USA16 July, 20263 min read
Mike Johnson Pulls Veterans Benefits Bill After GOP Holdouts Block Vote
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Johnson pulls veterans benefits bill after intra-party GOP defections derailed floor vote. GOP rebels sought amendments to block disability-cut provisions.
Johnson pulls VA bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was forced to pull a veterans benefits bill from the House floor on Thursday after GOP holdouts refused to back it, leaving the legislation in limbo. The dispute centered on how to finance expanded compensation for veterans by cutting some future disability claims tied to tinnitus and sleep apnea, with the House GOP leadership canceling a vote on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. CNN said Johnson and his team abandoned plans to pass the bill just minutes before it was slated to come to the floor after more than a half-dozen holdouts refused to back the measure.
The Hill reported that GOP leaders ran into a roadblock on a Democratic-led procedural vote to send the bill back to committee, with four Republicans voting with Democrats to amend the measure and block cuts to disability compensation for tinnitus and sleep apnea. The American Legion’s executive director of government affairs, Mario Marquez, framed the leadership fight as a question of solutions, saying, "Leadership is about carefully evaluating the facts, making difficult decisions, and accepting responsibility for those decisions."
Quotes and intra-party rifts
In the tense negotiations, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said, "I’m not going to cut veteran’s benefits," after the bill was pulled from the House floor.
CNN reported that inside the meeting, Rep. Zach Nunn told Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to stop talking mid-conversation, and that Luna later explained she would not vote because the bill "takes away certain medical benefits for service members."
The Hill described how Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders huddled with holdouts off the House floor as they aimed to sway lawmakers, while Rep. Victoria Spartz (Ind.) flipped her vote to oppose the Democratic motion.
Van Drew said the failed vote proved the legislation was not ready, writing that paying for provisions by reducing disability compensation for veterans with service-related health issues was "the wrong approach."
CNN also quoted Rep. Jeff Van Drew saying, "I love the bill 90% of it, but I don’t like dripping away benefits for veterans to help other veterans."
What’s at stake next
The Hill said the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act includes more than 60 bills and contains provisions that would pay for expanded compensation by redirecting funds tied to tinnitus and sleep apnea to new benefits.
The Hill reported that the Maj. Richard Star Act is included in the package and would concurrently provide medically retired service members retirement pay and VA disability, while the American Legion said the legislation represented the strongest path forward.
CNN said Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned Thursday that the House GOP effort to pass a budget bill for defense, agriculture and state grants to promote voter ID requirements carries strategic risks, calling it "It’s a risky proposition."
CNN also linked the veterans bill collapse to Johnson’s broader calendar, saying it was a bad omen for the speaker in one of his final weeks before the House’s lengthy August recess.
In the background of the veterans fight, The Hill reported that the VA is set to cut back veterans’ disability compensation regarding tinnitus and sleep apnea, with the TCAVA redirecting the funds to pay for new benefits rather than sending savings back to the Treasury.