If you support Republicans in the Senate it's time to remove your "Support Our Troops" ribbons

All Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. The only Republican to cross over, Arlen Specter.

April 12, 2005

Senate won’t add veterans’ health funds to supplemental appropriations bill

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer

By two 54-46 votes, the Senate blocked efforts Tuesday to add money for veterans’ health care to the 2005 supplemental appropriations bill.

Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, both members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sought to add $1.9 billion to the $80.6 billion wartime emergency supplemental appropriations bill to cover costs of treating returning combat veterans for war-related injuries and to cover shortfalls in funding for VA programs.

The Bush administration sought no VA money as part of its supplemental funding request, and none was included in the version of the bill passed by the House in March.

Murray, however, said funding for veterans is critical because wounded service members will be seeking treatment from already underfunded facilities.
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