[EternalVigilance]

Inexcusable.

[originalbuckeye]

Military morale is at possibly it’s lowest point ever. I am sure that all the little Obamabots would be happy to completely defund the entire Military. Sadly, we will be affected when the Military can no longer protect us against enemies Foreign AND DOMESTIC!

[EternalVigilance]

Very important information that everyone needs to know.

[jazusamo]

Thank you Congressman Nugent for speaking out.

If the Senate held that up for months it’s clear to me that 0bama’s puppet and Majority Leader Dingy Harry is the turkey responsible for it.

[rlmorel]

BFL

[savedbygrace]

I wonder which Senators and Congressmen were on the joint committee.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Defund Obama and his complaining, whining family FIRST.

[Waryone]

This back room garbage is making me sick. More and more deals made without any elected official knowing who is responsible and what is really being done. We need a Constitutional amendment preventing this kind of thing. This should never happen in a free society. They could be lining their own pockets for all we know. They should not be allowed to vote on funding bills assembled this way and only national security items should have any sort of veil over them.

Just as we should also stop blabbing about our interrogation techniques to the world and anyone who decides to run their mouth should be imprisoned for treason, even if they are president, vp, congressman or a senator like Leaky Leahy.

[SZonian]

Active duty ping!

[LucyT]

Every year, we have to push back against those who want to cut the troops’ pay and health benefits. It’s astounding to me, given the almost guaranteed tendency of politicians to talk about “the debt we can never repay” and all of the “thank you’s for your service”, that there are so many who want to balance DOD’s budget on the backs of the troops and their families. They just prefer to do it anonymously.

When the House passed its bill back in May, troop pay was intact. -- When the surprise “conferenced” version popped up this week, it wasn’t. -- Both active duty pay and housing stipends had been reduced. And since I’m a member of the Armed Services Committee, I’m expected to sign off on the final bill and say these cuts are ok.

I didn’t.

Maybe more precisely, I couldn’t. -- I don’t know how these politicians look these kids in the eye and tell them how much we owe them and how much we thank them and then turn around and throw them under the bus without a moment’s hesitation. -- I really and truly don’t. By leaving it till the very last possible minute, the powers that be tried to jam us. If we don’t pass this bill, they say, the military’s budget will go un-authorized. Chaos will reign. Swallow the troop cuts… it just couldn’t be helped.

Well who is responsible? Who made the decision to cut active duty pay? Who is going to own up to it when they visit that local base back home? All you hear is crickets…

[AFreeBird]

Inexcusable is right!

By the way: Is this guy related to “The Nuge”? By the sound of him he could be.

[Salvation]

I’m not liking this at all.

[Jet Jaguar]

Active Duty ping.

[WildHighlander57]

This secret committee stuff happened last year also!!!!

From Nugent’s comments :

“.... Last year,when this same thing happened,we were forced to skip the normal process. The two bills weren’t “conferenced” by delegates from each chamber. There was no public deliberation and no opportunity for input. The two bills were fused behind closed door and key decisions were made on the thousands of line items of funding –not by elected representatives of the people,but by unelected members of the staff. No one knew who was increasing this or cutting that. No one knew why or how those decisions were reached. And once reached,those decisions were un-amendable. It was a simple case of take-it-or-leave-it.

In the end,despite some serious reservations about certain decisions,both chambers passed the bill and the fifty-year streak continued. The troops were funded and the whole process could begin again.

This year,as that same unaccountable process took place again,I could feel a certain tightening in my gut. Despite being a member of the Armed Services Committee and despite the general insight that comes from spending months crafting the finer points of such an enormous bill,it is still impossibly difficult to go through the whole thing in just a few days and find out what on earth these closed negotiations have yielded. .....”