Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Chairman, I will make this very quick and to the point. If this bill were to become law, illegal immigrants illegally crossing our border will have better access to healthcare at government expense than our veterans with service-connected disabilities. And not just better healthcare access to specialty doctors and psychiatric care, not just that, but within a timeframe 30 to 60 days faster than veterans can get appointments for medical care at a VA facility. The requirements in this bill show that, depending on the scenario, CBP has 6 to 12 hours to provide care to the immigrant. A veteran under the MISSION Act that was passed by Congress last session, has 30 to 60 days to get an appointment. So we are treating an illegal immigrant within a day, a requirement by law, where veterans have to wait 30 to 60 days just to get an appointment. And let's discuss the cost. Oh, that is right, we don't know the cost because the majority didn't consult CBP or Homeland Security, and we have absolutely no idea how much this is going to cost. We are going to put this unfunded mandate on CBP when they are already taxed and already tolled with the crisis that we have on the border and not know how much it is going to cost them to implement all of these medical requirements that are in this bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.”