Press Releases

Today, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, delivered the following opening statement, as prepared, during the Rules Committee’s consideration of the Pelosi Payoff.

“Chairman McGovern and Ranking Member Cole, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify today.

I am here as the Ranking Member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee to discuss the $17 billion that would be allocated to the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) within this $1.9 trillion proposal.

I wish I could tell you how the Biden Administration arrived at that number.

I wish I could tell you why it was needed.

I wish I could tell you how it will be used.

But, despite repeated requests, V.A. has not provided that information.

I can tell you that V.A. received a record high level of funding last year, including billions of dollars in COVID-relief funds that are leftover.

I can also tell you about the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on our nation’s veterans.

More than ten thousand have died.

Millions have delayed needed care.

Millions are suffering from increased isolation, stress, and anxiety.

Hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs.

We will be dealing with the ramifications of those tragedies for years.

That is why I was proud when we worked across the aisle last year to make sure that V.A. had every resource it needed to support veterans during this crisis.

We did that by providing V.A. with the biggest base budget the Department has ever had - $243.3 billion – along with an additional $19.6 billion in the CARES Act.

Over $10 billion of that CARES Act money is left.

It remains available for V.A.’s COVID-relief efforts throughout this fiscal year.

Based on what little we know, most of the money in this proposal is meant for anticipated needs in fiscal year 2022 or even 2023.

If that is true, I am committed to working across the aisle to provide those funds when they will be needed - just like we did last spring.

But, that is not what we are doing today because we do not know that those funds are needed.

Or when.

Or why.

When the Veterans’ Affairs Committee was considering this proposal two weeks ago, Republican Committee Members offered 13 commonsense amendments.

Our amendments were intended to make sure this money meets veterans’ needs and is targeted to COVID-relief.

They would have helped veterans:

- get vaccinated;

- get back to work;

- recover physically, mentally, and financially; and

- hold VA accountable.

I believe those are mutual, bipartisan priorities for any honest COVID-relief effort.

Yet, our amendments were defeated along mostly party-line votes.

Why?

Because this proposal is not supported by facts.

It is not targeted to COVID-relief.

It is not a wise use of taxpayer dollars.

Instead, it is costly, rushed, partisan, and wide open to waste, fraud, and abuse.

Using reconciliation to ram through an additional $17 billion for V.A. without any hearings or documented need limits our ability to target spending where veterans need it most.

It also limits our ability to hold V.A. accountable.

One of the amendments that I offered during our markup would have allowed V.A. to vaccinate more veterans and caregivers against COVID-19.

That is key to getting us past this pandemic.

I was disappointed that my amendment was not supported by Chairman Takano and other Democrats on the Committee.

But I do appreciate that the Chairman has since agreed to work with me to do that.

We introduced the VA VACCINE Act earlier this week.

Our bill could be lifesaving for veterans and their caregivers.

I hope we can consider it in the House as soon as possible.

I also hope that we can find more common ground around major issues like that one moving forward.

That is why my colleagues and I have offered three amendments here today.

Each one of them would direct this money toward the actual, acute needs that veterans and their families are facing right now.

My amendment would help veterans who lost their jobs because of the pandemic get retrained to compete in the new economy.

Congressman Bergman’s amendment would address the mental health crisis that COVID has caused by supporting V.A. readjustment counseling centers and the implementation of two landmark veteran mental health bills that were signed into law last fall.

And, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks’ amendment would provide additional funding for V.A.’s Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC) Pilot Program to help veterans find jobs in the tech sector.

I strongly urge this Committee to make these amendments in order and to vote in their favor.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and I yield back.”