Thread: Sen. Sessions tries to undo cuts to military retiree benefits

Sen. Sessions tries to undo cuts to military retiree benefits ahead of Senate budget vote

Published December 17, 2013 FoxNews.com

Oct. 17, 2013: ( L to R) Sen.Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Rep.Paul Ryan, R-Wis. and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. emerge from an informal meeting of Congressional budget conferees at the U.S. Capitol.REUTERS


A top Republican senator is trying to undo cuts to military retiree benefits in the House-passed budget deal ahead of a crucial vote Tuesday morning in the Senate.

Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions filed an amendment late Monday to restore money that was cut from veteran and military retiree pension benefits by closing a loophole that allowed illegal immigrants to qualify for child tax credits.

His move comes after several GOP senators voiced complaints about the budget package, which sailed out of the House last week on a strong bipartisan vote.

Now it appears America's veterans and military retirees could be a determining factor in whether the deal makes it through the Senate.

Republicans say the plan unfairly forces veterans to pick up the cost of new spending. The provision generating heated opposition from Veterans of Foreign Wars and allied lawmakers would cut retirement benefits for military retirees by $6 billion over 10 years.

"It's unacceptable to single out our men and women in uniform in this way," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

In sharp contrast to the confident statements issued by House leaders ahead of their vote last week, Senate leaders indicated they were still corralling support.

"The struggle is still on in the United States Senate," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in an interview on Sunday.

Democrats need to hold most of their caucus of 55 senators together and pick up a handful of GOP senators in order to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance the bill on Tuesday.

The Republican "no" votes were piling up over the weekend. Unlike in the House side, where Speaker John Boehner aggressively battled conservative groups trying to kill the bill, GOP leaders in the Senate are signaling opposition, or at least resistance, to the package.

One member of the leadership team, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, announced Friday that he opposes the deal because it breaches spending caps put in place by a 2011 budget deal "and doesn't include meaningful spending reforms that address our debt and deficit."

Ayotte, Sessions and other senators focused largely on the cuts to veterans and military retirees.

Sessions’ amendment would restore the funding by requiring applicants for a particular child tax credit to submit their Social Security numbers. Federal law bars illegal immigrants from collecting tax benefits but that particular tax credit is often claimed by undocumented residents, according to recent watchdog reports.

Sessions' office has estimated that closing the tax credit loophole would save the government approximately $4.2 billion, the amount the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported that illegal immigrants received due to the credit in 2010.

Congress faces a Jan. 15 deadline to pass a budget bill or risk another partial government shutdown. The debt-ceiling deadline is expected to hit sometime in February.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...ntcmp=trending

Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions filed an amendment late Monday to restore money that was cut from veteran and military retiree pension benefits by closing a loophole that allowed illegal immigrants to qualify for child tax credits.

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Brilliant! Bravo!!

The GOP Elitist would never allow someone like Jeff Sessions to run for POTUS in 2014. This is why they are a DEAD PARTY.

This is huge, huge, huge!!

RELATED ..

IRS PERPETRATING THE CRIMINAL SCAM OF THE CENTURY - Illegal Aliens Get Billions in Tax Refunds

http://www.alipac.us/content/illegal...x-refunds-536/

DEMS SIDE WITH TAX FRAUD AND OFFICIALLY APPROVE GIVING BILLIONS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS - Reid Blocks Bill Closing IRS Tax Credit Loophole For Illegal Aliens

http://www.alipac.us/content/session...grant-tax-547/

EXPOSED: THE LARGEST TAX SCAM IN U.S. HISTORY - IRS PAYS OUT BILLIONS IN FALSE CLAIMS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO NEVER LIVED HERE

http://www.alipac.us/content/tax-loo...thout-pay-467/

I like Jeff.

At least he's trying.

Pelosi and Co. are quislings. Best term that I can think of. Take from American vets, give to illegal aliens. Yikes.
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