Bachmann backs off pay cuts for disabled vets - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Bachmann backs off pay cuts for disabled vets

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., sought Friday to quell a controversy over her budget-cutting plans, dropping a proposal that would have cut compensation for some disabled veterans by $12,000 a year or more.

Bachmann, who heads the tea party caucus in the House of Representatives, said she remains dedicated to cutting federal spending, and has not backed off the idea of freezing veterans health care funding.

But her list of ways to cut $400 billion from the federal budget no longer includes a proposal that would have reduced disability compensation by the amount received in Social Security Disability Income for the 153,000 severely disabled and unemployed veterans eligible for both benefits.

Bachmann came up with the list of possible cuts as part of her opposition to raising the $14.3 trillion cap on government borrowing, an issue Congress will face later this year.

“I am against another increase of the government’s debt ceiling,” she said. “Instead of making it easier for Washington to spend more of your tax dollars, Congress must do the hard work of making real and necessary cuts in federal spending.”

Her proposal to save $4.5 billion on veterans programs drew fierce complaints among veterans groups, leading to a meeting on Monday with major veterans organizations and Bachmann’s chief aides.

As a result of that meeting, and complaints from veterans and several other lawmakers, Bachmann issued a statement on Friday that she was amending her plan.

“The problem of government spending must be solved, but not on the backs of our nation’s war heroes,” Bachmann said in the statement. “I have always been a proud supporter of the United States military and I continue to stand with our veterans.”