Anger as Republicans block bill to help military veterans exposed to toxins

[Tommy Tainant]

Apparently Mr Stewart has offered to go on FOX to discuss this but they have refused that offer.
They really are cowardly fucks.

 

[j-mac]

I saw no attack on free speech. Your article notes that a site would have to remove something deemed illegal by a court.

Reads to me like duplicity as a site would have to do that now.

But screw the veterans, right?

1st, There is no such thing as "illegal speech".... Your speech, as well as mine are guaranteed by the 1st amendment...

2nd, I just saw Thune on TV, and he said that there are some changes in how this would be paid for, which are simple, also that the Democrats putting this forward could have made those changes before bringing the bill up, and it would have passed. And, as those changes are made, it will pass..

So, it sounds to me, if I were a betting man, the Democrats put it out like it was knowing that the bill wouldn't pass, then come back real quick with the changes and get it done, so that they could have the very talking point that you are trying to promote here...Very dishonest.

 

[JimH52]

Nothing to do with the point. The point is Democrats are not telling the truth about why Republicans changed their vote.

The truth is...this is the SAME bill that the repubs voted for last month. No one really know the reason they became assholes and voted against it now....but it may have something to do with the deal Manchin and Schumer made on the reconciliation bill for climate change. So, the repubs screwed over the Veterans purely for political reasons.

 

[bendog]

Nothing to do with the point. The point is Democrats are not telling the truth about why Republicans changed their vote.

The gopers changed their votes because Manchin did reconciliation. Or did you miss that?

 

[bendog]

1st, There is no such thing as "illegal speech".... Your speech, as well as mine are guaranteed by the 1st amendment...

2nd, I just saw Thune on TV, and he said that there are some changes in how this would be paid for, which are simple, also that the Democrats putting this forward could have made those changes before bringing the bill up, and it would have passed. And, as those changes are made, it will pass..

So, it sounds to me, if I were a betting man, the Democrats put it out like it was knowing that the bill wouldn't pass, then come back real quick with the changes and get it done, so that they could have the very talking point that you are trying to promote here...Very dishonest.

the same bill passed before.

 

[Winston]

Nothing to do with the point. The point is Democrats are not telling the truth about why Republicans changed their vote.

Nope Republicans are not telling the truth.

https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/CP-117HR3967EAS-RCP117-56.pdf

That is called a comparative print. Here is what was changed in the bill,

That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3967) entitled “An Act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, and for other purposes.”, do pass with the following

e)Not a taxable benefit.—A contract buy out for a covered health care professional under subsection (a) shall not be considered a taxable benefit or event for the covered health care professional.

Those two passages were stricken from the bill by the House. That is it period. Got to agree with the second one, why should a buy out be free of tax liability.

No pork in the bill, feel free to read the 64 page pdf document and see if I missed something. The Congressional Record don't lie, and you can track the voting history of the bill there as well.

 

[bendog]

Apparently Mr Stewart has offered to go on FOX to discuss this but they have refused that offer.
They really are cowardly fucks.

You blame them? He'd kill them. LOL

 

[August West]

You're entirely full of shit TitsUp. Conservatives have deepest respect for Veterans. Someone is lying.

Except for the soldiers who were captured.

 

[JimH52]

The gopers changed their votes because Manchin did reconciliation. Or did you miss that?

EXACTLY! The repubs decided to punish the Dems by punishing the Veterans.

 

[bendog]

Nope Republicans are not telling the truth.

https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/CP-117HR3967EAS-RCP117-56.pdf

That is called a comparative print. Here is what was changed in the bill,

That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3967) entitled “An Act to improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, and for other purposes.”, do pass with the following

e)Not a taxable benefit.—A contract buy out for a covered health care professional under subsection (a) shall not be considered a taxable benefit or event for the covered health care professional.

Those two passages were stricken from the bill by the House. That is it period. Got to agree with the second one, why should a buy out be free of tax liability.

No pork in the bill, feel free to read the 64 page pdf document and see if I missed something. The Congressional Record don't lie, and you can track the voting history of the bill there as well.

I didn't think this place could get stupider after trump lost, but I was wrong. Literally, compare contrast, ability to understand political terms .... what could I expect. They can't even find relatively truthful sites for facts. Actually, they actively reject them for sites they know will comfort them.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

You blame them? He'd kill them. LOL

FOX has to exist in an echo chamber or it would lose its grip on the feeble minded.

 

[JimH52]

I didn't think this place could get stupider after trump lost, but I was wrong. Literally, compare contrast, ability to understand political terms .... what could I expect. They can't even find relatively truthful sites for facts. Actually, they actively reject them for sites they know will comfort them.

These people lie and when they are caught, the lie about lying. They are as low as they can go.

 

[bendog]

EXACTLY! The repubs decided to punish the Dems by punishing the Veterans.

The gop was saying NO to any bipartisanship no matter how good the cause because the dems used reconcillation to partially raise taxes on corps making 1 BILLION in profits a year that were not even paying 15% in taxes, which is less than was in the gops 2017 tax cut bill, and less than amount of tax paid by the corporation where you got your taxes done or your car fixed.

