CNN anchor Chris Cuomo blasted Senate Republicans on Friday for blocking a bill that would have expanded veteran benefits, Mediaite reported.
The "New Day" host told viewers to "take to social media" to protest the Republican lawmakers, and criticized their move during a time when President Barack Obama is "trying to give diplomacy a chance."
"Republicans simply did what they do best these days, they blocked," Cuomo said. "But blocking our veterans? I don't have to tell you that's outrageous."
"Remember what just happened and do something about it," Cuomo added.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), would have provided $21 billion for medical, education, and job-training benefits for American veterans. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, partisan politics over Iran sanctions blocked any consensus.
"I personally, I have to say this honestly, have a hard time understanding how anyone could vote for tax breaks for billionaires, for millionaires, for large corporations and then say we don't have the resources to protect our veterans," Sanders said.
Republicans who voted against the bill said they won't be "intimidated" into the type of spending Sanders proposed, despite having the bill be supported by more than two dozen veterans groups.
"We're not going to be intimidated on this," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. "We're going to do the right things for the veterans of America."
