Ranking Member Takano Calls Out House Republicans for Prioritizing Project 2025 Instead of Funding VA Healthcare This Week

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) called out House Republicans for wasting time on culture war bills instead of prioritizing funding VA healthcare. 

Ranking Member Takano said, “It is inexcusable that House Republicans are shorting veterans by $12 billion for their hard-earned healthcare and wasting precious time this week on culture war bills that have no chance of becoming law. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been transparent about its funding needs for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Why won’t the House Majority bring up the funding for a vote? Why isn’t the Republican Majority prioritizing veterans? Because they are choosing politics over veterans by falsely accusing the Biden-Harris Administration of ‘mismanagement’ and trying to undermine confidence in VA. That is right out of the Project 2025 playbook.  

I want to be clear: there is no evidence that VA mismanaged funds. We are seeing the success of my law, the Honoring our PACT Act, being implemented and more veterans than ever before receiving care and benefits from VA. Almost 1.2 million veterans have been granted disability benefits, including at higher disability ratings, and hundreds of thousands of veterans have enrolled in VA healthcare in the two years since my bill became law. 

When we passed the PACT Act, we made a commitment to pay for all costs of war. I refuse to let veterans continue to be nickel-and-dimed by so-called fiscally conservative Republicans. Paying for veterans’ benefits and healthcare is the right thing to do, and once again, it is the Democrats who are standing up for veterans.” 

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