Ranking Member DeLauro Floor Remarks on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Bill

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in opposition to the fiscal year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill:

– As Prepared For Delivery –

I rise today in opposition to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which falls short of our commitments and backtracks on our promises to our veterans, servicemembers, and their families.

This bill cuts funding for critical military construction by over $1.5 billion compared to the current level, and it is built on a house of cards that will crumble as this body and the American people come to realize the full scope of cuts the majority is pursuing.

This is not the only bill that supports programs and services that our veterans rely on. Republicans cannot credibly claim to fully fund veterans' programs. The American people can clearly see how veterans are being treated when they look at the rest of the majority's domestic funding bills. Make no mistakes, if not for the Democrats, this bill would have decreased funding for Veterans' medical care by $2 billion.

We should not be in this position, and the global economy should never have been used as a bargaining chip to try to extract cuts to domestic spending. But to prevent a catastrophic default, the President reached a deal with the Republican Speaker to lift the debt ceiling and set spending levels. We have a path to fund the United States Government on time. A path that this Congress agreed to on a bipartisan basis. We ought to take that path.

Instead, the bill offers cuts to vital programs our veterans, servicemembers, and their families depend on. It cuts $200 million in dedicated funding for PFAS remediation and cleanup. These chemicals do not easily break down in the environment, and are a source of groundwater contamination on military bases, which can lead to serious health problems. Failure to quickly clean up contaminated areas puts the surrounding communities – including military families and civilians – at risk.

This bill ignores the national security risk that will directly affect all of our bases, at home and abroad – climate change. A lack of additional, dedicated funding for resilience projects is leaving America's servicemembers and veterans completely exposed in the line of fire.

Instead of responsibly funding our veterans in a bill palatable to both sides of the aisle, this bill is loaded up with hateful riders that have no business in Appropriations language. Prohibitions on equity and inclusion programs and flags demonstrate grossly misplaced priorities: fighting culture wars and leaving our veterans, hardworking families, and the economy out to dry. The bill places the federal government in the room with women and their doctors. By making it harder for veterans to access health care, we take a step closer towards a national abortion ban. Our veterans did not serve this country, and defend our freedom, to have their freedom and autonomy stripped by this Congress.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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