On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show: Every single Democrat and 12 Republicans in the Senate voted to cut pensions of disabled combat veterans with the passage of the budget bill. We were told they would be exempt, but it was quietly eliminated from the bill. Sen. Jeff Sessions wanted to introduce an amendment that would have paid for restoring the pension cuts by eliminating a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to get child tax credits, but Sen. Harry Reid wouldn’t allow it to come up for a vote. This bill is not the best Republicans could do. The Republican Senators and Congressman who voted for this are in a political war with conservatives.
WFB: A provision cutting the pensions of military retirees in the bipartisan budget deal that the Senate will vote on this week does not exempt disabled veterans, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.Related links: 12 Republicans Vote to Advance Budget Deal That Boosts Spending
Disabled retirees were previously thought to be exempt from the changes to military retiree pay, which could cost servicemembers up to $124,000 over a 20-year period.
The Free Beacon previously reported that military retirees under the age of 62 would receive 1 percentage point less in their annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the plan crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D., Wash.).
The section of the U.S. code that has been altered also applies to disabled servicemembers, many of whom have been wounded in combat.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, called the change “unthinkable.”
Senate GOP fails in final bid to restore military pension cuts to budget bill
ADDENDUM: Guess it didn't matter to 9 of them...done!
HotAir: After cloture passed 67/33 on Monday, final passage of the budget bill was a fait accompli. The only mystery was whether any Republicans who voted with Reid two days ago would switch now, knowing that Democrats could pass this thing on a party-line vote, so that they can pretend later on the campaign trail that they were “against” the bill.
Senate approves budget bill 64-36. No Dem noes. 9 GOP yeas: Collins Chambliss Hatch Hoeven Isakson McCain Portman Johnson (WI) Murkowski.The three Republicans who switched were Lamar Alexander, Roy Blunt, and Jeff Flake, who’s become a fairly reliable centrist vote in his short time in the Senate. The only semi-surprise is Ron Johnson, but he comes from a blue state and was also skeptical of the “defund” effort back in October. He’s not one for shutdowns, and the whole point here was to avoid a shutdown.
