Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans

This reminds me of a conversation I had last night after class. A fellow student and I were talking about being our age in Digital Media classes and one thing lead to another. We started talking about what I do when she told me she was Republican for a lot of reasons but one of them was that they supported the troops. I told her what the truth was and she was shocked. The only part of the military the Republican elected support are contractors. When it comes to the troops, just as when it comes to veterans, they seem to have a huge problem with paying them back for their service. When you look up their voting records along with their lack of bills written for the sake of the men and women risking their lives, you see their "support" is not even close to how much the support defense contractors. If you are shocked with what they are doing to veterans instead of for veterans around the country, you just didn't pay enough attention to them.

State VA chief: Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans
Article by: RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune Updated: May 5, 2011 - 11:18 PM
Republican committee chairman in the House called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."


Republican budget cuts could trigger the closure of at least one veterans' home, higher burial fees for veterans' families and elimination of the Bronze Star grave marker program, according to state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito.

Shellito, who led the state National Guard under former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said the budget as it stands would result in layoffs and other cuts, even though Republicans had pledged to protect veterans from spending reductions. "I'm very concerned," Shellito said.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, the House State Government Finance chair, said the administration's estimates are a "worse, worse, worse case scenario." He called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, Lanning's counterpart in the Senate, was not available for comment, despite repeated requests.

Although rhetoric at the Capitol has heated up as the budget process grinds toward a May 23 adjournment, Shellito said his projections are not part of that fight. "I don't play games," said Shellito, a major general in the Guard. "It's really serious."

In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday, Shellito said the budget proposals for his department would result in layoffs for more than 100 employees.
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Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans