[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14401]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     DON'T DENY LGBT VETERANS FEDERAL VA BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED

  (Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, the Republican members of the 
House Veterans' Affairs Committee, with one notable exception, voted to 
deny LGBT veterans the Federal VA benefits they have earned if they 
happen to live in a State that does not recognize marriage equality.
  The Defense Department provides for LGBT soldiers and their families, 
regardless of where they live, but not the VA. While they are wearing a 
uniform, they and their families are covered, but once they take it off 
and become a veteran, too bad. If they live in Florida or Texas or 
Nevada, too bad.
  It doesn't matter that they fought to defend this country, not a 
particular State. It doesn't matter that the VA and the VSOs support 
giving them benefits. It doesn't matter how brave they were, how much 
they sacrificed, or how long and honorably they served, too bad. They 
get nothing, according to the Republicans.
  This is unfair and unjust, and they should be ashamed for lacking the 
courage to do the right thing by our Nation's heroes.

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