MMQB – Montel Condemns Senator Coburn Blockage Of Veteran Suicide Bill

SENATOR COBURN

Benjamin KrauseSenator Coburn proved his disdain for veterans by blocking the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act and Montel Williams hit back. Williams hammered Senator Coburn for being willing to finance our numerous wars but being unwilling to finance needed care for veterans of those wars.

Why is Coburn so opposed to helping veterans?

Welcome to this edition of Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB) for Veterans. I am your host, Benjamin Krause, creator of the DisabledVeterans.org community. This is the number one place of unadulterated veteran centric news, analysis and benefits strategy on the web. MMQB is where I hit on news from the weekend and talk about upcoming news this week.

This MMQB will be a short one due to an injury. I thought I’d take the opportunity to take laser aim on Senator Tom Coburn and his attack on veteran programs. Since I cannot type well today, I will give an excerpt. Be sure to lend your comments below.

 

COBURN HAS GONE TOO FAR IN BLOCKING SUICIDE BILL

Put simply, while veterans have grown accustomed to being ignored or otherwise put second to legislators own political agendas, nothing in my recent memory compares with the sheer ego-fueled hypocrisy of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., using his last days in the Senate to block the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.  In fact, this is now at least the second time Coburn has stood alone to block valuable legislation that stood to help veterans.

Let’s keep in mind this legislation unanimously passed the House this week.

Coburn’s delightfully self-serving rationale for standing in the way of a bill that, while hardly a complete solution, would bring much needed energy and thinking to addressing the epidemic of veteran suicide, is that there are certain expenditures in the bill that aren’t offset and that he believes this duplicates existing efforts at the VA.  The total cost: about $22 million. Needless to say, his arguments ring hollow and, in my view, relate more to his desire to get as much television time as possible for his self-professed brand of “Dr. No,” than they do to a substantive objection to the legislation.

Let’s remember that Coburn voted to send young people, like Clay Hunt, to fight two wars that weren’t remotely paid for and exploded the debt he professes to be so concerned about.

Read More: https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2014/12/coburn-has-gone-too-far-blocking-veterans-suicide-bill/101202/?oref=d-channelriver

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11 Comments

  1. he like most of them is a self serving ass h–e, they feather there nest and scream like baby they are ubder paid, i could live very well on just one year of his pay and let,s not forget all those govt perk,s they get along with a very good retirement, wobder if they could live on 93 buck,s a month as i had too after my hitch which inclued a tour in vietnam in the infantry 101at 1/502 and co c 87th infantry

  2. I find it funny that there is so much outrage about a Senator who will no longer be in DC as of 1/6/2015. He publically says what many in Congress feel, veterans are chattel. But Dr. No is gone, so it no longer matters. All political offices, appointees, and particularly the media should have to serve prior to working in these fields, particularly the POTUS.

  3. David, I agree with you, BUT let us look at the TYPE of VET that would be INSTALLED. Collin Powell, John McCain, etc. see the DILEMNA.
    We must hold those who are IN CHARGE to the LETTER of the LAW, just as they do us. COVER-UPs are the FLAVOR they SAVOUR in Congress and that is what MUST BE STOPPED at all COSTS.

  4. One down and many more to go. We need to keep pressure on them so that we will no longer have to fight for what we have earned. I hope the door does hit you in the a** when you leave.

  5. I still stand by my belief that if you serve in Congress, you should be a veteran. At the very least, if you are to serve in any type of Committee that affects veterans, the minimum qualification is to be prior service. Veterans understand the struggles that veterans go through. Not, none of these silver spoon fed people that have made Congress a career.

    1. I agree David, and I think that the military people on the committee should have some regular soldiers (those not influenced by their congress buddies. We have had enough of those) and not the silver spoon fed military ones who will go with the other non-military people in congress.

  6. Senator Coburn is another one of these baby boomers who got out of serving in the military during the Viet-Nam war. He’s part of that same generation that actively used the draft deferments to keep from serving back then. Not only did they take those measures to keep themselves out of harms way back then with their holier than thou, “I’m against that war in Viet-Nam for moral reasons”. The truth still is though, people like Coburn were just too plain scared of getting drafted and shipped off to Viet-Nam. I can only believe that Coburn has some secret issues about himself and some of the methods that he used to stay out of harms way and then goes and places himself on some high moral authority pedestal or something. He also came out in 1997 and publicly denounced the showing of Schindler’s List on television because there were some nude scenes in that picture. Heck, Tom Coburn wasn’t aghast about the brutality committed against the Jews! With his holier than thou mentality, he was upset about a few nude scenes! I for one am glad Coburn is stepping down and will no longer be in the Senate. Veterans don’t need him! Who the heck else needs him?

  7. Well said. Sen. Coburn has been a thorn in our side on many legislative issues. I do not consider anyone who stands so squarely against veterans to be a patriot.

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