Sen. Tom Coburn stands by effort to delay bill for disabled vets
BY CHRIS CASTEEL
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Published: November 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn continued Monday to block a bill providing new health care services for veterans, despite strong backing of the bill from veterans two days before the national holiday in their honor.
Coburn, who is single-handedly preventing the bill from passing the Senate, said Monday that the bill would add an estimated $3.7 billion to the deficit over five years and that lawmakers had made no effort to find corresponding cuts in other programs. Moreover, he said, the bill’s assistance for caregivers for disabled vets only applies to veterans from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and the assistant majority leader, said Coburn was hurting 6,800 families who have a disabled veteran living at home and need help caring for him or her. But Coburn said he has offered a number of programs that could be cut to help pay for the new benefits — including subsidies to cotton producers who store their crops under a federal loan program and subsidies to air carriers who provide service to some small communities. Coburn said veterans had shown great courage in their jobs defending the country and that lawmakers should show courage in their jobs by cutting some old programs to pay for new ones, rather than passing the debt on to future generations. "There’s no question we do want to do the right things for our veterans,” Coburn said. "But there has to come a time when we are forced to make the hard choices.” The bill, in question, S 1963, combines two pieces of legislation and would address caregivers, mental health services for female veterans and expanded services for homeless veterans and veterans in rural areas. "These are extremely important, popular pieces of legislation,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. Coburn’s offices have gotten numerous calls from veterans about his position, two-thirds of which are opposed to the stance he’s taking, a Coburn aide said. But some veterans have called to say that they agree with his contention that the bill shouldn’t be limited to care for veterans wounded after 9/11, the aide said.
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The 1.46 million working-age veterans that did not have health insurance last year all experienced reduced access to care as a consequence, leading to "six preventable deaths a day."
What are you doing to reverse this trend, Doctor????
How have you spent the $1,363,638 you've received from the health care and health insurance companies?
Until then, SHAME ON TOM COBURN!
I've volunteered at VA's in the past. My father is a retired Chaplin/Special Forces and my grandfather served in Iwa Jima and my other was 1st Calvery in Korea, so blow me.
Most Korea and Nam Vets qualify for medicare as well as VA benifits. The cost of care for recently disabled vets (20-30 year olds) are looking at 50 to 60 years of care compared to the 1-10 years of care other vets will need.
Can you not count? The bill is for $3.7 Billion, not a trillion you idiot.
Tell your grand children that W and the republicans ran up the deficit with reckless tax cuts and unfunded programs like the $600 billion prescription drug plan.
Tell your grandchildren that W and the republicans took a $400 Billion surplus and turned it into a $1.2 trillion dollar deficit.
Tell your grandchildren W and the republicans borrowed $1 trillion from Chinia to lie us into invadeding Iraq.
Tell your grandchildren that W and the republicans took a 4.3% unemployment rate and turned it into a 7.4% free fall.
We get it, your a financial hawk, but go make your point with something other than those who gave their hands, legs, arms, feet or lives for our freedom in a war (Iraq) that you supported and never should have began in the first place.
I normally support Coburn, but this is nauseating and I don't see any other Republicans supporting him on this either.
Jeff - your comment could be true about every member of congress. It has nothing to do with this article.