Jim Bunning, Mitch McConnell, Geoff Davis, Brett Guthrie, Hal Rogers and Ed Whitfield Vote Against Seniors And Military Families.
October 21, 2009 the Senate filibustered (S. 1776). Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning voted against a motion to end the filibuster of (S. 1776), click here to see the Roll Call. This bill would have put an end to the annual cycle of enacting short term measures to stop Medicare and Tricare payment cuts (21% in 2010 and 40% by 2016) caused by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. (See graph after the hump.) Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning voted to stop this legislation against the wishes of, Norb Ryan, Jr, President of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and Dr. J. James Rohack, President of the American Medical Association. It seems that Mitch Mcconnell and Jim Bunning would be happy to see Medicare and Tricare wither and die on the vine and can't wait to see Medicare and Tricare payments cut 40 percent over the next 6 years under the current system.
In a stark turn from the former Congress and Administration, the Senate followed suit with the House in extending new hate crimes protections to Homosexuals and members of the military. The bill had been offered up numerous times by the late Senator Ted Kennedy and stalled in the Senate. While George W. Bush was in office, he had vowed to veto it if it would have passed. However, a new day has dawned and the current Senate saw fit to pass the measure which President Obama has vowed to sign.
