How Rick Santorum Ripped Off American Veterans
How Rick Santorum Ripped Off American Veterans
A controversial land deal by the presidential candidate robbed a vets' home of tens of millions of dollars.
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At the behest of the Roman Catholic Church, and unbeknownst to the (Armed Forces Retirement Home, which is run by the Department of Defense), Santorum slipped an amendment into the 1999 National Defense Authorization Act handcuffing how the home could cash in on those 49 acres. The amendment forced the Home to sell—and not lease—the land to its next-door neighbor, the Catholic University of America. Ultimately, the Catholic Church bought 46 acres of the tract for $22 million. The Home lost the land for good, and by its own estimates, pocketed $27 million less than the land's value and $83 million less than what it could've made under the lease plan. Santorum's amendment sparked an outcry from veterans' groups and fellow US senators, who barraged his office with complaints. Laurence Branch, then the executive director of the Home's board, says Santorum's amendment was "a travesty" and the Church's lobbying for the land a case of "coveting thy neighborhood's goods." To this day, Branch says he blames Santorum for the Home not receiving more money for the 49-acre parcel of land. "I'm convinced Sen. Santorum is no friend of veterans," Branch says. (A spokesman for Catholic University did not respond to a request for comment.)
http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/how-rick-santorum-ripped-off-american-military-veterans
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