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Rep. Bishop Defends Veterans Benefits Against Budget Cuts

July 20, 2011

WASHINGTON – Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-2), fought to protect the benefits of U.S. Veterans by offering a Motion to Recommit amendment to H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. Rep. Bishop’s motion stated that, “It shall not be in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that could result in a reduction in veteran’s benefits.” The motion, which received bi-partisan support, was unsuccessful by a vote of 188 to 236.

“The needs of America's veterans, past and future, should be one of our highest priorities,” said Rep. Bishop. “And this motion will ensure that our veterans are taken care of and they receive the benefits they have earned.

“When veterans come home without limbs because they have defended our freedoms, we should not put in place Cut, Cap, and Balance legislation on their backs, the backs that are strained and damaged by the injuries they sustained fighting for this country. We should not stand idly by and watch this Congress endanger the welfare of our Nation's heroes.”

Rep. Bishop’s full remarks can be read here.

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Last night, the House passed H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 by a vote of 234 to 190. The bill requires Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment before increasing the federal debt ceiling. The plan faces almost certain defeat in the Senate, and the President has promised to veto such a bill if it reaches his desk. Rep. Bishop voted against the bill

Opposing the legislation, Rep. Bishop said, “It cuts and it caps programs that will work for everyone and put America ahead of our competitors. It cuts and caps our ability to jump-start new industries in our country, like clean energy. It cuts and caps our ability to rebuild our economic infrastructure, like roads and bridges and ports, and to put people to work. It cuts and caps education and job training opportunities to help middle class people get and keep good jobs.”

“Yes, it cuts and it caps, but it balances the cuts and the caps by protecting tax breaks for the wealthiest folks in our country, by providing subsidies for corporations that take jobs overseas away from American workers, and by cutting Medicare and Social Security benefits for our Nation's seniors--balancing it on the backs of them.”

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