Veteran issues make bipartisanship easier

With hyperpartisanship the new norm on Capitol Hill before Donald Trump became president, finding issues on which Republicans and Democrats can agree is difficult. Today, away the drama and sparks flying in the Senate Intelligence Committee with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Congress passed (with 368 yeas in the House) the “Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act,” tightening up rules that will make it easier to terminate the small number of “bad apples,” to use sponsor’s Jon Testor’s words, working in the VA. Voting against veterans is a tough vote in the legislature, as veterans’ issues are one of those small number of valence topics in American politics–issues on which there is large consensus. This particular bill scratched just the right combination of itches: firing bad bureaucrats helps some on the right, while strengthening the VA is something most legislators can consider a win. Bereft of legislative victories elsewhere on his agenda, President Trump is almost certainly going to sign this bill soon. (NPR story)