Veterans
Democrats are proud to stand with veterans who have endured great sacrifice to keep our nation safe and protect our freedom. We are working to improve health care access and treatment for veterans by cutting red tape, modernizing VA hospitals, building VA outpatient clinics in communities where veterans live, and expanding the health services available under the VA. We are working to eliminate the VA disability appeals backlog so that veterans can receive their benefits in a more timely manner and with fewer errors occurring. We are also taking steps to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find employment. When Democrats last held both the White House and control of Congress, we kept our promise to take care of our nation’s veterans. Democrats updated the G.I. Bill for post-9/11 veterans to strengthen their access to higher education, and recently supported making the G.I. Bill a lifetime benefit for the first time in history. Democrats expanded employment opportunities by bolstering veterans’ workforce programs and offering a tax credit to businesses that hire unemployed veterans. We also increased the number of VA mental health providers and social workers to meet increased demand, and expanded mental health services. We will continue to respond to the needs of veterans and their families.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this. I urge my Members to vote against it. I don't know if they will, but I urge them to do so. All of us in this body need to be for accountability. None of us in this body, however, ought to be for turning a civil service system into a patronage system.
The launch of the new Veterans Employment Center today continues this Administration’s strong commitment to easing the transition for our veterans returning home to their families and to the civilian job market.
In 1775, Alexander Hamilton wrote: ‘there is an enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself in acts of bravery and heroism.’
“I am opposing this bill because it breaks the principle that domestic spending cuts should not pay for higher defense spending.
“On Monday, we will pay tribute to all those who have worn the uniform of our country and put their lives on the line to defend our freedom and way of life.
"Today, we salute the men and women of the Armed Forces and recognize the tremendous sacrifices their spouses and children endure with frequent moves and long deployments.
At a time when the backlog of veterans’ disability claims remains unacceptable, the GOP shutdown is about to make it worse. According to an article by the Hill:
“Regional offices run by the Department of Veterans Affairs closed Tuesday as furloughs began for 7,000 employees of the agency’s Benefits Administration (VBA).”
“Sixty years ago tomorrow, fighting on the Korean peninsula ended with an armistice that brought to a close a brief but poignant chapter in our history in which American troops and our allies once again stood in defense of democracy and freedom.
Each year on Memorial Day, we remember the courageous individuals who gave all they had to protect our nation and the values that sustain our democracy. In every generation, Americans have been called to take up arms in defense of the rights and freedoms we hold dear – not only for ourselves but for others who yearn for peace, justice, and liberty around the world.
While the effects of sequestration will continue to build over time, our men and women in uniform are already feeling the impact with the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard stopping tuition assistance: