Posted on 12/18/2013 6:19:59 AM PST by safetysign
Senate Republicans were unable to stop military pension cuts when Senate Democrats blocked a vote on an amendment to prevent the cuts by closing a welfare loophole for illegal immigrants Tuesday evening.
The two-year budget deal brokered by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, would cut military pensions by $6 billion over ten years, leaving some Senate Republicans scrambling to stop the cuts.
“Removing this unbalanced treatment of our military retirees ought to be one of the key actions we should take before this legislation moves forward. In fact, greater savings than this can be achieved by passing a legislative fix recommended by the Inspector General of the U.S. Treasury that would stop the IRS from improperly providing tax credits to illegal aliens,” Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions said Monday, announcing his co-sponsorship of Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker’s amendment to restore the military retirement benefits Monday.
Additionally, the Alabama Republican offered his own amendment to restore the cuts by targeting a child tax credit loophole that illegal immigrants have used to unlawfully obtain welfare benefits.
In 2011, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that “individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States” and therefore did not have a valid Social Security number were still able to obtain billions in Additional Child Tax Credits by filing returns with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
Specifically the Internal Revenue Service watchdog found that unauthorized individuals received $4.2 billion refundable credits in Processing Year 2010.
Tuesday evening, Sessions attempted to force Majority Leader Harry Reid allow amendments the budget agreement.
Sessions hoped to attach his amendment to the deal — which would have closed the loophole by requiring a Social Security number to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit and restore military retirement benefits.
Sessions’ motion failed on a 46 – 54 party line vote, with North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan crossing the aisle as the lone Democrat to vote with the Republicans.
“Reid’s majority just voted to keep pension cut for vets instead of cutting welfare payments to illegal aliens,” a Sessions aide emailed.
Meanwhile, Sessions slammed Reid and Democrats for blocking amendments and ideas that would prevent the cuts to military retirement benefits, including those for disabled retirees.
“Today, Reid and his majority quashed the ability of any Senator to offers amendments to the spending deal that emerged from the House. They voted to undermine their own ability as Senators to offer amendments and do legislative work in the clear light of day,” Sessions said in a statement after his motion was voted down.
“They voted to block the Senate from working to improve this tax-and-spend deal,” he added. “Finally, by blocking my amendment, they voted to cut pensions for wounded warriors. Senators in this chamber have many valid ideas for replacing these pension cuts, including my proposal to close the tax welfare loophole for illegal filers, and all deserved a fair and open hearing. But they were denied.”
Murray argued that adding more amendments would jeopardize the carefully crafted bill and noted that, given the two-year time frame Democrats and Republicans could continue to work together to find savings in the future.
The budget deal, which has already passed in the House, is expected to pass in the Senate Wednesday.
Well yeah. It’s not like the vets did anything. Where as the trespassers had to walk across barren deserts with no water and food in freezing and boiling hot weather. And all without a paycheck too. Obviously more deserving than some vet who ONLY volunteered to possibly give his life for his team mates and this (once great) country.
No surprise here.
Vets vote for Republicans.
Illegal aliens vote for Democrats.
My family has worked and fought for this country even before it was a country. A first cousin gave his life in the battle for Long Island. Now the back stabbing government wants to give the budget away to illegal aliens through the loop hole they made.
Ha! When Kay Hagan from North Carolina saw that the Democrats would win the vote, she voted against the bill to try to save her a$$ in the next election. I think NC voters will see through this low-life tactic and vote her out in November.
needs to be headline in every 2014 campaign ad!!!!!!!!!
This end result of this is not going to be a pretty sight. Now they are messing with the wrong group of people.
How does Ryan sleep at night?
Republicans who voted for the budget deal have no right to be indignant over this.
Exactly. How dare they act indignant when they voted for it.
“How does Ryan sleep at night?”
I thought higher of him than this and wondered about it too. If we could trust his answer, and it not be just a CYA response, I would like for someone to ask him this very question. My heart is breaking for the veterans.
Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, government stoops a little lower.
Fat chance... might alienate all those natural republicans.
That's why I say that DC politicians are not of the real world. There are so many veterans out there, just hanging on, making what salaries they can to supplement their incomes. The double whammy of veteran's benefits being cut while the money being spent on invader children is despicable. What did they fight for? So we coould be invaded at home and they could be cast aside?
I wish that a few decent men and women of the US Senate both sides of the aisle could set aside their political know it all attitude and reverse this. What an outrage, especially before Christmas. In history books of the future, if there are history books in the future, this will get a few paragraphs as when the US HOR and Senate dumped our veterans in favor of the invasion of the US.
Here is what chaps my butt about this:
Military pensions are pre-funded. Every year since 1984, the Dept of Defense has set aside money for future retirement costs. That trust fund has been very well managed, and is in the black. Unlike almost every other government program, it is expected to remain in the black forever - there is no indication that the trust fund will ever fall short of what is needed.
So how does cutting my retirement by 7%, and others by 20% benefit Congress? Well, if the pension fund gets too far in the black, then it transfers money back to Congress for their current budget. In this case, cutting my retirement allows Congress to take about $600 million - that is M as in Mary - out of the trust fund each year and use it for their current operating expenses, which includes about $4.2 Billion - B as in Bob - to give tax ‘refunds’ to illegal immigrants who did not pay taxes.
If ANY CEO raided the corporate pension plan to pay for current operating expenses, they would go to jail and the Democrats would be screaming for their heads. But in modern America, those same Democrats cut my retirement so they can take the money out of the pension trust fund and spend it buying votes. They raid the trust fund set up to pay for it, and use the money to pay roughly 15% of the cost of giving tax credits to illegal immigrants.
That tells you all you need to know about what Democrats think of the military.
But then, Paul Ryan and the Republican House have already voted in favor of this! Thank you, GOP, for crawling in bed with Harry Reid and letting him give you it up the rear! If I ever meet Paul Ryan, I’m going to spit on him!
My retirement is not paid for out of the current operating expenses of the government. In my case, 96% of my retirement was paid for in advance - and darn it! - it is in the black with no shortfalls in the future. How long before Congress decides 401Ks can be raided, or IRAs? And I’m still betting that within the next 10 years, the government will decide that military retirees do not deserve Social Security at 67...but then, we also do not deserve the fully funded retirement!
BTW - if the trust fund was in the red, I would understand cutting retirement pay. I do not expect current taxpayers to pay for my retirement. Why should they? Taxpayers already paid for it.
Senate LIBERALS.. Not Democrats...12 Republicans voted with the Democrats to sustain food stamps but cut military benefits to DISABLED veterans. LIBERALS !!!
I didn’t know that. Thank-you for the information. It just makes me madder, though.
TEXANS ALERT!
MORE GOP TREACHERY HERE: http://bit.ly/1bdqNLs
Of course. And Congressional so-called conservatives are seeing to it that doesn’t happen, right?
Yeah, sure.
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