( CNN ) -- Just how awful has Washington dysfunction become ? America 's military members and veterans -- once immune to political sniping -- are caught in the crossfire . Last week , members of the U.S. Senate again engaged in their usual political games , and this time , veterans lost out on critical support . Almost all Veterans Service Organizations strongly supported the Veterans Omnibus Bill , including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America ( IAVA ) , The American Legion , Veterans of Foreign Wars , and Disabled American Veterans . It is a transformative bill that includes critical , longstanding priorities for veterans . The bill would provide additional advance funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs , help the V.A . end the disability claims backlog , improve health care services , strengthen the new G.I . Bill , support veterans hiring programs and expand survivor benefits . Each of these provisions has garnered bipartisan support . But when the legislation , introduced by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders , reached the Senate floor , Republicans objected to the scope of the bill . Democrats would n't allow amendments . Republicans would n't provide the votes to move forward . Nobody would compromise and veterans were left getting the shaft . The Senate shenanigans capped a winter of discontent for our community in which Washington continually attacked military members , veterans and their families . It used to be that vets could count on bipartisan support in Congress . But clearly , no more . In December , Congress cut military retirement benefits as part of a bipartisan , backroom budget deal . Reducing the annual cost-of-living adjustment for most military retirees and survivors would have led to a 20 % cut to retirement benefits over the course of their lives . For a retired Army sergeant first class ( E-7 ) that would have meant the loss of $ 83,000 in retirement savings . After massive protests and pressure from veterans and supporters , Congress finally reversed course and restored the benefits for veterans who served or enlisted before January 1 , 2014 . Last week , Congress forced the Pentagon to make budget cuts that increased living costs for our service members . Our service members are faced with a budget that would raise their grocery prices at commissaries by at least 20 % and force military families to pay an additional 5 % out-of-pocket for housing . CNN reported that members of the military redeemed nearly $ 104 million in food stamps at commissaries in the fiscal year that ended September 30 . The Defense Department budget would cut subsidies that service members use to pay for diapers for their kids and to put bread on the table . And then Thursday the Senate leadership put partisanship ahead of helping veterans . Veterans and those active in the armed forces do n't have time for this nonsense . Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America will be going to the Hill next month to demand Congress stop the attacks and put veterans ahead of petty politics . Washington needs to do much more to support those who sacrificed for their country . There are many deep problems : . About 22 veterans die by suicide every day . And according to a new study , the suicide rate for young male vets has skyrocketed , up 44 % from 2009 to 2011 . The V.A . disability claims backlog has hovered near 400,000 for months . These are veterans whose lives are on hold , waiting for the benefits they have earned . The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans remains higher than the national average . Congress and the administration still have not truly reformed the broken military justice system , which has failed tens of thousands of survivors of military sexual assault . I had the honor of attending the State of the Union a month ago , when every member of Congress stood up to applaud Sgt . 1st Class Cory Remsburg , an Army Ranger who was wounded in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan during his 10th deployment overseas . The sustained , thundering applause was an incredibly moving gesture . But ultimately , it was just that : a gesture . What has Congress done since the State of the Union to help veterans like Cory who put on a uniform to defend our country ? Aside from fixing its own mess on military retirement benefits , Congress has done nothing . Absolutely nothing . Veterans have taken notice . And we 're not going to sit by idly as Congress fails to act on our priorities and , worse , attacks the benefits we 've earned . Winter mercifully is ending . We await a spring of hope for veterans and their families . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul Rieckhoff .
Paul Rieckhoff : Senate could n't pass bill addressing veterans ' priorities . Rieckhoff : Congress is failing military families and proposing more cuts . Rieckhoff : 22 vets die by suicide a day , V.A . backlog huge , military justice is broken . Comment: