Ranking Member Takano Statement on Military Action Against Iran

WASHINGTON—Today, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement in response to military action against Iran:

“Less than two weeks ago, this administration attempted a $23 billion rollback of veterans’ benefits through its Interim Final Rule while advancing a VHA reorganization that would shrink staff and healthcare capacity. Now it has committed the United States to a new war with Iran.

President Trump ran on ending wars. Instead, from Mar-a-Lago, he launched strikes in the middle of the night and committed our nation’s most precious resource—our young men and women in uniform—to another conflict. War may project strength. It also guarantees long-term costs that will not be borne by those making the decisions.

Our servicemembers are carrying out difficult and dangerous missions far from home. They are professional, prepared, and resolute. They deserve the full support of a grateful nation. That support cannot end when they take off the uniform.

When force is used, the burden falls on servicemembers, veterans, and their families. Physical wounds. Invisible wounds. Years of care. The President and his administration will not carry that weight. Young troops and their loved ones will. And today, as those troops move into harm’s way, Secretary Collins is on the golf course.

Destroying targets is the easy part. We have done that before—in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The hard part is caring for those who come home.

Has this administration planned and budgeted for the long-term costs of this conflict: medical care, disability compensation, mental health services, prosthetics, caregiver support, and transition assistance? Their recent effort to cut benefits and hollow out VA suggests the answer is no. You cannot shrink VA while starting a war and claim you are prepared for the true costs of war. Trump added $150 billion for the Department of Defense in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” but not a cent for VA.

My priority is the safety of our servicemembers and the families waiting anxiously at home. Freedom is never free, and the obligation to care for those who defend it is not optional. If this administration is willing to send Americans into harm’s way, it must be willing to fully fund and strengthen the VA system that will care for them for decades.

The obligation to our veterans begins the moment they sign their contract to serve, and it does not expire.”

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