From tonight’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Coburn is taken to task for cloaking himself in this allusion of “caring for our troops” while refusing to do what is right for them. Even his own party disagrees with him, and its no surprise that Oklahoma Democrats all agree we should do the right thing for our veterans.
The Army Times today announced that Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is the one responsible for holding up a major veterans benefits bill.
“Coburn has been identified by Senate aides as the lawmaker preventing consideration of S 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, by using an informal but legal practice of putting a hold on a bill. . .
Earlier this fall, Coburn placed holds on S 252, the Veterans Health Care Authorization Act of 2009, and S 728, the Veterans’ Insurance and Benefits Enhancement Act of 2009, which led to the introduction of S 1963, which combines key provisions of the two earlier bills in an effort to get around Coburn’s opposition.
In a letter sent Monday night to the Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the 13 military and veterans groups ask the Senate to get on with it.
“It is essential that Congress act on this comprehensive measure without further delay,” the letter reads. “Thousands of disabled veterans with serious medical conditions and the family members who care for them are counting on this additional support.”
The letter says passing the bill by Veterans Day would be a “fitting way” to honor veterans.”
Oklahoma honors its veterans, and I find it totally unacceptable for a Senator to be holding up legislation that would help take care of our veterans in such an unstable economy when everyone is hurting.
All voters, regardless of partisanship stand up for our troops and our veterans, Oklahomans shouldn’t stand for Coburn’s hold on this bill.
Please contact his office here:
Washington D.C.:
172 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Main: 202-224-5754
Fax: 202-224-6008
Tulsa:
1800 South Baltimore
Suite 800
Tulsa, OK 74119
Main: 918-581-7651
Fax: 918-581-7195
Oklahoma City:
100 North Broadway
Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Main: 405-231-4941
Fax: 405-231-5051