The work of Congress is like making sausage…never know what you might get

by Ed Mattson

Senator Patty Murray (D) from Washington, the senior member of the subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations, went to the floor of the Senate yesterday to speak on the need for the Senate to pass the easiest, of the 12 annual appropriations bills for 2012. The Senate bill contains $58.6 billion for VA discretionary funding, an increase of $2.3 billion, and is predicted will be easily reconciled in conference with the broadly similar House-passed version later this week.

Senator Murray’s speech included words we veterans can get behind…“No matter what fiscal crisis we face, no matter how divided we may be over approaches to cutting our debt and deficit, no matter how heated the rhetoric here in Washington D.C. gets, we have to keep our commitments to our veterans and service members. We have to move this bill forward and we have to provide those who wore- or are wearing- the uniform with the peace of mind that we are keeping up our promise to them.”

In spite of the battle waging on the Federal Budget, and in spite of the fact we all know we must get the government (all government bureaucracies in fact) to cut the wild and reckless spending to which all elected offices seem addicted, some of those expenditures are necessary to fulfill long standing commitments to the veterans. A bill like this may anger many who want to gut the federal budget at all costs regardless of the issues at hand, but for once the Congress is getting it right. Among many other things, the bill includes life-saving expenditures in Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder research as well as mental health care for those struggling with other war related issues such as drug abuse, transition counseling, and provides funding that will prepare the VA for new Iraq and Afghanistan veterans while supporting housing opportunities and care for older veterans.

As with all bills it is hoped the usual and customary protocols of loading a bill with attachments, similar to what Senator Harry Reid tried to do a couple of years ago by attaching a pork laden Food Bill with a military appropriations bill, can be avoided. Thank goodness military and veterans bills still command thoughtful consideration from our elected officials and, to my way of thinking, deserve a straight up and down vote without loading them with “pork” and “earmarks”.

The bill includes over $500 million in investments for Washington State military bases. With Senator Murray’s position on the committee, many will scream about “pork” for the state of Washington, however it is hard to argue that the money allocated is not needed unless we scrutinize every dime of every budget request. With the Base Closure and Realignment Program underway, we simply cannot allow the bases that will be left to become downtrodden and obsolete affecting their functionality. The expenditures for bases in Washington would include:

• Naval Station Bremerton – $13,341,000
• Naval Station Kitsap – $121,844,000
• Fairchild Air Force Base – $27,600,000
• Joint Base Lewis McChord – $331,300,000
• Naval Air Station Whidbey Island – $25,000,000

The making of a bill, whether it originates in the Senate or the House of Representatives, is an interesting process that many of us have forgotten about when we first learned about it decades ago in school. Back then they taught such things in civics or government classes. I’m not so sure they still do today, judging from the deteriorating condition of today’s curriculums.

The process is that a legislator crafts a bill. It may be at the request of the President, a lobbyist, a special interest group, or just something the legislator thought might be a good thing. Sometimes it’s simply for grabbing a piece of the large federal government budget so the legislator can have bragging rights to doing something for his state.

Before a bill is ever brought to the floor of the Senate or House for a vote, the various sub-committees hammered away at forging the bill (happens in both the Senate and the House, where they hash out minute details…this is similar to “making sausage”). When everyone has had his/her say-so, the committee votes  to approve their portion of what will be in the final bill  and it is generally the ranking legislator who makes the announcement that they have killed or approved the bill.  In this particular bill, Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced his subcommittee approved the FY2012 Senate Military Construction (MILCON) Appropriations bill. In his announcement, Johnson stated $142 billion in total funding, including $72billion in discretionary funding. This is $618 million below the FY2011 enacted level, excluding overseas contingency operations, and $1.25 billion below the budget request. In popular bills this allows for a bit of grandstanding. In no-so-popular bills their approval kind of slides out the back door

The highlights of the bill are as follows: Military Construction funding is $13.7 billion, $1 billion below the budget request. VA discretionary funding is $58.6 billion, $2.3 billion over current funding. The bill also includes $52.5 billion in FY 2013 advance appropriations for veteran’s medical care. One of the very few areas in which the bill provides an increase is for VA medical research, which is $72 million over the budget request to maintain funding at the current level.

“This bill is a disciplined and fiscally responsible effort to meet the needs of our troops in this
difficult budget climate,” said Johnson. “It also responds to the growing needs of our nation’s
veterans including those returning from the front lines.”

“We had to make some tough calls to achieve bringing the bill in $618 million below current funding and $1.25 billion below the budget request,” said Johnson. “My top priority as always was to protect and support our veterans”. Since no military construction funding for overseas contingencies was requested, there is none in the bill. For full particulars read Senator Johnson’s complete report by clicking HERE.

I took this particular bill to discuss because it’s THE SYSTEM we must learn all over again so that we will be in a better position to elect the right candidates running for office in the next election cycle. We need responsible representatives that understand the gravy-train has left the station for the last time.

Failure to recognize that fact will doom our children and grandchildren to financial burdens and commitments they will never be able to handle. Yes cuts need to be made, but not so our country collapses. With the example above, it shows significant cuts can be made, needs still addressed, and should be the starting point for every government department and issue that will come before Congress. With 600 redundant and repetitious government programs and agencies, trimming the federal budget by at least 10% this first year should be doable.

Ed Mattson

Following his service in the Marine Corps Ed Mattson built a diverse career in business in both sales/marketing and management. He is a medical research specialist and published author. His latest book is Down on Main Street: Searching for American Exceptionalism

Ed is currently Development Director of the National Guard Bureau of International Affairs-State Partnership Program, Fundraising Coordinator for the Warrior2Citizen Project, and Managing Partner of Center-Point Consultants in North Carolina.

Mr. Mattson is a noted speaker and has addressed more than 3000 audiences in 42 states and 5 foreign countries. He has been awarded the Order of the Sword by American Cancer Society, is a Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow and appeared on more than 15 radio and television talk-shows.