Derrick Van Orden: “This week the House will consider the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.…”

“This week the House will consider the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. As a former Navy SEAL and combat veteran, I am proud to support this legislation. It delivers on our promise for a safer Nation by providing the Department of Defense with the facilities they require and our promise to protect those that protected our Nation by fully funding the Veterans Affairs Department. Additionally, it helps rectify two grievous wrongs that have been committed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. First, they are politicizing this appropriations process, and second, by trying to subvert the Constitution and remove veterans' Second Amendment rights. As Republicans worked to responsibly raise the debt ceiling, the Department of Veterans Affairs told Americans in a press release that Republicans wanted to gut benefits for those that served our country. This was simply not factual. When I returned to my district, I held a roundtable for my fellow veterans. At The American Legion in Sparta, Wisconsin, a 96-year-old Vietnam veteran named Don told me that he was terrified that he would be losing the benefits that he earned during his service. The Department of Veterans Affairs are being fearmongers with Don and all of our veterans to score cheap political points, and that is unacceptable.…”