Dingell Statement on Military Construction-VA Bill

Statement

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 2029, the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which fails to fully fund veterans' services.

"Taking care of the men and women who served our country in the armed forces is a responsibility we all share. Today, the U.S. House considered a bill that does not meet that mandate for our veterans.

"I opposed H.R. 2029 because it does not provide sufficient funding for veterans' medical care and critical VA construction. The National VFW Commander called the bill unconscionable, saying, 'The VA cannot fulfill its mission without proper funding, but the House for whatever reason now wants to ration care, eliminate infrastructure projects, and stop improving upon the programs and services that the VA was created to provide.' For me this is unacceptable because our veterans deserve better.

"While we have a responsibility as a nation to balance our budget and reduce our deficit, we need to end sequestration and eliminate the arbitrary budget caps that are forcing across-the-board cuts to defense and non-defense programs. We need to eliminate waste and fraud without endangering core services our government has a moral obligation to provide. This includes providing sufficient funding for the VA to ensure our veterans receive the support they have earned. This is a non-negotiable priority."

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