March 04, 2025

Ranking Member Takano's Opening Statement at Legislative Presentation of VFW & Multi VSOs

Press Contact

Elain Shubat

WASHINGTON— Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening statement as prepared at the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs joint hearing entitled, "Legislative Presentation of The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States & Multi VSOs: Paralyzed Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Student Veterans of America, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, The Elizabeth Dole Foundation, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans."

 

Thank you, Chairman Moran.

Today we close out our annual series of Joint Hearings with the Veterans Service Organizations. 

I am pleased to welcome our first panel, the National Commander and representatives of The Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Auxiliary, as well as our second panel, representatives from Paralyzed Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Student Veterans of America, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.  

I’d like to extend a special welcome to VFW’s Commander in Chief, Mr. Al Lipphardt, and National Auxiliary President, Ms. Brenda Bryant. 

Before I begin my remarks: I have to ask, are there any Californians in the room this morning? WELCOME!   

I grew up with the stories about my great-uncles who served in World War II in the famed 442nd Infantry Regiment, and of my uncle who fought in Vietnam and sadly died by suicide when I was young. Since joining the Committee I have had the honor of visiting the graves of the fallen around the world at cemeteries managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Battle Monuments Commission.  

It is for those servicemembers and veterans, and for all of you, that I fight to ensure that our country honors the debt that can never be repaid. 

Honoring that debt means listening to veterans’ voices, about issues impacting their daily lives, and how we can address them. One of the ways we do that is by holding these hearings with Veterans Service Organizations. 

It was at these hearings in 2022, when the VSOs stood in solidarity, calling on Congress to pass the Honoring Our PACT Act. 

Without you, we would never have passed the largest expansion of veterans’ healthcare and benefits since the Vietnam War.  

Without VFW and countless other VSOs, millions of veterans would still be struggling to access healthcare for the toxic exposures they experienced in their service to our country.  

I will always be grateful to you for helping us get it done.  

The PACT Act was never meant to be a “one and done”, there’s still so much more work to do, because our “pact” with our nation’s veterans is not only about toxic exposure, it is also about our promise to ensure that veterans have access to their care and benefits, and that we do everything we can to:  

  •  End veteran homelessness and veteran suicide  

  • Address new categories of illness and injury associated with military service, for example blast injury and military traumatic brain injury 

  • Finally achieve Guard and Reserve Parity 

  • Ensure that VA is welcoming to ALL veterans who have earned the right to be there 

  • Ensure that VA’s infrastructure can support its mission 

  • And so much more.  

Instead of focusing on these critical issues facing veterans, we’re being distracted by unnecessary chaos.  

I have grave concerns about how President Trump’s Executive Orders are being carried out across the federal government, most especially at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the impacts they’re already having on veterans.  

Under the Trump administration, more than 2,400 VA employees have been illegally fired, and many more have opted to leave rather than put up with the chaos and uncertainty that has been inflicted upon them. The worst part is, they’re not done yet, we expect the Administration to continue its efforts to further dismantle the federal workforce.  

I question how purging the workforce, firing the watchdogs, and making VA hostile to women and minority veterans is helping VA serve veterans better.  

I have sent numerous letters to VA seeking information on the Department’s implementation of President Trump’s disastrous executive orders and have had zero meaningful response from Secretary Collins. This is extremely troubling. 

I was grateful to see VFW’s statement supporting federal employees, especially the veterans, who have been unlawfully terminated by this administration. VFW continues to be a leader when it comes to standing up for veterans and what they need.  

I am also heartened to see that the courts appear to be paying attention. Last week, a judge in my home state called these firings illegal. While it’s unclear how this ruling will impact the thousands of federal employees who have already lost their jobs, I’m hopeful the courts will continue to stand in the constitutional role of providing relief for all the damage the Administration has done.  

And, yes, damage has already been done. Cuts at the Cleveland VA Medical Center have made it harder for veterans to access mental health care and prosthetics, among other services. Restricting access to these crucial mental health services, while we are fighting the crisis of veteran suicide, is the height of tone-deaf.  

Arguments that “veterans are taxpayers too,” are tantamount to asking veterans to sign up to die for their country again. This cannot be accepted.  

I have been accused of putting bureaucracy over veterans, but I dispute that…  

  • What about the veterans who lost their jobs to the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate firings of federal employees?  

  • What about black veterans who were unable to access VA home loans due to red-lining?  

  • What about women veterans, whose service is STILL not valued as much as their male peers, and are now worried about the loss of gender-specific care at VA? 

  • What about LGBTQ+ veterans whose health is in jeopardy because of the administration’s denial of their very existence?  

Ensuring the institution is there to serve veterans, IS putting veterans first.  

It is our job to ensure access to world-class healthcare and benefits to ALLveterans who have earned that right, and I take that responsibility VERY seriously.  

It is my hope that I can count on the VSO community to help us hold VA accountable to ALL veterans, and that you will also hold Congress accountable by making sure we walk the talk. That we are carrying out our constitutional oversight responsibilities by asking tough questions, demanding answers, and taking legislative action when it is needed. We cannot waiver in this, because we know that veterans, their survivors, and caregivers are depending on us.  

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.  

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