Republicans Block Senate Bill To Expand Veterans’ Benefits
Republican senators expressed concerns about how the bill would be funded.
The Associated Press/Washington Post: Senate Blocks Dems’ Bill Boosting Vets’ Benefits
A divided Senate on Thursday derailed Democratic legislation that would have provided $21 billion for medical, education and job-training benefits for the nation’s veterans. The bill fell victim to election-year disputes over spending and fresh penalties against Iran (2/27).
Politico: Republicans Derail Senate Vets Bill
Members of both parties are typically reticent to oppose legislation designed to help veterans and their families, but the downfall of Sanders’s bill underscored the frosty relations in the Senate and Congress at large, where it’s been tough to get much done (Summers, 2/27).
Meanwhile, in other news from Capitol Hill -
CQ HealthBeat: Suppliers Of Rogue Drugs Must Face Tougher Penalties, Lawmakers Say
House lawmakers agreed Thursday they should do more to combat the growing problem of counterfeit prescription drugs, including increasing criminal penalties and overseeing a new system of tracking drugs through the supply chain. Officials from the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Homeland Security testified that illegal drug supply chains are expanding quickly, often reaching through multiple countries as drug counterfeiters become more sophisticated (Ethridge, 2/28).
