Political Quotes

“I just want to set the record straight that the VA's population of employees did grow because of the PACT Act, a bill that was voted on and passed in a bipartisan way to save the lives of those veterans who would otherwise be dying if they did not have access to VA healthcare for the illnesses that are caused by their exposure to toxic substances. So let's be clear about why we hired more people within the Department of Veterans Affairs: It was because they were given the permission by this Congress, by this body, in a bipartisan way, passing the PACT Act legislation, which funded care for veterans who were exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan and toxic substances from their military service. My resolution is about all veterans who serve this Nation. Some of the veterans who have been laid off are park rangers in our National Park Service who are now out of a job--people who were promoted because they did such a good job. One person I was trying to get their job back was actually working with the Veterans Crisis Hotline. They were doing such a good job answering the phones that they were promoted to trainer. As soon as they were promoted to be a trainer to help other people to answer those hotlines, which could help stop veterans death by suicide, they became probationary employees, and they were fired.…”