The bipartisan spending deal reached by House and Senate negotiators balances the budget on the backs of veterans, a move that could cost an enlisted service member $83,000 over the course of their retirement, retired Army Capt. Pete Hegseth said Friday.
"Somehow we're going to balance the books on the backs of military retirees," Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, said on "
Fox & Friends."
"Because Washington has been so unwilling to reform the way it spends money for so long, they look for easy places. Safety valves. One of those in this deal was retirement," Hegseth said.
The budget plan passed by the House Thursday night calls for a one percent cut to retirement benefits for service personnel under the age of 62 who served 20 years in the military, Hegseth explained. He said that could total $83,000 in benefits an enlisted service member receives.
Hegseth claimed the move breaks the trust between government and those who join the military to serve the country.
"You know what's more damning about this, is that we're breaking the trust. We've made an ironclad promise to those who put their lives on the line," he said.
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