Walz, Vets Attack Bush Over Threatened Defense Veto

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., blasted President Bush over a threatened veto of the National Defense Authorization Act.

“The outrage in Congress is continuing to grow over this,” said Walz in a conference call.  “It once again exposes the myth.  This administration has shown no respect for the troops.”

The Bush administration has threatened to veto the bill over increased death benefits for families of soldiers, as well as a 3.5 percent pay increase for troops, half a percentage point higher than the administration had budgeted.  In a statement, the White House called the added hike, which works out to an average of about $6 per month per soldier, “unnecessary.”

“When combined with the overall military benefit package, the President’s proposal provides a good quality of life for our service members and their families,” the White House said.

But Sue Dimmsdale, the mother of a soldier who served two tours of duty in Iraq, disagreed.  Noting that some soldiers were earning so little that they and their families qualified for WIC, Dimmsdale said, “It is outrageous.  I am again begging the President to do the right thing, do the patriotic thing, support the troops.”

Bush’s opposition to extending health care benefits for National Guards members drew a sharp rebuke from Peter Granato, a veteran from Florida.

“Who’s really supporting the troops here?” he asked.  “How can we support the troops when they want to raise their co-payments?”

Walz, for his part, was scathing in his criticism.  “We are done with this myth, and this hiding behind, and this political posturing that ‘We [the Bush administration] support the troops, and this Congress does not.’”

Walz warned Bush sternly, “He will not and should not think about calling these small increases to our soldiers and their families unnecessary.”