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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 14h

Veterans, as this shutdown continues, please take the time to tell the committee about the impacts you are facing.

Reminder, you can find all of the surveys we have launched this year right here: democrats-veterans.house.gov/contact/subm...

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 17h

Craig Romanovich, the Executive Director of Union Veterans Council, released the following statement alongside RM @repmarktakano.bsky.social:

The Full Release: democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-r...

"Chronic understaffing and underfunding has left far too many of our veterans waiting far too long for critical services. And with the Trump administration's cuts to the VA and union-busting of its workforce, these problems are only getting worse. Let's be clear: the greatest threat the VA faces is from those who are working to privatize and gut it, not the veterans who depend on it."

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 17h

Vietnam Veterans of America released the following statement alongside RM @repmarktakano.bsky.social:

The Full Release: democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-r...

“The article ignores the decades-long fight our members waged to secure recognition and benefits for conditions related to service, including harms from Agent Orange and other toxic exposures... We oppose narratives that set veterans against one another and are in favor of truthfulness and accountability.”

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 17h

Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of IAVA, released the following statement alongside RM @repmarktakano.bsky.social:

The Full Release: democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-r...

“The vast majority of veterans are following the rules and seeking benefits they have earned through service and sacrifice. Portraying millions of veterans as opportunists based on isolated cases of fraud is both misleading and harmful... Benefits are not handouts. They are promises to those who trained, deployed, and carried the burden of defending and safeguarding our country.“

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 17h

RM @repmarktakano.bsky.social released the following statement calling out the Washington Post article that accuses veterans of exploiting their benefits. RM Takano strongly urges WaPo to reexamine the goal of this four-part series.

The Press Release: democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-r...

“To highlight the existence of fraud, the Washington Post brazenly portrayed all veterans as potential fraudsters. I implore the Washington Post to reexamine the goal of its upcoming stories in this four-part series. We should fight to improve veterans’ care by exposing truths, not blaming veterans for the challenges they face.”

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

2/2 Instead, they won't even show up to work, cancelling session to avoid the jobs the American people elected them to do, and in doing so they are abandoning veterans who rely on access to Medicare and Medicaid and forcing us to shut down.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

🧵1/2 Trump wants this shutdown. Trump supports this shutdown.
If the Republicans want to reopen the government, Democrats stand ready to meet them at the table.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

4/4 Our veterans fought for us. Now we fight for them. House Democrats are holding Republicans accountable for this shutdown, for playing politics with healthcare, for weaponizing the institutions meant to serve our veterans. We will not back down.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

3/4 Last week, VA weaponized its official email system to send political attacks blaming Democrats for the shutdown—a gross abuse of power. VA should be informing veterans and providing support during this crisis, not spreading partisan propaganda to score political points for the Administration.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

2/4 This shutdown has exposed Republican priorities: political games at the cost of Americans' healthcare. Medicare and Medicaid are lifelines for veterans who don't receive care at VA. Republicans are jeopardizing veteran access to healthcare options.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 1d

🧵1/4 Today marks one week since Republicans shut down the government. Democrats remain ready to deliver for veterans and all Americans, while House Republicans refuse to return to DC.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 2d

Where are House Republicans? 6 days into a shutdown & Speaker Johnson canceled votes & sent everyone home.

What's your plan, Mr. Speaker? Just let veterans who rely on Medicare & Medicaid lose healthcare? House Democrats are fighting to protect veterans' care while Republicans work to destroy it.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 2d

This year, Republicans passed the biggest Medicaid cut in history to help pay for tax breaks for billionaires. They can do the right thing with this CR and reverse the Medicaid cuts. Democrats are fighting to protect healthcare for all Americans, including 1.6 million+ veterans who rely on Medicaid.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 5d

🚨 Day 3 of the Trump shutdown 🚨

Republicans control the White House, House, and Senate—and they want millions of families to lose access to affordable healthcare. Our veterans who served this country deserve better.

Republicans: Come back to Washington and do your job.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 5d

What have Republicans done for homeless veterans?

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 6d

Trump is hellbent on hiding the truth of his corruption from the American people.

Defunding the support for VA's OIG website is a deliberate cover-up to keep veterans and taxpayers in the dark about waste, fraud, & abuse at Doug Collins' VA.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 6d

Servicemembers must stay apolitical in uniform. At Quantico, Trump and Hegseth crossed that line, forcing officers to serve as political props. Worse, VA broke the law by pushing partisan rhetoric via official channels. Military and veteran comms should inform, not push partisan political rhetoric.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 6d

Veterans, we understand that a shutdown can lead to further confusion in an already difficult time. We need to hear from you to understand the impacts this shutdown has had on your communities. Please fill out our brief survey. forms.cloud.microsoft/g/chCT6EQxSN

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 6d

While Republicans are weaponizing veterans in this debate, Democrats remain committed to safeguarding veterans’ care—ensuring their access to VA services is never interrupted—while also driving down healthcare costs and protecting VA’s specialized care.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 7d

Republicans broke the long-standing tradition of keeping politics out of veterans' programs by attaching them to partisan funding—turning vets into political leverage in their shutdown fight. If they really care about serving those who served us, they'd stop playing politics with veterans' lives.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 7d

If Trump cared about veterans, he wouldn’t gut the VA or threaten their services as political leverage. Veterans aren’t pawns to be used for Republicans’ political gain.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 7d

ICYMI: Read RM @repmarktakano.bsky.social's blistering condemnation of the Republican-led government shutdown and Speaker Mike Johnson’s cynical ploy to use veterans’ programs as political leverage.
democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-r...

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 8d

Where are House Republicans?
They are skipping town when they should be in DC.
The government is set to shut down in 4 hours, and Trump and Republican Members of Congress are to blame for millions of families, including veterans, losing access to affordable healthcare.
Republicans should be here.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 8d

6/6 Democrats in the House and Senate stand together, demanding Republicans reverse these cuts and protect people’s healthcare.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Democrats @democrats-veterans.house.gov · 8d

5/6This isn’t an accident – it’s by design. It’s a healthcare crisis created by Republicans. Republicans would rather shutdown the government than put the health of Americans first.

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