Republicans and Tea Party Extremists Cut Veterans' Right to Attorneys

Maybe, just maybe now people are paying attention to their votes but after putting these people in office, it's too late to say you're sorry now. Why didn't they pay attention to what these people came right out and said they would do before they gave them the power to do it?

New Outrage: Republicans and Tea Party Extremists Cut Veterans' Right to Attorneys
Written by David Rogers
Thursday, 24 February 2011 21:41

Tea Party Slashes Legal Rights of Elderly and Veterans
February 25, 2011, Washington, DC (Politico) - Talk about collateral damage! Taking aim at environmentalists last week, House Republicans dropped a round instead on low-income veterans and Social Security recipients, making it harder for them to retain counsel when taking on the government.

Adopted by 232-197, the budget amendment imposes a seven-month moratorium on all legal fees paid under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), a Reagan-era law designed to help the little guy battle Washington by making it easier for him to afford an attorney.

Conservatives from Reagan’s own West were the driving force, accusing environmentalists of turning EAJA into a taxpayer-financed, money-machine for lawsuits harassing ranchers. But thousands of veterans and elderly found themselves swept under in the process, losing their ability to retain counsel in disputes with government agencies.

It’s not on the level of 1981 when the House briefly cut off minimum Social Security benefits for thousands of elderly Roman Catholic nuns. But with U.S. troops fighting overseas, taking away lawyers from low-income veterans can get pretty close.

Robert Chisholm, a Rhode Island attorney prominent in veterans’ law, told POLITICO: “We’re in the middle of two wars right now and to make it harder for a veteran — fighting for his benefits — to have an attorney is a horrible thing. That’s not what this country is about.”
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Republicans and Tea Party Extremists