In times long past, the Republican Party claimed to be the party of fiscal responsibility and compassionate conservatism. But now, led by the likes of Kevin Kiley’s heartless GOP colleagues, it has become a party that gleefully destroys the lives of millions of Americans, including our veterans, disabled citizens, and students, all to avoid asking the wealthy to pay a penny more in taxes.
An Overview of Kiley’s Cuts to Veterans’ Services
The GOP bill dramatically impacts the lives of veterans in multiple ways. It would reduce medical care for veterans, leading to 30 million fewer outpatient visits and 81,000 job losses in the Veterans Health Administration. This would make it harder for veterans to access essential services like cancer screenings and mental health treatment.
Access to telehealth would also be undermined, limiting the availability of IT infrastructure and medical equipment necessary for remote care. This would particularly affect veterans in rural areas who rely on video-to-home telehealth services.
Furthermore, the bill would worsen wait times for veterans’ benefits by eliminating over 6,000 staff from the Veterans Benefits Administration, leading to a backlog of 134,000 disability claims. Veterans would have to wait longer for pensions, GI Bill educational support, and employment services.
Additionally, Kiley’s cuts would prevent construction on healthcare facilities by cutting up to $565 million for major projects, negatively impacting veterans’ access to state-of-the-art care. It would also fail to honor the memory of all veterans by requiring the National Cemetery Administration to eliminate 500 staff, jeopardizing their ability to maintain national shrine standards and delaying the opening of new national cemeteries.
Beyond VA services, the bill would cut housing for up to 50,000 veterans, putting them at risk of homelessness, and increase food insecurity for 1.3 million veterans relying on SNAP. It would also deprive veterans of mental health, substance use, and other health services by implementing deep cuts to community mental health centers and prevention grants.
Kevin Kiley’s Abandonment of our Homeless Veterans
Lastly, the Republican proposal would eliminate job training and other support for 4,200 homeless veterans through the Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program.
It is striking to see how Republicans, under Trump’s presidency, contributed to a staggering 25% of our total national debt, but suddenly shifted to demanding fiscal restraint under President Biden’s administration. This hypocritical stance reveals a party that is willing to exploit the nation’s financial health for political gain, no matter the consequences for everyday Americans.
By cutting veterans’ services by 22%, Kiley and his fellow Republicans demonstrate a blatant disregard for the well-being of our nation’s heroes. This heartless approach targets the most vulnerable among us, including veterans and disabled citizens, while simultaneously refusing to ask billionaires to contribute more.
The Republican Party’s true priorities are laid bare in these actions – protecting the interests of the wealthy at the expense of those who have made great sacrifices for our country. We must hold Kevin Kiley and his Republican co-conspirators accountable for this disgraceful betrayal of our veterans and fight to protect our veterans from the Republican Party.