Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Rep. Phil Roe's, M.D. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement in opposition to H.R. 1:
"The provisions of H.R. 1 under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs would cause the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take its eye off the ball of its primary mission of service to veterans. I am concerned about the impact H.R. 1 may have on the timeliness of VA’s delivery of benefits.This bill would require VA to delay processing claims for benefits until the veteran decides whether to register to vote. This information is wholly unrelated to a veteran’s desire to avail themselves of the benefits they have earned through service to our country.
"The average days pending for all initial compensation claims is about 4 months.This bill would add another month to that wait, further preventing disabled veterans from accessing the income they need to pay for things like food and medicine. Veterans should not be required to choose between their earned benefits and their right to choose to vote. Had our Committee’s jurisdiction not been bypassed, we could have explained these and other problems with H.R. 1 further. That didn’t happen here, so I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill."
