Senator Tom Coburn blocks bill for veterans

On the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month, we honor all of America’s veterans. Today, because of you, we’re calling on one Senator to use today to truly honor veterans by ending his hold on a veterans spending bill.
Earlier in the week, I urged you to sign our petition calling on my Senator Tom Coburn to end his hold of S. 1963, "The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009." Within hours, over 10,000 of you signed.
Today, we’re turning over 13,000 signatures to the Senator.

The petition was covered by the Military Times newspapers, which you can read here (Coburn blocking bill).

By blocking this bill Sen. Coburn is denying veterans a myriad of benefits and services: Caregiver assistance to our most wounded veterans, who often need assistance to do some of the smallest tasks; Funding for such issues as mental health care for women who suffered military sexual trauma, women’s health care needs and medical services for newborn children; Aid for rural veteran health care issues; Mental health care; and, Programs to help ease the burden of veteran homelessness.
On this veterans day, I’d urge Senator Coburn to think about the thousands and thousands of veterans he’s hurting by playing politics with veterans care. The best thing he can do to honor veterans today is to release his hold on this bill. Because of you, the pressure is on him to do so. Today, we honor all of America’s veterans. Now it’s time for Senator Coburn to join us.
Sincerely,Miranda Norman
Iraq War Veteran
Oklahoma State Captain, VoteVets.org
And Jon, Peter, Brian, Richard, and the entire VoteVets.org team

This is from his own site. Prepare to have a sick feeling in your stomach.

Dr. Coburn Challenges Senators to Make Sacrifices for Veterans Health Care


November 9, 2009



“Our nation’s veterans have made tremendous sacrifices in defense of our freedoms. The least Senators should do is make the easy sacrifice of eliminating a small amount of wasteful spending to improve veterans’ health care. Leadership, after all, is making sacrifices and hard choices. Veterans and every family in America make hard choices every day between competing financial priorities. It’s time for politicians in Washington to do the same,” Dr. Coburn said.......



“The American people and our veterans understand that our spending problem has become a national security problem. We are borrowing massive sums from potential adversaries and are watching the value of the dollar decline because other nation’s doubt our ability and willingness to pay off our $12 trillion debt. If we don’t start making hard choices we may not have a country left to defend,” Dr. Coburn said.

The problem here is that what we owe our veterans has been put aside for the sake of people like Coburn. Considering nothing they were in charge to do was done for the sake of the veterans coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq until the Democrats took over the committee chairmanships. They did not take over these seats until 2007 and mountains have been moved since then. What Senator Coburn seems to forget is that the American people do care and we watch CSPAN. We heard all the speeches over the last 8 years while the veterans waited for care but people like Coburn had a problem paying for the troops as easily as he found money for the contractors. He found it so difficult to increase the budget for the VA at the same time he thought the contractors were worthy of getting whatever they wanted. Imagine being a veteran, wounded in service and hearing how you had to prove the wound happened in Iraq but a contractor needed only to say they needed billions in cash to pay out, then decided they didn't have to account for any of this.

Does Coburn think the veterans in this country are idiots? They know what they earned and they know what they should be getting but above all, they know when they are being treated with such blatant disregard for their service especially by a senator hiding behind fiscal responsibility all of a sudden. This is a debt that came due and payable as soon as they came home! Shame on him!

This is what the veterans have been waiting to have delivered on instead of just empty words

At Arlington, Obama pays tribute to veterans
President visits section where soldiers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan are buried


By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 11, 2009; 1:22 PM

President Obama, marking Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, paid tribute Wednesday to generations of American service members and pledged to "keep the promises that we've made" to all who have worn the nation's uniform.


He said, "Our servicemen and women have been doing right by America for generations, and as long as I am commander in chief, America is going to do right by them. And that is my message to all veterans today. . . . America will not let you down. We will take care of our own."

Addressing those serving on distant battlefields, Obama pledged, "When your tour ends, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil, you will be home in an America that is forever here for you, just as you've been there for us. That is my promise -- our nation's promise -- to you."