Reid: Senate Passes Long-Overdue Health Care Overhaul, Pay Raise For Troops

Source: Senator Harry Reid

Reid: Senate Passes Long-Overdue Health Care Overhaul, Pay Raise For Troops

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the “Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act,” which lays out a comprehensive path to address shortfalls in the care of injured troops and veterans, and gives members of the military a 3.5 percent pay raise:

“I remain deeply disappointed in some of the conditions I saw earlier this year at Walter Reed Medical Center – just one deficiency among many across our veterans’ health care system – and I am proud that the Senate today has passed the Wounded Warriors Act to address those problems. It is our duty to ensure our courageous service-members do not fall through the cracks when they need that care the most.

“This bill will improve the substandard facilities like those at Walter Reed, expand medical care for veterans, bridge gaps between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and resolve inadequate severance pay. And despite the President’s objection, we are also giving our troops a well-deserved pay raise. Since taking over the majority, Democrats have provided billions of dollars to help our veterans because Americans willing to pay the ultimate price for our nation should receive the care they deserve, from enlistment to retirement and beyond.

Read more: http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=279754&

How can this be? Go Harry ! This is great!

No idea what's up with that.

the wrong message.

All those SUV-driving rethug asshats with "Support Our Troops" magnets and "W" stickers can kiss our Democratic grits.

Just what have the rethugs done for our troops lately -- or EVER?

Substandard (even disgustingly filthy at Walter Reed) medical care, billing soldiers for weapons lost when they were wounded, charging them for food while in a hospital. Redeploying them without adequate time to rest, wrapping them in endless red tape over medical claims and denials, and shipping them into combat inadequately trained, equipped and armored, with IED-vulnerable vehicles. Causing the National Guard troops to lose their fulltime jobs due to endless deployments. Feeding them the low-quality swill provided by Halliburton's food services.

Oh, I could go on and on.

I'd like to cross out "Support" on their precious little magnets and paste in the word "Destroy", as in "Destroy Our Troops," which, after all, is exactly what this stinking rotten Bush Misadministration has been busily doing since the war began.

:woohoo: its a start but a good one

:applause:

but I am having trouble understanding why the RePukes let it pass, maybe they are starting to see the writing on the wall, or did Reid make a backroom deal that screws us on something else.

no luck... guess I'm not using using the right 'Google'?

ennywho - I think it passed with enough votes to be veto proof, but there's always the signing statements to render it useless

...

he did something similar with an education bill in TX - vetoed it until there was a veto-proof majority, then bragged about signing it.

talking about this in very partisan terms