GOP lawmakers seek to amend budget for Fort Hood survivors

If the soldiers killed at Fort Hood were not given every military honor and their families compensated for a death during service to this country, then it is truly wrong. If the soldiers wounded were not given Purple Hearts after being fired upon at their base when they were unarmed, then there is something really wrong. To use this for anything other than doing the right thing for this uncommon situation wound be really appalling.

GOP lawmakers prepare amendments to budget

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday May 15, 2010 8:56:43 EDT

Armed with eight amendments to the 2011 defense budget — and there could be more — Republican House Armed Services Committee members said Thursday they want to highlight the differences between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to keeping America safe. They are calling it their “Defend America Plan.”

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the House Armed Services Committee chairman, said he is aware of Republican plans and was not overly concerned, saying Democrats likely support much of what Republicans are proposing. Skelton said he is preparing for a lengthy debate next week on the 2011 defense authorization bill, and he hopes, even with many Republican amendments, to get the measure approved in one day.

One of the Republican amendments involves last year’s Fort Hood shootings, which Republicans want to count as part of the war on terrorism rather than an isolated incident.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon of California, ranking Republican on the armed services committee, said they will offer an amendment to the 2011 defense authorization bill on Wednesday that provides combat-related benefits to victims of the shooting, and requires the Defense Department to release a restricted portion of an independent report about the shooting that they believe will provide families more details.

If approved, the amendment would make shooting victims eligible for the Purple Heart, would provide $150,000 in Combat Servicemembers Group Life Insurance to families of those who died — even if they had not signed up for the military insurance program — waive recoupment of bonuses, and allow families to stay in government housing for up to a year after the November 2009 shooting deaths.

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GOP lawmakers prepare amendments to budget