| New reporting from WLNS details that while Tom Barrett “has publicly cast himself as a defender of veterans’ funding,” he backs a bill that could “put VA funding at risk.”
Barrett’s bill would “put more than $100 billion in annual VA medical funding on a three-year countdown clock,” threatening programs that provide veterans’ health care simply because Congress hasn’t reauthorized them within three years.
Key points to know about Barrett’s bill:
- The bill – similar to a DOGE proposal – “targets programs operating under expired congressional authorizations” and would sunset them after three years.
- “At the center of programs under expired authorizations is the Veterans’ Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996, the law underpinning VA medical services.”
- “That money funds primary care, mental health services, specialty care and the hospital infrastructure that serves more than 9 million enrolled veterans nationwide.”
- The bill would also target the PACT Act for cuts – as well as VA community-based outpatient clinics that serve veterans across Michigan.
- “VA health programs are, in CBO’s own words, ‘not an outlier.’ Many federal programs operate on expired authorizations while continuing to receive appropriations. But the VA is one of the largest, and critics argue that attaching automatic reductions to that category creates leverage that could be used against veterans’ care in future budget fights.”
- “…critics argue that H.R. 143 would codify the DOGE approach into law, establishing a legal path for an administration to cut services, including VA health care, if Congress fails to reauthorize programs in time.”
- “U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former U.S. Army officer who completed three tours in Iraq, criticized Barrett’s bill, arguing it ‘betrays’ veterans.”
- “Tom Barrett already voted to cut healthcare for Michiganders to justify tax breaks for billionaires,” said Crow. “We made a promise to our veterans, and this bill betrays that promise. Michigan vets deserve better from their leaders than proposals that’ll put their care on the chopping block.”
- Barrett doubled down on his support for the bill, even going as far as to compare veterans health care to “a streaming service that’s on an auto-renewal process, and you forget that you even have it.”
DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Tom Barrett’s dangerous plan would put billions in VA funding on the chopping block, risk services through the PACT Act, and target VA clinics. Barrett is so out-of-touch he defended his dangerous plan by comparing VA funding to a Netflix subscription on auto-renewal. Michigan veterans deserve better than Barrett.”
Read more from WLNS: A bill to enforce congressional oversight could also put VA funding at risk |
