A letter from congress to Shulkin (Jack Ass in my book)
I couldn't copy the PDF file of the letter I got from my congressman with 56 congressmen so I wrote the gist of it here along with the names of those who signed. The letter still misstates it as unemployment benefits but it is a start. If your guy didn't sign ask him why. Plus the number is higher than 225,000. The VA posted numbers a few years back with over 600,000 totally disabled of which half are TDIU
June 12, 2017
The Honorable David J. Shulkin, M.D. Secretary
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20420 Dear Secretary y Shulkin:
As Members of Congress who share your commitment to our nation's veterans, we write to express our extreme concern with your proposal to cut critical unemployment benefits for disabled veterans as part of your Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Submission.
Your budget request proposes to eliminate Individual Unemployability (IU) benefits to retirement-aged veterans. As you know, nearly 225,000 senior veterans across the country who depend on the IU program as an economic lifeline would be impacted by these short-sighted cuts.
Assuming these veterans can compensate for the loss of income from IU with other retirement sources is simply incorrect. As noted by AMVETS, "these veterans have largely been disabled, out of the work force and not paying into Social Security for many years before reaching 65. Many have been severely disabled as a result of their military service and unable to work since the day of their discharge." With little to no access to resources like 40l (k)'s, IU payments provide needed support for these veterans and their families.
Gutting critical benefits for our veterans who have been unable to find work as a result of their service related disabilities breaks our fundamental promise to the brave men and women who served our country in uniform. Our district offices, in addition to local VSO's, report receiving calls from worried veterans who would be devastated by these proposed cuts.
Ending the IU program for our neediest veterans would mark a stark departure from long-standing bipartisan commitments to end veteran homelessness and poverty, and would leave thousands struggling to make ends meet. More than ever, we must continue to build on progress in our states to permanently end veteran homelessness, not undermine these critical efforts. To that end, we strongly oppose the proposed changes to IU and will work to ensure that these dangerous cuts are not implemented.
signed by:
Tom O’Hallerin
Ruben Gallego
Jim Costa
Carol Shea-Porter
Walter B. Jones
Josh Gottheimer
David Scott
Raul Grijava
David Cicilline
Sanfor Bishop Jr
Nannett Diaz Barragan
Ruben Kihuen
Joyce Beatty
Anthony G. Brown
Dwight Evans
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Dina Titus
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Tomas Suozzi
Frank Pallone
Sean Patrick Maloney
Mark Takano
Peter Defazio
Nuddia Velazquez
Jacky Rosen
John Lewis
Bet O’Rourke
Donald Payne
Henry C Johnson
Salud Carbajal
Anna Eshoo
Raul Ruiz
Stacey Plaskett
Alcee Hastings
STephan Lynch
Gwen Moore
Tulsi Gabbard
Collin Peterson
Debbie Dingel
Derek Kilmer
Chellie Pingree
Colleen Hanabusa
Cedric Richmond
Charlie Christ
Jamie Raskin
Ro Khanna
Norma Torres
Jimmy panetta
Gene Green
John Garamendi
Filemon Vela
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Stephanie Murphy
Donald Norcross
Tony cardenas
Seth Moulton
Joe Courtny
.......NOTE......
It should be noted that 56 of the 57 signees to that letter are Democrats. (the only Republican is Walter B. Jones of NC, a House "free spirit" who may have been invited to sign it for any number of reasons). WE know for sure that many Republican House members are against it, so this is not meant to be an all-encompassing list. Someone wondered if GOP Rep. Ted Yoho would be on the list, and now that the names have been posted, it's pretty sertain why he's not - this letter clearly did not get circulated to all members of the House.
At this time I'll give a rats ass on who will be on our side.
Believed or not even Pelosi is in our side.......AMAZING eh.
