Trump's proposal to slash benefits for veterans 'dead on arrival' in Congress

Jake Lowary | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump's budget to be 'America first' budget The OMB Director outlined President Donald Trump's budget "blueprint," which will be submitted to Congress. Mick Mulvaney described the budget as a "true America first budget." (Feb. 27)

Veterans advocates say a proposal from the Trump administration that would dramatically cut monthly stipends to individual veterans is "dead on arrival" in Congress.

Although President Donald Trump's proposed budget plan for the 2018 fiscal year would increase spending across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the proposal would also slash individual unemployment benefits for disabled veterans by more than $40.8 billion over 10 years.

The cuts could mean a reduction of as much as $22,000 per year for some eligible veterans, advocates say.

Individual unemployment benefits are paid to veterans who are disabled as a result of military service and can't work.

"It would be devastating. These are our most severely disabled veterans," said Carlos Fuentes, director of national legislative services for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "It would be significantly impacting the most severe service-connected conditions."

The budget proposal rolled out by the administration says the number of veterans receiving the benefits has more than tripled since 2000 to 338,800. About two-thirds are over age 60.

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"Under this proposal, veterans eligible for Social Security retirement benefits would have their IU terminated upon reaching the minimum retirement age for Social Security purposes, or upon enactment of the proposal if the veteran is already eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits," the budget document says.

But veterans who don't work don't pay into Social Security. The proposal would also reduce the Social Security benefits.

When veterans advocates saw the proposal, they responded. In the last week alone, 30,000 emails and letters have flooded Congress, according to Fuentes.

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Fuentes said the call-to-action has generated feedback from key leaders in Congress.

"This proposal is dead on arrival," Fuentes said. "They understand the strong opposition to it and don't intend to move forward with it."

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The VFW has coordinated with other major veterans organizations to oppose the proposal, Fuentes said.

AMVETS, one of the nation's largest veterans advocacy organizations, called the proposal "stealing."

"Such a misguided move would wrongly take away about $1,200 a month from a single veteran rated at 90 percent disabled and already determined to be unable to work because or his or her military service," the organization said in a statement last month.

A letter with 57 signatures of congressional members on Tuesday to Shulkin that urged him to go back on the "short-sighted" plan that's creating a "life-and-death" situation.

Fuentes said the administration, including VA Secretary David Shulkin, who has been supportive of the spending plan, has indicated they will "walk back" on the proposal.

In a Senate budget hearing on Wednesday, Shulkin said the response from veterans caused him to look at the issue more closely.

"The budget is a process and this was a part of a menu of options," he said, but said he didn't want to do anything that would "hurt veterans."

Trump's proposed budget aims to cut deeply into social programs, agriculture, education and other areas to help support increased spending on defense and immigration enforcement.

Fuentes said some veterans feel Trump has violated some of his campaign promises to support the nation's veterans. John Hoellwarth, national communications for AMVETS, said he's been flooded with complaints from veterans, both those who would be affected and those who won't.

"I have not spoken recently to any who feels that the best way to 'take care' of veterans is to cut this individual unemployability benefit for some in order to make privatized care more available for all." Hoellwarth said. "I'm sure they're out there."

But Fuentes noted that the VA, which administers the benefits, was one of the few agencies to get a proposed budget increase, which would mainly focus on extending the Veterans Choice program that allows veterans to get health care outside of VA-run facilities.

"I don't see this being something the president himself would want to propose, but it is his administration," Fuentes said.

Jake Lowary covers veterans and military affairs for the USA Today Network. Reach him at 931-237-1583 or follow him on Twitter @JakeLowary.