Are level headed Republicans going to take back their party and restore common sense and common decency? Will they set aside their differences to get something done? Their opposition is hurting homeless veterans!
Senate veterans hearing shut down due to partisan obstruction
MEDIA RELEASE
U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a hearing Wednesday, March 24 on VA’s plan to end veteran homelessness in the next five years. It is estimated more than 100,000 veterans – including at least 800 in Hawaii – are homeless in the United States on any given night.
The hearing ended abruptly at 11 a.m. after opponents of health insurance reform objected to allowing most committee hearings, including the Veterans’ Affairs hearing, to continue. Senate rules require unanimous consent on the Senate floor for committees to meet two hours after the Senate convenes. Objections to the routine procedure are extremely rare.
“The Senate should be a place for debate, but I cannot imagine how shutting down a hearing on helping homeless veterans has any part of the debate on the health insurance reform. I am deeply disappointed that my colleagues chose to hinder our common work to help end veteran homelessness,” Akaka said.
The hearing included witnesses from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as community providers who help homeless veterans, and a veteran in transitional housing.
Chairman Akaka was forced to gavel the hearing to an end in the middle of testimony from witness Dr. Sam Tsemberis from Pathways to Housing, a service provider with hands-on experience helping homeless veterans, particularly those with psychiatric disabilities and addiction disorders.
“With a growing commitment from Congress, the federal government, and community providers, we are on track to end veteran homelessness in five years. We must stay focused and work together to accomplish this important and ambitious goal,” Akaka said.
...and now that you've deceived the public with half the story (typical liberal tactic) - allow me to shed a little light on what really happened:
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http://www.nchv.org/content.cfm?id=93
Strangely, an objection on the Senate floor that morning disallowed committees to meet more than two hours after the Senate convened, requiring Chairman Akaka to abruptly end the hearing at 11 a.m.
Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) held an informal roundtable discussion in the committee room immediately after this adjournment. Nearly all of the panelists, including Dougherty and Assistant Secretary Jefferson, participated in the talk, which was driven by NCHV’s recommendations to fulfill the VA's Five-Year Plan.
Thank you for your information but not so much for trying to insult me with "typical Liberal" comment. I am far from "typical" and consider myself what used to be called a "bleeding heart Liberal" since I try to live my life by Christ's words. Too many have forgotten what He actually said about how we should live our lives if we call ourselves Christian. Yet according to some of the people on the radio and cable stations, someone like me is to be hated. I have voted for Republicans and Democrats depending on what the person has to say about what is important to me. Yet you would know that if you knew anything about me or bothered to see the work I do for the sake of the troops, veterans and their families. The same people the GOP elected forgot all about.
ReplyDeleteLook up what happened since 2001 after we were attacked and see what they refused to do for their sake. As for the report on this post, it seemed to fit into what they have been pulling all along. The level headed GOP elected must be cringing over all of these stunts. There are many Republicans in congress who do care about the men and women in the military and the veterans but their voices are drowned out by all the others. This blog is about the men and women who serve this country no matter what party they happen to be involved with and it's high time the elected remember that they all serve this nation!
"....and now" you know the rest of the story and the fact the report came from Senator Akaka's office, the head of the Veterans Affairs committee, that was responsible for the highest increase in Veteran's funding in generations, you may want to cut him some slack if you do not agree with what he had to say, but then you'd also have to have the ability to look up the facts on how the VA was totally under-funded and even less able to take care of the wounded coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan along with the older veterans. Now, under Democrat leadership, they are trying to take care of the flood of veterans at the same time there is a tsunami offshore waiting to cause even more veterans needing care. They don't see it coming. Can you fight for them? Can you care there are more veterans becoming homeless everyday? Can you care they are waiting years to have their claims approved when too many can't work due to their wounds? Can you set aside political motives for their sake? I did. If you knew this blog, you'd know that. The veterans come first and when the elected are not taking care of them, it's posted.
By the way, my husband is a disabled Vietnam vet. My father was a disabled Korean vet. My uncles were WWII veterans, but then again, I'm only second generation American so my family's service does not go back too far. My husband is also only second generation but his father and four of his uncles served in WWII. All of them served this one nation while they were Democrats and Republicans in how they voted but put no politician above what was best for this one country they risked their lives for. This nation would be better if we could all do the same.