news

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 2029, the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which fails to fully fund veterans’ services.

“Taking care of the men and women who served our country in the armed forces is a responsibility we all share. Today, the U.S. House considered a bill that does not meet that mandate for our veterans.

“I opposed H.R. 2029 because it does not provide sufficient funding for veterans’ medical care and critical VA construction. The National VFW Commander called the bill unconscionable, saying, 'The VA cannot fulfill its mission without proper funding, but the House for whatever reason now wants to ration care, eliminate infrastructure projects, and stop improving upon the programs and services that the VA was created to provide.' For me this is unacceptable because our veterans deserve better. 

“While we have a responsibility as a nation to balance our budget and reduce our deficit, we need to end sequestration and eliminate the arbitrary budget caps that are forcing across-the-board cuts to defense and non-defense programs. We need to eliminate waste and fraud without endangering core services our government has a moral obligation to provide. This includes providing sufficient funding for the VA to ensure our veterans receive the support they have earned. This is a non-negotiable priority.”

A number of major Veterans Service Organizations are opposed to this legislation:

VFW National Commander John W. Stroud: “This bill is bad for veterans and any vote for it is unconscionable.”

DAV: “Over objections, the bill would cut VA's budget request next year by over $1.4 billion, including $600 million in direct medical care for veterans. This reduction is unconscionable, given VA's ongoing efforts to recover from last year's explosive access-to-care crisis and its aftermath. Also, VA is reaching a crisis point in terms of maintaining and upgrading current VA health care facilities, but the House would cut the Administration's request for these funds for construction and renovations by $582 million.  Such reductions are outrageous and must be reversed, but today the House seems intent on going forward with these cuts.”

American Legion’s National Commander Michael Helm: “Regardless of political gamesmanship being played between Congress and the White House, The American Legion expects VA to be fully funded. We agree with Secretary McDonald that cutting his department's budget by more than a billion dollars is unacceptable…Why would Congress try to undercut VA's efforts to improve its services to our veterans by taking away funding that is so obviously needed? The appropriations committees should be finding ways to add money to VA's budget, which is exempt from sequestration.”

The Independent Budget for Veterans (AMVETS, DAV, PVA, and VFW) letter to Congress: “This is a particularly important moment in VA history, given the events of the past year. Suffocating the system now with a dearth of funding (well over $1 billion less than requested by the Administration), and restricting or rescinding the use of available funds – even those to be appropriated in this bill – while demanding reforms, only proves to make VA’s intended and ongoing efforts more challenging.”