[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 180 (Thursday, December 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H6403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       VETERANS AFFAIRS DOGE CUTS

  (Mr. DELUZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DELUZIO. Mr. Speaker, I am all for protecting public money, 
fighting price gouging in the defense industry and others. I am not for 
the Department of Government Efficiency going after veterans' 
healthcare to pay for billionaire tax handouts.
  I use the VA for my care, as do thousands of my constituents in 
western Pennsylvania. Yet, DOGE proposes cutting $119 billion from 
veterans' healthcare. That is more than a third of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs' budget. That is all types of healthcare: surgical, 
specialty care, dental care, counseling for combat veterans, and more. 
It is ridiculous.
  My question to my friends on the other side of the aisle, President-
elect Trump, and others is this: Do you want to cut healthcare for 
veterans who risked their lives for this country? If not, you should 
say you don't. You should stand up against this. If you do, folks like 
me are going to fight you every step of the way. This is the cost of 
war, and this country expects us to pay it.

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