To quote the FRC alert on the matter, in the midst of these tough economic times, President Obama has found a unique source of revenue: wounded veterans. The President’s budget proposes forcing veterans to pay for their own treatment of injuries and disabilities resulting from military service to help fund his massive expansion of government spending. Under the plan, the Department of Veterans Affairs would generate revenue by billing veterans’ private health insurance providers.
A number of Democrats have spoken out in favor of the President’s budget – without voicing any concerns over the veterans’ provision or the provision that would reduce by 20 percent the amount higher-income people can deduct from their taxes for making charitable donations, thus endangering donations to organizations like Red Cross.
Here are some of the Democrat’s comments on the Senate Floor:
March 18, 2008:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.): (9:33 AM)
“SUMMARY After eight years of misplaced priorities, corporate greed, failed oversight and facing the severe economic crisis, that’s an understatement. Senior citizens are delaying their retirement. Workers are losing their jobs. Families are losing their homes. Though this hour is difficult, President Obama’s budget sets the path toward recovery.”
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.): (10:19 AM)
“We talked about the fact that the budget that we’ll be taking up next week, the week after and every year is a moral document. It is about who we are as Americans. What do we believe in, what do we care about? And I’m very proud of this President, President Obama, has given us a moral document that reflects the values and the priorities of the American people.”
March 17, 2008:
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.): (10:33 AM)
“President Obama inherited huge problems, not of his own making. That’s why his first budget blueprint is such a breath of fresh air. President Obama’s budget is both a statement of priorities and a test of our commitment to making our country stronger for all Americans.”
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.): (11:21 AM)
“I don’t always agree with everything in the Obama budget. There are a few things I’m going to work to change, but in general, at this time when were suffering so economically, I think that the priorities that are laid out in there are good for America, good for my state of California.”