Name: 'What a Disgrace': Pentagon Weighing $2.2 Billion in Cuts to Military Healthcare Just After Passage of $740 Billion Budget
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'What a Disgrace': Pentagon Weighing $2.2 Billion in Cuts to Military Healthcare Just After Passage of $740 Billion Budget

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Sign up for our newsletter.Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.Follow us: Common Dreams will never be locked behind a paywall because we believe our journalism should remain freely available to everyone ― not just those who can afford to pay. By becoming a sustaining monthly donor today, you can help make sure our work remains free for those who aren't able to chip in. Donate Now ×To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our Secretary of Defense Mark Esper testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on July 9, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images) "The Trump administration is always looking for ways to cut your healthcare, regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you do." Shortly after both chambers of Congress a $740 billion Defense Department budget for fiscal year 2021, Pentagon officials are reportedly pushing for more than $2 billion in cuts to military healthcare over the next five years, potentially threatening the coverage of millions of personnel and their families amid a global pandemic.Politico Sunday that the proposed $2.2 billion cut to the military healthcare system is part of a "sweeping effort" by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to "eliminate inefficiencies within the Pentagon's coffers.""Ever notice that it's never a cut to things used to send kids to war?" Josh Moon of the&nbsp;Alabama Political Reporter. "It's always—always—a cut to the promises we make to get them to volunteer for us. What a disgrace.""Ever notice that it's never a cut to things used to send kids to war? It's always—always—a cut to the promises we make to get them to volunteer for us. What a disgrace." —Josh Moon, Alabama Political ReporterAccording to Politico, "Esper and his deputies have argued that America's private health system can pick up the slack" for any servicemembers who lose coverage."Roughly 9.5 million active-duty personnel, military retirees, and their dependents rely on the military health system, which is the military's sprawling government-run healthcare framework that operates hundreds of facilities around the world,"&nbsp;Politico noted. "The military health system also provides care through TRICARE, which enables military personnel and their families to obtain civilian healthcare outside of military networks."Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the push for billions in healthcare cuts shows once again that the Pentagon "puts more effort in protecting defense contractor profits than the lives of our troops."Alongside Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Pocan co-sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut the proposed $740 billion budget by 10% without touching the military healthcare program. The amendment last month by a vote of , with 139 Democrats joining 185 Republicans in voting no.A companion amendment in the Senate led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also .The Trump administration is ALWAYS looking for ways to cut your health care, regardless of who you are, where you live or what you do.— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) This is who they are: “Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care” — Keith Ellison (@keithellison) Unnamed Defense Department officials told Politico that, if approved, the cuts "could effectively gut the Pentagon's healthcare system," adding to the rapidly swelling ranks of the uninsured. A released last month by advocacy group Families USA found that at least 5.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic.Politico reported that the proposed $2.2 billion in cuts includes "eliminating all basic research dollars for combat casualty care, infectious disease and military medicine for [Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences], as well as slicing operational funds.""What's been proposed would be devastating," warned one anonymous senior official.Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely. We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you. Donate Now ×To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our "Looks like removing crushing debt burdens for families is a political winner after all," said the Groundwork Collaborative executive director. Independent state legislative theory—a formerly fringe right-wing notion that state lawmakers alone can regulate federal elections—will be tested in the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming months. After withholding raises from unionized employees earlier this year, "Starbucks is doubling down on the illegality," said one critic. "People must be able to add their voice, without fear of retaliation, to the public debates that will determine the future direction of our country and our planet." "If this contract is presented to our members in its current form, it will not pass," said one union spokesperson. Workers want to be able "to take a sick day or vacation day without the fear of termination." Donate ×To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our

Sign up for our newsletter.Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.Follow us: Common Dreams will never be locked behind a paywall because we believe our journalism should remain freely available to everyone ― not just those who can afford to pay. By becoming a sustaining monthly donor today, you can help make sure our work remains free for those who aren't able to chip in. Donate Now ×To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our Secretary of Defense Mark Esper testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on July 9, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C....

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'What a Disgrace': Pentagon Weighing $2.2 Billion in Cuts to Military Healthcare Just After Passage of $740 Billion Budget

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