Senate Democrats Block Cornyn’s Attempt To Restore Military Pensions and Honor the Victims of Fort Hood

Senate Democrats blocked a request from me to allow amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that would restore pension benefits to wounded service members and honor the victims of Fort Hood.

His speech can be seen here, and excerpts of his remarks are below.

The Majority Leader is refusing to allow any vote on restoring pension benefits to the men and women of the United States Armed Services.

I call it a mistake that needs to be fixed. Not next month, not next year, but right now, today. So why is it that the Majority Leader won't let us fix this right now? Why is it that he is blocking a vote on the relevant amendment?

Why does he want to keep our veterans and our active duty military, including our wounded warriors, in limbo during the Christmas holidays? Does he have a good reason for it? Is it really more important to confirm some mid-level appointees than to make sure that our wounded combat veterans get the pensions that they've earned?

Is it really more important to approve all of these nominees than to honor the men and women who lost their lives in a homegrown terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas, some four years ago?

Unfortunately, like so much around here lately, it's all politics, all the time, even if that means slighting our wounded warriors and refusing to honor 13 brave Americans who were killed by a terrorist attack at a U.S. Army base.