John Kline's Priorities: Tax Cuts Over Veterans

[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]

In recent days, we've discussed how John Kline takes veterans for granted, assuming that they will vote for him because Kline is himself a 25-year Marine Corps veteran. But a dispassionate analysis of his record in Congress shows that helping veterans is not a high priority for Kline. One stunning example is the time a group of Minnesota veterans traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with the Minnesota congressional delegation, and Kline told them to their faces that toeing the Republican party line was a higher priority to him than they were.

As for his voting record, Kline has consistently demonstrated that he places a higher priority on Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy than on supporting veterans.

Kline has consistently voted to cut or voted against increases in veterans' health care in order to preserve Bush's tax cuts. Here are three examples:

• 3/21/2003, vote #82:
  Kline Voted To Cut Veterans & Health Programs By Billions To Make Room For Tax Cut Favoring The Wealthy. In 2003, Kline voted for a budget resolution that called for cuts of $15 billion over 10 years in veterans' benefits, including cuts to disability benefit payments to former soldiers and reductions in money for GI bill benefits and health care. The cuts were made in order to make room for President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. The budget passed, 215-212.
• 3/17/2005, vote #82:
  Kline Put Tax Cuts Above Veterans' Benefits. In 2005, Kline voted against an amendment to the 2006 budget resolution to increase spending levels by $15.8 billion. The proposal boosted education, training and social services programs by $8 billion, provided $2.9 billion more veteran's health care and $1.7 billion more for homeland security than the GOP resolution. Furthermore, the amendment would have reduced the deficit by $10 billion and raised $25.8 billion by reducing tax cuts for those earning more than $1 million. The amendment was rejected, 180-242. This is one of the votes contributing to Kine's zero rating from DAV in 2005.
• 5/26/2005, vote #223:
  Kline Puts Tax Cuts for Millionaires Above $2.6 Billion for Veterans (Again). David Obey proposed an amendment which would add $2.6 billion to veterans health care, and pay for it by reducing the Bush tax cuts on those earning $1 million a year or more. House Republicans prevented consideration of the amendment by a vote of 223-194. Every Republican voted to block the amendment, and every Democrat voted to allow it.