Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this extreme MAGA Republican continuing resolution that will defund our veterans.

We have mere days to fund the government and avoid a shutdown that will force millions of Federal employees to be without pay, halt work on critical infrastructure projects, and prevent Americans from receiving the benefits they rely on.

Unfortunately, extreme MAGA Republicans have abdicated their responsibility to govern even further. This continuing resolution fails to meet the needs of our heroes who have fought and served in our Nation's military. It shortchanges our veterans by $12 billion.

This is funding that is desperately needed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to maintain its workforce at VA hospitals across the country, which is critical to providing the quality of medical services our veterans need.

Without the full $12 billion included in the continuing resolution, the VA is being forced to make choices regarding care that could degrade services for patients, reduce support for veterans who experience homelessness, and limit programs that support caregivers.

We are already seeing the harm being done from a lack of resources for the VA across our country. In my district, the Buffalo VA does not have the funding needed to maintain its workforce, driving nurses to the picket line to call for more hires, all while patients are receiving delayed care in crumbling facilities.

It is unacceptable, and it will directly impact the 40,000 veterans living in my district and more than 18 million veterans across the country. This disastrous budget also comes as the Honoring our PACT Act brings a record number of benefits to our veterans, including those who were exposed to toxic burn pits during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while defending our Nation, and who deserve to receive the benefits they have earned.

Now is not the time to disinvest from our veterans. We need to follow through with a bipartisan commitment this body made to make the men and women who served in our military whole.

In funding the United States Government, we need to deliver for the heroes who have sacrificed so much for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this measure as-is and work with us to pass a clean CR that ensures our Nation's veterans are treated with the dignity and respect that they rightfully deserve.

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