[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1645
                 REPUBLICANS' MANUFACTURED DEBT CRISIS

  (Ms. WILD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, as we stare down a completely manufactured 
economic crisis, I sure hope we can come together to avoid a default, 
but the proposal from the far-right wing of the GOP, one that holds our 
economy hostage to enact extreme budget cuts, would hurt veterans most 
of all--veterans in my district, across Pennsylvania, and across the 
United States.
  Pennsylvania has the fourth highest veteran population, so I am not 
talking hypotheticals when it comes to how VHA cuts would impact our 
veterans.
  If they get their way, more than 272,000 Pennsylvania veterans' 
medical care and outpatient visits would be at risk due to slashed 
Veterans Health Administration funding. The 29 percent of Pennsylvania 
veterans who live with disabilities will face more red tape and longer 
wait times, undermining their much-needed medical care.
  This is not what keeping our promises to those who served us, who 
protected us, looks like. Our veterans and the American people deserve 
better.

                          ____________________