Global Courant 2023-05-01 21:51:28
House Republicans on Sunday entertained the idea of investigating President Biden’s Department of Veterans Affairs for “blatantly lying” about the effects their debt ceiling would have on Americans who have retired from the armed forces.
Tensions between Republican lawmakers were high during a press call on Sunday, when GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., alleged that the president and his VA secretary, Denis McDonough, were “politicizing” veterans’ care by the recently attacked Republicans. passed Limit, Save, Grow Act.
Mike Bost, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, R-Ill., who spoke to McDonough that same day, said he had to “figure out how to calm down to talk to him” and that he was “disappointed” by the claim of the Biden official that Republicans’ bill would cut VA budget by 22%.
“Joe Biden and the Democrats are so desperate to cover up Joe Biden’s weakness and absolute failure in the debt ceiling negotiations that they are blatantly lying about veteran benefits and politicizing the VA to do so,” Stefanik said. “Unfortunately, this is nothing new for the Democrats.”
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Republicans say Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough is lying by saying the GOP’s debt ceiling bill would drastically cut veterans’ benefits. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The bill would reduce discretionary spending to 2022 levels and raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 2024. The cost-cutting measures include revoking Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, expanding job requirements for recipients of federal benefits and limiting subsequent annual growth to 1% over a 10-year period.
The White House has mounted a broad public campaign against the GOP legislation, releasing estimates that indicate a sharp reduction in efficiency across agencies, if implemented. The VA is no different, issuing a press release this month claiming the bill would “threaten critical services for veterans.”
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Rep. Elise Stefanik speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), March 4, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“I told him how disappointed I was. The conversation went no further than that. He said, ‘I understand.’ And I said, ‘Well, I understand that… your boss told you to do that.’ And I said, ‘But still, it shouldn’t have happened,'” Bost said of his conversation with McDonough on Sunday.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., suggested that Congress should take action. “You know, when I heard what the VA was putting out, I looked at the 18 USC Chapter 47, Section 1001, the fraud and false statement statute. And that’s what this is,” he said.
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“It’s nothing more than a scare tactic. When the Democrats don’t have the facts on their side, they use lies, emotion and volume. President Biden is once again insulting veterans, and I think Congress should investigate,” Clyde said. . Republicans on the call did not move forward with the idea.
President Joe Biden has refused to link austerity talks to raising the debt limit. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Bost also pointed out that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had previously pledged not to let spending on veterans programs be impacted.
“We’ve made a commitment that it won’t come from there,” he said. “I can’t answer for the military.”
Elizabeth Elkind is a political reporter for Fox News Digital.
