Republican National Convention Day 3: Making America Weaker By Failing Our Veterans

During the RNC, House Republicans are reminding the public how they are  failing our nation’s veterans

At today’s RNC, House Republicans will try to convince the nation to ignore their record of abandoning America’s veterans.

In the first few months of their majority, House Republicans passed a 22% cut to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The cuts would have resulted in:

• Nearly 81,000 eliminated health service jobs within the VA.

• 30 million fewer veteran outpatient visits.

• An increase in the disability claims backlog by an estimated 134,000 claims, forcing veterans and their surviving loved ones to wait longer for the benefits they have earned, including pensions, life insurance, GI Bill educational support, and employment services.

• Severe cuts to housing support, eliminating funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for as many as 50,000 veterans, putting them at greater risk of homelessness.

• 500 staff eliminated from the National Cemetery Administration, reducing the agency’s ability to maintain the final resting places for our veterans and delaying the opening of new national cemeteries that would serve nearly 1.6 million veterans and eligible family members.

Additionally, much of the Republican conference stood in the way of the PACT Act – the largest expansion of benefits and services for veterans in more than 30 years. There have been over 1 million approved PACT Act claims, delivering:

• More than $5.7 billion given in earned PACT Act-related benefits to veterans and their survivors.

• Expedited timelines for veterans to receive their earned care and benefits by several years.

• Free screenings for toxic exposures for more than 5.4 million veterans.

Donald Trump and House Republicans’ Project 2025 would continue these efforts to abandon veterans by threatening even more cuts to the Department of Veterans Affair and privatizing veterans’ health care.

DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton:
“House Republicans have repeatedly abandoned our veterans and fallen in line behind the despicable effort to cut the services and health care owed to them. The public knows we must do more to support our veterans, and House Democrats are ready to make good on that promise when we retake the majority.”

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