Last week, Republicans in the Florida delegation threw their support behind U.S. Rep. Steve Womack’s, R-Ark., “Veterans First Act.”
The proposal, which Womack introduced last week, “will stop the White House from diverting resources from our veterans to manage their self-inflicted southern border crisis” and “specifically prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants over our nation’s heroes as the Biden Administration expects a surge at the southern border following their efforts to rescind Trump-era immigration policy, Title 42.”
Womack weighed in on the proposal last week.
“First, the Biden administration floated compensating illegal immigrants with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Now, they’re considering taking resources from our veterans to deal with a border surge of their own making,” said Womack. “It’s insanity. Our heroes shouldn’t carry the burden of President Biden’s failings. We won’t stand for having the care of those who have proudly worn America’s uniform redirected to deal with the consequences of the White House’s disastrous immigration policies.”
Womack has reeled in 30 co-sponsors including Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Kat Cammack, Brian Mast, Bill Posey, John Rutherford and Dan Webster.
“Our veterans and their families make the ultimate sacrifice to defend the freedoms we hold dear,” said Webster. “I am committed to holding the Biden administration accountable for their consideration of redirecting funds earned by our nation’s heroes to address their own gross policy failures. We must ensure that those who have already sacrificed so much for this country receive the care they were promised when they entered our nation’s service. We owe them a debt we can never repay.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate. With Democrats controlling both chambers on Capitol Hill, the bill is not expected to pass.
