Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. STEUBE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment that would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement from sending funds to the Department of Veterans Affairs to process medical claims for illegal immigrants in ICE custody.
This is a similar amendment to one that I led earlier this month on the funding bill for the VA. I was pleased that my amendment was included in that bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment that would ensure that the VA focuses its resources on veterans, not illegal immigrants.
Last December, I led a letter to the VA with 23 other Republican Members after seeing reports that ICE was using VA personnel to process medical claims for illegal immigrants in ICE custody.
Thanks to the Biden administration's reckless policy on the border, we continue to see record numbers of illegal crossings. This will inevitably increase the burden on VA workers who should be fulfilling their duties to serve veterans instead.
The VA exists to serve American veterans who risked their lives to protect our country. For far too long, the VA has fallen short on its mission: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan'' by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's veterans.
Veterans continue to experience unacceptable wait times in receiving medical care and disability benefits. Under the Biden administration, the disability claims backlog has exploded. As of last week, there are 273,307 outstanding disability claims that have been pending for more than 125 days. This is unacceptable, and the VA personnel should not lift a finger for illegal immigrants in ICE custody while thousands of veterans are forced to wait to receive the benefits they deserve.
Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment to ensure that VA personnel work for veterans, not illegal immigrants held by ICE.
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Mr. STEUBE. Mr. Chair, the money appropriated by this body and by Congress for the VA, for veterans and for veterans healthcare, should not be used to provide medical claims for illegal immigrants.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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