Press Releases

The FY 2018 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides $88.166 billion, excluding OCO.

The United States will not maintain our global leadership if we slash our development and diplomacy budgets. By your own admission, the goal is to have other nations fill the gaps left by these cuts. That is abdicating our role in the world. We should not risk that void being filled by those who oppose our values or interests.

There will be times we will disagree on funding priorities, as well as policies, interpretation of law, and enforcement priorities, just as I disagree with some of the prior administration. Among those disagreements is the president’s proposed border wall, because it isn’t enough to just ask whether an investment improves homeland security. We must also consider the fact that each additional segment of physical barrier at the border comes at the expense of other important priorities, both inside and outside of the department.

Mr. Chairman, it is clear that a solution will require a bipartisan majority of both Houses. I believe every member of this Committee is ready to work and do the right thing. I believe that it is time we get past these unrealistic beliefs that we can cut our way to prosperity. If this failed philosophy persists, our work and our mandate will only getter tougher. We must be more strategic about how we handle our federal budget.

The veterans we seek to assist in this bill will also be harmed if other appropriations bills cut essential programs like job training, elderly and disabled housing, and childcare programs. Cuts to the federal workforce across the government are a direct threat to veterans, who made up 30.9 percent of the federal workforce in FY 15.

The vital role that the Treasury Department plays in both the domestic and global economy cannot be overstated. That’s why I was so disappointed with this year’s Treasury budget request, which slashes funding by $372 million.

The proposals contained in President Trump’s budget are reckless and endanger our Nation’s natural and cultural resources. This budget guts funding for programs critical to appropriately manage public lands, it dishonors our commitment to Native Americans and rejects science.

“We are truly encouraged by Secretary Shulkin’s decision to move forward with a system that allows patient health data to reside in a single system, and brings our service members and veterans closer to uninterrupted care between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs."