House more time and money for Benghazi than for dead veterans

How many times have you seen the House Veterans Affairs Committee meetings with empty chairs? Most of the time. What little they have managed to do has done little to fix anything for our veterans. Now as it turns out, they may not even have a single clue what to do other than complain.

Congress May Spend More On The Benghazi Panel Than On The Veterans Affairs Committee
The Huffington Post
By Mollie Reilly
Posted: 07/07/2014

House Republicans have requested nearly $3.3 million to operate the select committee investigating Benghazi, which gives the GOP-launched committee a bigger budget than that granted to the committee overseeing the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to a committee document provided to USA Today by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office, the budget provides about $2.2 million for the seven Republican lawmakers on the panel and a little over $1 million for the five Democrats. In contrast, the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Ethics Committee were each granted budgets of $3 million in 2014.

A spokesperson for committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) told USA Today that the number is a "high end estimate," and comes from previously appropriated funds.

Despite the high-profile allegations of long wait times and fudged records at the VA, the congressional committees overseeing the agency remain some of the least politically powerful on Capitol Hill. Since Veterans Affairs offers few opportunities to reap the benefits of sitting on other, high-powered panels (i.e., Financial Services), the committee is almost entirely populated by rookie lawmakers with little leverage.
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