The gop's tiff with the Vets bill doesn't have anything to do with the merits of the Vets bill, or the Manchin/Schumer reconciliation bill ... which may or may not be GREAT, but neither was the gop tax cut they are so bitterly defending ... and I really doubt amazon is going to raise my prices for rat poison or golf balls, that I can buy elsewhere, just so their shareholders don't see maybe .25% of a rise in stock price.

 

[BS Filter]

Poor little liars got caught and blame Mitch and Trump.

 

[bendog]

Poor little liars got caught and blame Mitch and Trump.

you are literally what makes this board intellectually suck, by dumbing down everyone who has to deal with you, esp the mods.

 

[Dirk the Daring]

Why is it "irrelevant" that the gopers voted for the SAME bill they tried to kill yesterday?

Because the earlier 'yes' vote came before they were alerted by one of their colleagues of the scam the Dems were trying to pull? Not a very difficult concept, so I can see why ANY liberal has trouble understanding. Just another in a long line of Dem's using our military as pawns to line the pockets of their friends and possibly even themselves. And the lemmings like you fall for it EVERY. TIME.

 

[Winston]

I didn't think this place could get stupider after trump lost, but I was wrong. Literally, compare contrast, ability to understand political terms .... what could I expect. They can't even find relatively truthful sites for facts. Actually, they actively reject them for sites they know will comfort them.

If you take the time to post on a messageboard you should at least have the dignity, self respect, and respect for others, to have the initiative and the ability to independently research topics discussed. All media can be suspect, they make mistakes, omissions, and mischaracterizations, either because of a political bias, or just pure neglect and lack of professionalism. Like the NBC article in the OP, no way in hell they should have called the bill the "PACT bill". And reporter covering the legislature should have known it would cause confusion. And a professional editor that would have done the necessary due diligence to uncover that confusion would have axed it out.

Congressional representatives and senators LIE, period. The Congressional Record does not.

 

[JimH52]

Because the earlier 'yes' vote came before they were alerted by one of their colleagues of the scam the Dems were trying to pull? Not a very difficult concept, so I can see why ANY liberal has trouble understanding. Just another in a long line of Dem's using our military as pawns to line the pockets of their friends and possibly even themselves. And the lemmings like you fall for it EVERY. TIME.

Go ahead. Tell us about the "scam."

 

[Winston]

Because the earlier 'yes' vote came before they were alerted by one of their colleagues of the scam the Dems were trying to pull? Not a very difficult concept, so I can see why ANY liberal has trouble understanding. Just another in a long line of Dem's using our military as pawns to line the pockets of their friends and possibly even themselves. And the lemmings like you fall for it EVERY. TIME.

You really want to run with that after all I posted? So, it is a "scam" to make spending on veterans mandated spending as opposed to discretionary spending? I mean it is the way it is done most often. It protects that money from being diverted, not causes it to be. But hey, if that is the way you feel then join me in supporting a bill that changes the funding of Congressional pensions to "discretionary spending" instead of "mandated spending".

 

[Dirk the Daring]

The truth is...this is the SAME bill that the repubs voted for last month. No one really know the reason they became assholes and voted against it now....but it may have something to do with the deal Manchin and Schumer made on the reconciliation bill for climate change. So, the repubs screwed over the Veterans purely for political reasons.

Literally every news article about this that I'm seeing on Google is explaining why Toomey and his colleagues voted against it. Do yourself a favor sometime and try reading the ENTIRE article, not just the headline.

Blindsided veterans erupt in fury after Senate GOP tanks toxic burn pit bill

The widely supported bipartisan measure, PACT Act, looked to expand medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.

www.nbcnews.com

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., who voted against the legislation in June, has remained vocally critical of the bill. Yesterday, after the vote, he said that the bill included a “budget gimmick" that moved $400 billion over 10 years from “discretionary to the mandatory spending category,” which he considered unreasonable. His view did not change in Wednesday's vote.

The views of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., certainly did, however.

Johnson voted for the bill in June, but voted against it on Wednesday. He said in a statement that the bill “opens the door for more reckless government spending."

Veterans shocked burn pit legislation fails to advance in Senate

The Senate unexpectedly failed to advance legislation expanding benefits for an estimated 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits during U.S. wars overseas.

www.cbsnews.com

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania voted no in June and Wednesday because of how the money is accounted for, though he supports the purpose of the legislation.

Toomey objects to the the bill because it includes language that would move money from discretionary to mandatory spending, freeing up about $400 billion in discretionary spending for anything, including programs unrelated to veterans

Twenty-five Republicans who voted yes in June joined Toomey and voted no on Wednesday. Because several senators weren't present for the vote due to COVID and Sen. Patrick Leahy was out as he recovers from hip surgery, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.

Tester said the Senate Appropriations Committee should be able to address the issues Toomey raised but instead Toomey and other Republican senators blocked the procedural vote. Toomey on Wednesday said he and others were willing to fix the issue by a voice vote and pass the bill.