{"id":572804,"date":"2023-05-03T01:01:32","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T22:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/fight-over-veterans-benefits-rages-amid-debt-limit-standoff\/"},"modified":"2023-05-03T01:01:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T22:01:32","slug":"fight-over-veterans-benefits-rages-amid-debt-limit-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fight-over-veterans-benefits-rages-amid-debt-limit-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"#Fight over veterans\u2019 benefits rages amid debt limit standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/stefanikelise_111522gn2_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The fight over potential budget cuts to veterans\u2019 care has devolved into finger-pointing and accusations of lying as the larger debt limit battle between Democrats and Republicans heats up.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats and veterans\u2019 groups say the GOP\u2019s Limit, Save, Grow Act, which passed the House last week, will end up slashing key programs and services at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at a time when it is supposed to be expanding care.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>But Republicans are aggressively hitting back against those claims, accusing Democrats of outright lying and using veterans as \u201cpawns\u201d in the fight over the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>Biden on Tuesday <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS\/status\/1653391398291267586?s=20\">trolled Republicans on Twitter<\/a> by sharing an image of a flow chart, arguing that because the VA is not explicitly exempted from proposed cuts to domestic spending, Republicans voted to cut veterans\u2019 care.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I hear House Republicans out on TV saying they would never vote to cut veterans\u2019 benefits.<\/p>\n<p>In case there\u2019s any confusion, I made a little chart that could help them out. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SVvamK3KC2\">pic.twitter.com\/SVvamK3KC2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 President Biden (@POTUS) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS\/status\/1653391398291267586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But Republicans point out there is no explicit mention of cutting the VA in the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re shamelessly lying about veterans benefits and politicizing the VA to do so,\u201d House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) told reporters on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republican lawmakers point out that other federal agencies could be gutted more, and the VA budget preserved or even bumped up, to reach the desired overall spending target.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Carrie Farmer, the co-director of the Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute at the nonpartisan think tank RAND Corporation, said the VA budget will ultimately depend on how reductions are spread out during the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriations process.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe text itself is silent on the VA budget,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of those possibilities exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Limit, Save, Grow Act would return non-defense government spending to 2022 fiscal year levels, amounting to an estimated $130 billion, or 22 percent, cut across federal agencies, while also capping annual growth at 1 percent over a decade.<\/p>\n<p>But it remains far from the finish line, given Democratic control of the Senate and Biden\u2019s refusal to link budget talks to the GOP\u2019s debt limit demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Before the legislation passed the House, the VA warned it would have a particularly severe impact on the healthcare system because it is funded by discretionary spending.<\/p>\n<p>The VA has claimed it would impact 81,000 jobs in the department\u2019s healthcare system, creating 30 million fewer outpatient visits and limiting the number of cancer screenings and substance abuse disorder treatments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA cut of that magnitude would be devastating to the VA,\u201d said Mary Kaszynski, the director of government relations at VoteVets, which has adamantly opposed the GOP budget proposal.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Kaszynski said despite the Republican vows, she believed they would end up cutting the VA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans can send any tweak they want \u2014 budgets are policy and the budget bill they just passed hurts the VA and hurts veterans,\u201d she said. \u201cMark my words, at the end of day where they will land is cutting the VA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Dan Caldwell, the vice president of the conservative Center for Renewing America, said the proposal his organization put out \u2014 which he said Republicans have viewed as a guide \u2014 actually projects the VA budget growing.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>He accused Democrats of \u201cusing veterans to distract away from the fact that they don\u2019t want to put our country on a better financial course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The VA budget for fiscal year 2023 amounted to more than $300 billion, and the department\u2019s funding has grown by 300 percent since 2000, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2023-03\/59013-Manpower.pdf\">according to the Congressional Budget Office.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As the budget has grown, the veterans\u2019 population has dropped sharply, driven by the passing of World War II veterans and a persistent recruitment challenge across military branches.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Still, the VA is already known for long waitlists and backlogs and the department is now handling an additional 500,000 claims from those who filed under the PACT Act, which expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxins while deployed overseas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Limit, Save, Grow Act was introduced as a counter to President Biden\u2019s $6 trillion budget request as Republicans seek to rein in government spending. The White House says its budget would reduce the deficit by trillions of dollars through new taxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Treasury warned this week it could exhaust its options by June unless the debt ceiling is raised to authorize more borrowing, adding urgency to the standoff between House Republicans and Biden.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>House Republicans held a press call on Sunday afternoon fuming about what they called the politicization of the VA and false information about the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said during the call the VA was being used as a \u201cpolitical hammer to deliver a message that is false,\u201d repeating a message he delivered on the House floor last week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou better believe that I\u2019m dead serious that we are not cutting veterans and I mean it,\u201d Bost <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepBost\/status\/1651337490760908801\">said on the floor<\/a>. \u201cYou are playing politics with our veterans and their lives and their concerns. Veterans are not political pawns to advance an agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, that argument has done little to quell concerns from veterans\u2019 groups, who say budget cuts will disproportionately impact veterans regardless of reductions to the VA.<\/p>\n<p>Veterans groups have also pointed to another provision in the legislation that claws back unspent COVID-19 relief funds. The VA has about $4.5 billion of unspent funds from the American Rescue Plan passed in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Suzanne Gordon, a senior policy analyst at the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, said veterans would also be impacted by cuts to the Department of Education or the postal service, where many of them work or require services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVeterans don\u2019t just depend on the VA \u2014 they live in the same universe we live in,\u201d she said. \u201cMany veterans hanging by their fingernails are very triggered by this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Veterans\u2019 organizations are asking for explicit language to be inserted into the bill that protects the VA, noting similar commitments have been made to other agencies and programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow we take care of our veterans, how we allow them to get involved in our politics sends a huge signal to people who are about to raise their hands to service,\u201d said Allison Jaslow, the CEO of the nonprofit group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have an imperative that we are keeping our promises here and I don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s so difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. 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Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3984406-fight-over-veterans-benefits-rages-amid-debt-limit-standoff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fight over potential budget cuts to veterans\u2019 care has devolved into finger-pointing and accusations of lying as the larger debt limit battle between Democrats and Republicans heats up. Democrats and veterans\u2019 groups say the GOP\u2019s Limit, Save, Grow Act, which passed the House last week, will end up slashing key programs and services at&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":572805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/stefanikelise_111522gn2_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134417,117,134343,73798,83302,88410,134661,991,142748,115,134345,4965,142861],"class_list":["post-572804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-defense","tag-department-of-veterans-affairs","tag-elise-stefanik","tag-energy-environment","tag-joe-biden","tag-mike-bost","tag-news","tag-state-watch","tag-technology","tag-veterans-benefits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}