Why Does Michele Bachmann Want To Throw Military Veterans Under The Bus?

By Gary P Jackson

A round of Twitter conversations about Congresswoman Michele Bachmann yielded some incredibly troubling information concerning veterans and their benefits. It seems Bachmann submitted a budget plan that would cut billions from veterans earned benefits.

Now I know we are looking to save billions, if not trillions of dollars, and I am sure there are ways to cut money from every single government program, including the Veterans Administration, but to do it on the backs of our brave men and women who put their lives on the line for us, is totally unacceptable.

Bachmann's plan would freeze health care spending on veterans and REDUCE benefits going to disabled veterans. Yes, REDUCE benefits to those fighting men, and women, wounded in battle, and forever disabled.

From the Air Force Times:

Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits

Tea party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans’ disability benefits.

Her proposed VA budget cuts would account for $4.5 billion of the savings included in the plan, posted on her official House of Representatives website.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, said cutting veterans’ health care spending is an ill-advised move at a time when the number of veterans continues to grow as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Sullivan said he finds it difficult to see how VA could freeze health care costs without hurting veterans.

"It is really astonishing to see this," he said.

The report goes on to say the Congresswoman issued a statement saying "her plan is intended for discussion purposes as an example of ways to cut federal spending to make it unnecessary to increase the current $14.3 trillion limit on the amount the U.S. government can borrow."

Read more here.

Look, $4.5 billion is not chump change, but when we are talking $14.3 trillion, it's like a single grain of sand in the desert. With all of the waste, and questionable spending by the federal government, you'd think taking money away from our brave members of the military, who are sick and disabled, would be the LAST place one would look to cut spending, not one of the first.

We are fighting wars in three theaters, and military members are injured daily. Many will sadly become disabled as the results of their war injuries. These heroes volunteer to put their lives on the line daily for our Freedom and Liberty. They don't do this for fame, glory, or money. They do it because they love the United States, and want to preserve the Republic and all it stands for. They deserve the first seat at the table, not the table scraps.

Not sure where Bachmann stands on this today, as her plan was released in January, but the fact she would even consider cutting benefits to wounded and disabled veterans, before exhausting every other way of cutting spending, is disgraceful.

Remember, this woman wants to be the Commander-in-Chief of America's Armed Forces.

Hat tip: Angelia Phillip and Ladybug13USA