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Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.) delivered the following remarks, as prepared, during debate on amendments to H.R. 4366, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, legislation to fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Fiscal Year 2024. Chairman Bost offered an amendment to prohibit the VA from using funds to submit a beneficiary’s name to the FBI’s NICS list based on VA’s appointment of a fiduciary to deliver on his promise to establish due process rights for veterans.


Thank you Mr./Madam Chairman. I rise today to in support of my amendment to H.R. 4366.

My amendment would prevent any funds under this act from being used to continue V.A.’s current practice of sending a veteran’s name to the F.B.I.’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.

According to V.A. rules, if a veteran or beneficiary is appointed a fiduciary to help manage their V.A. benefits, their name is automatically sent to NICS.

V.A. sends the veteran’s name without a finding that the veteran is a danger to themselves or others.

This is not done in a court of law.

This is not done by a judge.

This is not done by any person with legal authority.

This is done by a V.A. bureaucrat.

A federal employee currently has the right to take away a constitutional right of our veterans.

The same veterans who protected our constitutional rights are now losing theirs because they need a bit of help managing their finances.

I have said this once and I will say it again.

Veterans should not be treated any different than every other American citizen.

The mission of V.A. is to care for those who have served.

To me, it seems this practice is the opposite of caring for our veterans.

Veterans have told me that this practice is a barrier for them to seek healthcare.

They are so afraid of losing their constitutional rights that they will not go to V.A. for their healthcare or benefits.

There were just under 15,000 individuals reported to NICS last fiscal year from the V.A.

This fiscal year, over 8,000 veterans have been reported to NICS so far.

This practice must stop.

I am proud to have introduced my amendment that would prohibit this unlawful loss of a constitutional right.

Mr/Madam Chairman I ask unanimous consent that the letters of support for my amendment from
• The American Legion,
• Gun Owners of America,
• the National Rifle Association,
• National Defense Committee,
• Vets 4 Vet Leadership,
• Veteran Warriors,
• Catholic War Veterans, and
• National Association for Gun Rights be entered into the record.

I would like to thank Representatives Rosendale, Hudson, DesJarlais, Self, Cammack, Higgins, Ogles, Miller, Boebert, Van Orden, and Kiggans for joining me on this amendment and I encourage all of my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Background:
Earlier this year, Chairman Bost announced that one of his top legislative priorities in the new Republican majority was ending the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA’s) discriminatory practice towards veterans with fiduciaries. Under current law, if a veteran uses a fiduciary to manage their VA benefits they are automatically – without a judge or court ruling – reported to the FBI’s NICS list and stripped of their Second Amendment rights. The Chairman’s bill, H.R. 705, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act, would end this practice and prohibit VA from sending information on veterans (or beneficiaries) who are assisted by a fiduciary to NICS without a judicial ruling that they are a danger to themselves or others. This would ensure that veterans are afforded the same due process that every other American receives before any action is taken that would deprive them of one of the constitutional rights that they fought to protect. The amendment the Chairman fought to include in the FY24 MilCon/VA Appropriations bill tonight seeks to do the same.

Full text of the FY24 MilCon/VA Appropriations bill can be found here.