Incompetence Causes Congressional Back Peddle Over Military COLA Cuts

military cola cuts

The recent Ryan-Murray budget passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly, 332-94. This bipartisan budget deal also passed the Senate 64-39. In the subsequent days following the votes Sen. Chuck Schumer (D- NY) defended controversial cuts to military retirement and survivor benefits.

During an interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe?Schumer said:

I think Paul Ryan and Patty Murray looked everywhere they could to try and find?compromise. Everybody had to take a little. Civilian federal employees have been cut, cut, cut. I think there was a feeling, if you’re going to cut them further, which was done, that the military retirees should have about an equal amount.

However, even as the budget was being debated on the floor of the Senate Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was addressing a ?technical error,? that slipped by– the very cuts Schumer agrees with.

Murray, the Chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, said:

A provision in this deal which mistakenly impacted retirement benefits for disabled veterans? will be fixed in short order. This technical error can, will, and should be addressed.

She vowed to fix the cuts and was joined on the floor by Georgia Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both of whom voted yes to the budget, to address the efforts to pass the technical correction later?after the budget has been passed into law.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D- NC) stated she is joining with Sen Mark Pryor (D- Ark) to introduce a bill to restore cuts to military retiree pensions.

I’m opposed to the provision in the bipartisan budget agreement that reduces pensions for military retirees, and I’m joining my colleagues in introducing legislation that restore those cuts for the men and women who have served our country with honor and distinction.

Both Hagan and Pryor voted to pass the budget despite being, ?opposed,? to the COLA cuts.

Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D- NH) is also introducing legislation to roll back the cuts. Her plan would close ?select corporate tax loopholes.?

Shaheen said:

The plan I am going to introduce will undo changes to future cost of living adjustments for military retirees and will instead achieve savings by closing corporate tax loopholes. It’s a smart, pragmatic fix and I hope it will generate bipartisan support.

The bill has 20 cosponsors in the Senate?all of whom voted for the budget, none of whom are republicans.

In fact Shaheen’s proposal will most likely not receive GOP support. Republican’s resisted closing these loopholes in the budget talks.

The Senate isn’t the only one that missed the impact to our servicemen and women who have been injured fighting in one or both of the most recent wars.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) also had to scrub a document of false statements about the budget deal. In the original statement Ryan made it clear that the COLA cuts, ?would not affect service members who retired because of disability or injury.?

This line was removed because wounded warriors? pensions will be affected by the cuts within the current budget proposal awaiting the President’s signature.

This ?correction,? was made two days before the vote in the house. However, Ryan gave multiple interviews after the change in which he defended the cola cuts claiming, ?We give them a slightly smaller adjustment for inflation because they’re still in their working years and in most cases earning another paycheck,? strangely there is no mention that this cut would also effect those who aren’t ?earning another paycheck,? due to service related injuries.

Ryan’s spokesman Will Allison refused to answer Breitbart News when asked multiple times if Ryan and his committee staff notified House members of the significant change to the document.

Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, seemed to present the idea that he was unaware of the cuts to disabled vets as he announced legislation to do away with the COLA cuts.?Miller said:

By introducing these measures, which will eliminate the act’s COLA reductions for all military retirees, as well as those who are medically retired, receiving Combat Related Special Compensation and/or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments. I hope to give Congress time to reach an agreement that balances our need to cut federal spending with the promises America has made to our veterans.

Reps Mike Fitzpatrick (R- PA) and Martha Roby (R- Ala) introduced a bill aimed at offsetting the cuts to military retirees and disabled veterans with the fiscal difference coming by closing loopholes that allow undocumented works to receive tax credits.

According to the Joint Tax Commission this could save $7 billion over 10 years. The military COLA cuts are projected to save $6 billion over the same time period.?Fitzpatrick said:

Stopping fraud and abuse within the federal government is something we should all agree on?especially when using those dollars to help honor our pledges to our veterans. This bill does that while still keeping a commitment to responsible budgeting.

Rep. Dan Maffei (D- MI) also introduced a bill that’s companion legislation to Shaheen’s efforts in the Senate. He said:

The bill I am going to introduce will fix this problem and ensure our military retirees get the benefits they have earned and deserve. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this common sense legislation.

In all Congress seems prepared to correct the mistake they have made breaking a promise to our troops. But how did this mistake get made in the first place when there are so many different options especially in light of Schumer’s assurances that Ryan and Murray looked everywhere to find an alternative to cutting military benefits.

Before the bill passed the house Rep. Paul Ryan, one of the key figures in the bill, seems to have been misinformed about what the bill actually did. Sen. Patty Murray was also taken back by the ?error? which negatively affects wounded warriors.

How is it possible that 396 elected officials, two of whom wrote the budget, had no clue what was in the budget?

Edited/Published by: SB

R.E. has been a contributor for the UNCW SeaHawk-- a campus newspaper. An Alumni of the University of North Carolina, he currently lives in Jacksonville, FL with his wife and daughter.