McConnell: Dems treating troops as chess pieces

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of treating soldiers as chess pieces in a larger fight over an annual defense policy bill.

 

Democrats have taken aim at an extra $38 billion in war funding included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), meant to help the Defense Department avoid congressionally-mandated budget caps under sequestration. 

{mosads}Senate Democratic leadership, as well as the Obama administration, argue that any increase in defense spending should be matched by an equal increase in non-defense spending. 

The White House has threatened to veto the bill. So far, Senate Democrats have remained tight lipped about whether or not they will try to block the defense policy bill from passing. 

McConnell urged Democrats to buck their leadership. 

“Democrat leaders think it’s a good idea to hold brave servicemen and brave servicewomen hostage to partisan demands for more waste at the IRS and bigger congressional office budgets for themselves,” he said from the Senate floor.  

“They’re are our neighbors. They’re our friends. They’re our daughters. They’re our sons. They’re not chess pieces for Democrat leaders to wield in some partisan game,” the Republican leader added.

Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) fired back that “all 45 members of the Democratic caucus care about the military.” 

“We’re not trying to kill this bill,” he said. “We care about the military but we care about other things that lead to the security of the nation.” 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called McConnell’s remarks “troubling.” 

“It was troubling this morning to hear the Republican majority leader suggest that the differences we have over this bill suggest a lack of commitment by Democrats to the military of the United States. That’s not true and it’s not fair,” he said.