Chimpy and Veterans
Hoss Cartright
doesn't matter to him. I wonder how all those testosterone-laden combat virgins feel now,
after supporting a scumbag like Chimpy and then watching him cut funding for vets....
Well, the military isn't known for attracting the brightest bulbs on the street..........
Support for Troops Questioned
Democrats Detail Bush's Cuts in Military Family Benefits
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 17, 2003; Page A19
Democrats concerned about facing a popular wartime president in next year's elections
think there may be an opening in the most unusual of places: President Bush's treatment of
the military.
Bush is held in high esteem by the military, because of his leadership of successful
military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq and his unstinting defense budgets. But Bush's
opponents say he has rewarded American troops' heroism by skimping on their housing
benefits, their tax cuts, their health care and education for their children.
A new report by the Democratic staff on the House Appropriations Committee this week
asserts that Bush, by cutting about $200 million in the program that provides assistance
to public schools serving military bases, would pare education funding disproportionately
for children of soldiers who fought in Iraq. That adds to several complaints the staff has
assembled: Bush's signature on the latest tax cut, which failed to extend a child tax
credit to nearly 200,000 low-income military personnel; a $1.5 billion reduction in his
2004 budget, to $9.2 billion from $10.7 billion, for military housing and the like; and a
cut of $14.6 billion over 10 years in benefits paid through the Veterans Administration.
"They're saying they unequivocally support the military, but then they make quite clear
that the check is not in the mail," said Rep. David R. Obey (Wis.), the top Democrat on
House Appropriations, referring to the administration. "They're taking actions that fly in
the face of the support they profess for the military."
The White House parries the charge by pointing to pay raises for the troops of more than
15 percent under Bush, privatizing of troops' housing, and large increases in defense
spending -- all resulting in record retention rates in the military. Bush aides also
counter that the president proposed the largest-ever increase in discretionary spending
for the Veterans Administration in his 2004 budget.
"The commander in chief has restored respect, pride, pay, training and the quality of life
for our active-duty military and veterans," said Trent Duffy, spokesman for Bush's Office
of Management and Budget. "His special bond with our troops only grows stronger by shallow
attempts to weaken it."
But such attempts are not new. Bush himself used a similar attack against Al Gore in the
2000 campaign, complaining to a VFW meeting in August 2000 about "soldiers who are on food
stamps and soldiers who are poorly housed." He vowed then: "We will give our armed forces
better pay, better treatment and better training."
This time around, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), a presidential candidate and Vietnam
veteran, said he feels "very strongly" that the issue, particularly veterans' benefits, is
a vulnerability for Bush. "The real test of patriotism is how you treat veterans and keep
promises to people who wore the uniform," he said.
The maneuvering has already begun. Last week, Democrats tried to add $947 million for
military housing to a 2004 spending bill, losing on a party-line vote in a subcommittee.
They also charge that Bush would cut off about 173,000 veterans from health care under his
2004 budget request to "refocus the VA health care system" while requiring enrollment fees
and higher out-of-pocket costs.
On the subject of funds paid to schools that serve children of military personnel, Bush's
2004 budget recommends cuts of $172 million, or 14 percent, in payments called "impact
aid" that make up for lost local tax revenues from tax-exempt property. The analysis by
Obey's staff calculates that the military portion of the program is set to fall by more
than 30 percent, to $435 million from $635 million -- much of that affecting children of
troops that have served in Iraq.
For example, uniformed personnel at Fort Hood, home to the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry,
send almost 17,000 students to Killeen and Copperas Cove public schools. The analysis
found that Bush's proposed cuts in impact aid would reduce Killeen's school budget by $22
million, or 13 percent, while Copperas Cove would lose $9.6 million, or 22 percent. The
report found a similar effect for the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division at Fort Stewart,
Ga., the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the 101st Airborne at
Fort Campbell, Ky.
The White House, while not disputing that it is cutting the impact aid, said both
Republican and Democratic administrations have for years sought to cut the aid to reflect
the number of military employees who live off base and pay local property taxes. Over
eight years, OMB's Duffy said, the Clinton administration proposed cutting a total of $100
million in such funds.
Democrats are hoping such explanations won't be convincing when military families'
children begin to feel the squeeze on their schools. Already, Obey's staff reports,
Defense Department schools overseas had to end the school year a week early because of a
lack of money.