Coburn keeps fighting unfunded vet bennies

Coburn keeps fighting unfunded vet bennies
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 17, 2009 18:08:46 EST

The lawmaker holding up Senate passage of a veterans health care bill orchestrated a Monday vote that forced senators to choose between funding veterans programs or funding pet projects.

The pet projects — 96 unrequested military construction projects costing about $633 million — won over veterans funding on a 69-24 vote. But it probably isn’t the last effort by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to prevent the Senate from passing veterans benefits legislation that isn’t fully funded.

Coburn has talked about pushing a similar vote that would pay for unfunded veterans benefits but cutting U.S. payments to the United Nations.

On Monday’s vote, Coburn was attempting to send the $132.5 billion military construction and veterans appropriations bill, S 1407, back to the Senate Appropriations Committee for changes that would reduce the number of so-called “earmarks,” added by lawmakers, to provide sufficient funding for veterans caregiver benefits. Twenty-two Republicans and two Democrats voted with him on a motion that was opposed by Senate Democratic leaders.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that prepared the bill, said Coburn seemed to be confusing his fights: The appropriations bill is separate from S 1963, the Veterans Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act, that Coburn has blocked for about a month.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_coburn_veterans_111709w/



unhappycamper comment: And Coburn never questioned either of the unfunded occupations.