” and has already ruled out negotiating on any of the Obamacare measures. He said he will not accept any strings attached to a bill to keep the government open past the midnight Monday deadline.

Our buddy, Austin Wright at Politico writes that the House bill contains a provision to keep paying the troops and the DoD civilians who support them;

The GOP unveiled a bill on Saturday that would ensure service members continue getting paid if Congress is unable to pass a bill to fund the government past midnight Monday, when the fiscal year ends and current appropriations expire.
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The measure would also ensure continued pay for civilian employees of the Defense Department and Pentagon contractors who “are providing support to members of the Armed Forces.”

The Washington Post writes that if the standoff continues for a few weeks, Veterans’ Administration won’t be able to pay the veterans who depend on them;

During the telephone briefing, the leadership of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees were told that VA will run out of money to make compensation and pension payments if a partial shutdown is drawn out for weeks, according to aides to two members of Congress.

The briefing, which was provided by VA congressional affairs, represents a significant change from what the members had previously been told, and from the information the VA has released to the public, according to congressional officials.

Some expressed concern during the briefing that veterans had not been given adequate information to prepare for a possible disruption in payments that many depend upon. Some veterans live check to check, they noted.

Yeah, well, veterans haven’t been given adequate information because no one is talking to us. You’ll notice that the VA’s Ebenefits website is down today for maintenance. But there was nothing about the government shutdown when it was working before 9am today. So, yeah, nice dodge, there VA, but if we’re not getting timely information, it’s because you haven’t bothered to give us any.

“This is a big reason why it’s critical that the House join with the Senate to act quickly and keep the government open without any political games,” said Sen. Patty Murray, (D-Wash.), who is chairman of the Senate budget committee. “Our nation’s heroes, who are already waiting too long for the benefits they deserve, shouldn’t be held at the mercy of gridlock and dysfunction in Washington, D.C.”

In other words, we’re being held hostage once again – and this time it’s to save the credibility of that broke-dick Obamacare BS.

Category: Military issues, Veterans Issues, Veterans' Affairs Department