Posted on 12/22/2013 11:43:30 AM PST by SkyPilot
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Sunday defended cuts to military retiree benefits, noting that Congress would change a provision for individuals who were “medically retired” or received “survivor’s benefits.”
In a USA Today op-ed published on Sunday, the Republican budget guru, who spent weeks crafting a two-year bipartisan budget deal with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), noted that the budget chiefs “have agreed to amend the law … well before the reform takes effect in December 2015.”
“Many raised concerns that these reforms would affect the retired pay of service members who are medically retired and those receiving survivor’s benefits. So Senator Murray and I have agreed to amend the law to exclude them well before the reform takes effect in December 2015,” the House Budget Committee chairman wrote.
He explained the rationale behind the joint decision to scale back benefits for military retirees under the age of 62 – or “reduction in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for working-age military retirees” - that has become a source of “controversy,” in recent days.
“If (younger retirees) retire before age 62, the annual increase in their retired pay will be 1% less than the inflation rate. In other words, their benefits will grow every year — just at a slower rate,” Ryan wrote.
The cut is anticipated to save $6 billion over a 10-year period.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
I know what you mean, same here. It helps to just distance myself, but the ‘rats won’t leave it there, they are determined to drill their tyranny down into people’s personal lives if they possibly can, they don’t want anyone to live and let live, they want to force acquiescence.
Got your vote for me as King? I vote for me! Got signs?
“Goes after military retirees, won’t touch Obamaphones, fraudulent child tax credits, Medicaid fraud. $6 billion dollars over ten years. The last 4 month budget deal included $2 billion for a public works project just to buy off Mitch McConnell.”
The GOPe is more concerned with illegal aliens than they are with taxpaying citizens in the middle-class. After all that has been asked of the military in the last 10+ years, this jackass decides to play with fire.
I would vote for all of that.
Good list.
Repeal the 16th and abolish the income tax.
Privatize and phase out social security and medicare.
Enforce the 10th amendment.
Hey, Ryan—why not concentrate on cutting benefits for Congressmen and retired Congressmen? Oh—that’s just too close to home.
I don't know what will happen, as another Freeper said, $6 Billion over 10 years is absolute pocket change to the Federal government. The only "logic" I can think of as to why in the hell they would do this to our retirees and currently serving active duty is this: they want to decimate military pay, health care, tuition assistance, retirement, disability pay - ALL of it, and they used this excuse of jamming this provision in the budget a few days before Christmas (and facing a huge budget deadline) to get the camel's nose under the tent.
Remember when the military and vets voted overwhelmingly Republican??
Those days are likely over.
RINO’s are determined to give the Democrats a supermajority in 2014
mittwit romney ryan jr.
If the Boehner, Cantor, and Ryan think that by betraying a group of Americans who have given so much to this nation is a recipe for victory in 2014, they are sadly mistaken. This will go down in political lore as one of the most stupid miscalculations in history.
Complicit Party is exactly right.
Ryan is just marching to the K Street drummer here. Donors and appropriators wanted new defense spending. Dems said fine but you have to cut something else in DOD. So Ryan happily drops this FU bomb on the vets to get a deal with spending for his K Street buddies and big donors.
Hey Paul. Why not allow your employers to cut yours and the rest of the congressional retirement pay? Is that on the cutting board? Why not? I think it’s time for term limits. Three two year terms in the house and two terms in the senate with a lifetime term cap as stated & NO CONGRESSIONAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM. Oink Oink Paul Ryan.
Here is what Paul Ryan didn’t tell you: military pensions, since 1984, have been pre-funded. Each year the military sets aside the money needed to fund future retirees. That fund is in the black. There is no shortage of money to fund current retirees at the full rate promised.
However, by cutting the COLA, Congress can take money out of the pension fund, since it is now ‘overfunded’.
This is simply a raid on the pension fund ALREADY paid for by the US taxpayer. If a CEO raided the pension fund to pay current operating expenses, what would people say?
That is what Paul Ryan has done. He is selling out retirees and raiding the pension fund that pays our retirement so he can pull $600 MILLION out each year to pay for current expenses!
For the record, my last combat tour was Afghanistan when I was 49. So much for retiring at 38...
FU Paul Ryan!
Possibly the stinkingest piece of excrement in congress.
.
That’s him for sure!
I didn’t know she switched parties. When did she do that?
If they went after all federal employees, I bet they could count on a lot more than 6 billion, but they only want to go after the military. This guy is a jerk. I hope he loses his seat. I think I would vote for a Dem rather than see Ryan get reelected. We just don’t need anymore false conservatives. And I used to think he was one of the good guys.
Ryan can go to hell on a sled. He is totally finished politically. He is a total Rockefeller liberal. Purge him soon.
I voted for my last RINO in Mitt Romney!
I will never again grab the ankles for a back-stabbing, POS, RINO like Paul Ryan!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.