Congress seized an important opportunity this week to restore a promise to America’s veterans without adding to the national debt. 

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill approved by the House of Representatives to repeal the widely unpopular cuts to military pensions included in last year’s budget agreement.  How to replace the $6 billion in cuts – a source of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans – was resolved with a one-year extension of sequestration’s budget caps on mandatory spending. 

I was an early advocate for repealing and replacing the budget cuts affecting military retirees, which would have reduced annual cost-of-living adjustments by 1 percent for those under the age of 62.  Over a lifetime, the average enlisted retiree could see a loss of more than $80,000.  At least 27,000 military retirees in Mississippi would have been impacted.

These cuts were the reason I opposed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 last December.  It is inexcusable for the government to change its part of the bargain after our men and women in uniform fulfill their obligations.  There are better ways to pay for the savings outlined in the budget than forcing service members and their families to shoulder an additional burden.  The overwhelming support in Congress to undo the wrong done to military retirees proved this to be true. 

Before the final vote, however, a different military pension bill was under consideration in the Senate.  It failed to include an offset, ultimately ignoring the budget deal’s objective to address America’s soaring $17 trillion debt.  In a classic game of bait-and-switch, Senate Democrats seemed willing to shift theburden, making future generations responsible for shortsighted budget decisions that could easily be corrected today.

Republicans were ready with ideas.  An amendment I cosponsored, for example, found savings with bipartisan support.  Introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), the amendment would have closed a loophole in the U.S. tax code that allows illegal immigrants to file improper claims for the Additional Child Tax Credit. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the change could save approximately $20 billion over the next decade.  In fact, it stemmed from a recommendation made by the Obama Administration’s own Treasury Inspector General. 

In hindsight, the cuts to military pensions would never have become law if the bipartisan conference tasked to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget resolutions had been allowed to find a less harmful replacement.  Instead, the budget agreement was made behind closed doors, without input from the conference. 

When the budget did come to the Senate floor for a vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) refused to allow amendments that could have fixed the unpopular provision.  Under an open amendment process, members from both political parties could have offered ways to improve the current legislation with savings elsewhere in the budget. 

For too long, the majority leader has used procedural tactics to stymie efforts by Senators from both parties to improve the legislation that comes to the Senate floor.  As Sen. Reid should know, a robust amendment process is integral to ensuring that legislative issues are given their due attention and debate.  Without regular order, the Senate is denied the ability to fulfill its role as “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”

Americans are right to be skeptical of Washington’s promises.  The lesson of sequestration is a powerful reminder of how difficult it is to change bad policy once it takes effect.  Despite widespread outcries that drastic, draconian defense cuts were not the right approach, they went into effect nonetheless. 

Congress has taken a step forward in lowering overall spending levels with its first budget in four years.  Repealing the cuts to military pensions without a proper offset would have diminished this success and ignored our responsibility to future generations to lower the national debt.

In a divided government, solutions demand leadership and cooperation. Neither is likely with Sen. Reid's ever-tightening grip on the Senate agenda.  No one wins when a  select few people forge deals in private and decide which ideas will come to a vote.  If politics had taken center stage this week, veterans would have been denied the right to what they have earned and taxpayers would be left wondering if Washington is serious about lowering America’s unprecedented debt.  I am glad that Congress decided to send a signal that we can make good on our word. 

This op-ed appeared in the Memphis Commercial-Appeal on February 16, 2014.