Republican Senator Kills Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill That Passed House Unanimously
[su_right_ad]The VA estimates that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Outgoing Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn says it costs too much and stopped the bill from coming up for a vote.
Coburn’s main beef with the bill was that it was redundant, and wouldn’t be offset by any cuts in spending. That may be true, but it also conveniently overlooks the fact that military suicide continues to be a huge problem. In 2012, the VA estimated that 22 veterans take their lives every day. And as the recent scandal over waiting times at veterans’ hospitals revealed, the agency has done a terrible job caring for soldiers seeking mental health treatment (and any other kind of medical treatment, for that matter).
There are signs that the military’s suicide epidemic might even be getting worse, as more soldiers return home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense’s quarterly suicide report, released last week, found that there were 70 suicides 1among service members in the second quarter of 2014. That puts the total number of military suicides at 144 for the first six months of this year, and means were well on our way to outpacing last year’s totals.
Notably Coburn, a doctor-turned-politician supports the Iraq War, which has cost $2 trillion to date. As Wonkette points out, the $22 million price tag for the suicide prevention bill is equal to the cost of about 210 minutes of fighting the Iraq war at its height.[su_csky_ad]
tiredoftea December 19th, 2014 at 10:16 pm
Gee, he sure seemed to want to send them there. What’s wrong, Tom, too many come back for their veteran’s benefits and you want to thin the herd?
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 12:57 am
He is using the agent orange approach ….hoping we die off before collecting or the government accepts responsibility
Jake December 19th, 2014 at 10:29 pm
Republicans have a very strange view of the value of human life – it starts at conception ends again at birth – starts up again when its time to send someone else to fight a war and ends again the minute they come back home. So strictly speaking Republican scum are pro-life/pro-death/pro-life/pro-death depending on how that life sits with the tea-party death panel.
Chinese Democracy December 19th, 2014 at 10:45 pm
“Republicans have a very strange view of the value of human life – it starts at conception ends again at birth ” <— borrowed that heh
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 12:58 am
And at that point they become a parasite on society…they eat
Jake December 20th, 2014 at 6:58 am
What do you mean? I’m sure I’m not the first person to note that.
Chinese Democracy December 20th, 2014 at 10:16 am
I mean I like it… love it… cant get enough of it
Jake December 20th, 2014 at 10:30 am
Thank you CD – sorry I took it completely the wrong way. I gotta switch to decaf.
Red Mann December 19th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
It’s simply a lack of empathy, the quality that makes humans really human. For such folks money is more important than people, except when their ideology says otherwise, mostly when in utero or uniform.
granpa.usthai December 20th, 2014 at 1:40 am
and your voting rights start after 18 years from your first breath of life instead of 17 years and 3 months – with proper photo papers of course.
Obewon December 19th, 2014 at 11:08 pm
Koch Brothers climate denying senator Coburn says ‘yeah for Big oil suicides!’ Nay on
Veterans suicide prevention.
Who would Jesus favor increasing suicides for? A: Greedy Oil Polluters! Papal edict condemns Greedy Oil Polluters and Climate deniers to eternal damnation in Hell! http://www.alan.com/2014/12/12/pope-time-to-tackle-global-warming/
Hirightnow December 20th, 2014 at 12:27 am
I have a question: has this man ever served in the armed forces of the United States?
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 12:56 am
No
Hirightnow December 20th, 2014 at 1:02 am
WhaWHAAA??
I’m shocked!
SHOCKED, I say!
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 1:03 am
You should wikki this clown …what a sweetie he is …
Hirightnow December 20th, 2014 at 1:06 am
Acid stomach tonight…
I dunno if I could take it.
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 2:39 am
Oh he’s a real quack
AnthonyLook December 20th, 2014 at 12:41 am
Veterans, especially those from prior wars have an equally pathetic record of repeatedly supporting Republican candidates; when time after time (all one has to do is do a search) Republicans thwart important aid.
Suzanne McFly December 20th, 2014 at 9:49 am
I was in the military and it drove me crazy how many would support the republicans claiming they are the ones who fund the military. I talked till I was blue in the face (scarlet red actually) telling them the right funds the military machine and screw the veterans, the left likes to work out differences with peaceful methods before action is taken. This fell on deaf ears, the right (for some unknown incredibly stupid reason) is known to be “manly” and it seems like that is what draws these types to support them. I wish it made sense, but it never did. I do have a lot of good friends from the military who do support democrats, but I wish I had more.
rg9rts December 20th, 2014 at 12:55 am
Our hero has an outstanding military career so he can really relate to veterans issues
granpa.usthai December 20th, 2014 at 1:34 am
makes me wonder how many of them $$$ out of the estimated 3,000,000,000,000.00 are sitting in a bank in Dubai with his name on the account.
granpa.usthai December 20th, 2014 at 1:27 am
WTF!?!
we can borrow upwards of $3,000,000,000,000.00 from China to keep our troops as safe as possible overseas, but not for $ 22,000,000.00 to keep ’em safe in country? May need some help on the inside, but if you can arrange for Mr. President to be away from the White House with the EO pen left on the oval desk… I might just have a plan.
crc3 December 20th, 2014 at 7:07 am
What a POS Coburn is!!! Someone needs to give him an attitude adjustment if you know what I mean!
mrbigstuff December 20th, 2014 at 7:59 am
Another support the troops right winger as long as he doesn’t have to serve or fund it,Shame on any military person for voting for him.
Tim Coolio December 20th, 2014 at 10:17 am
And then once in a while we hear
Cheney and his war comments, it’s all about
sacrifice….as long as someone else does the
sacrificing and he does the posturing, at no
risk to himself, I would imagine all the ones
lost in the Iraq war and all the ones named on
the wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial had
better things to do when they made the ultimate
sacrifice.
Suzanne McFly December 20th, 2014 at 9:42 am
So this self-righteous SOB supports the creation of an unfounded and non-funded war, but he won’t give support for the veterans who fought in this stupid “war” when they come back effed up due to the fact they were put in a damn warzone?!?!?!?!?!? Hell is too nice for this sack of crap to live in. His constituents better realize what type of criminal they put in office and start working to fix their huge screw up.
Tim Coolio December 20th, 2014 at 10:16 am
Another neocon that wraps himself in the flag and keeps telling us most veterans support him!
William December 20th, 2014 at 10:43 am
Just sayin’
fahvel December 20th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
make a good reality show for television.
William December 20th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Maybe we should call A&E and make the suggestion.
crc3 December 20th, 2014 at 11:51 pm
But…but…they would be smashed! Ohhhh… myyyy..
William December 20th, 2014 at 10:49 am
“Coburn’s main beef with the bill was that it was redundant, and wouldn’t be offset by any cuts in spending”….
BUT…
We live in a country where you can actually deduct your gambling losses’
God bless ‘Murica.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html
fahvel December 20th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
life vs the $ – no argument, the $$ will win every time. The emerging american soul, based solely on how much a thing costs or is worth is the rule that will topple the global economy in less time than many believe.
Bunya December 20th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
These are the same guys who “support our troop” when they’re fighting in their unnecessary wars for profit. But once those troops come home, battered and broken, they become nothing but leaches sucking off the government teat.
If one were to ask me, I’d say it “costs too much money” to keep mental defectives like Tom Coburn in congress.
Stephen C December 20th, 2014 at 3:30 pm
The use of quotation marks is in error since it does not quote anyone. How long did it take to win WWII? Both parties are pansies when it come to winning.