Elizabeth Warren won't back VA funding package, firing a warning shot to Republicans
The Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement Tuesday, shared first with POLITICO, that she would oppose all votes related to advancing the bundle of Senate Appropriations Committee-passed bills, citing the Trump administration's moves to cut and freeze funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
One of the spending measures expected to be included in the so-called minibus coming to the floor this week — with a vote to tee up consideration scheduled for later Tuesday afternoon — is legislation to fund the VA and certain military infrastructure programs. Warren is the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel.
'The Trump administration's actions are disgraceful — freezing VA grants, cutting funds for veterans' suicide prevention, stripping support for veteran homelessness, firing VA workers, gutting programs to help veterans avoid foreclosure and get mental health support in times of crisis,' said Warren in the statement. 'Nothing in this bill puts a stop to those actions.'
Since January, about 17,000 jobs at VA have been vacated through a combination of retirements, resignations and department hiring freezes. Voluntary retirements and resignations are expected to further cull 30,000 VA employee positions by the end of September, the department announced earlier this month.
But Warren also went further in her statement, drawing a red line that other Democrats have started to put down, too: Republicans should not expect full Democratic cooperation in the larger government funding process if the GOP continues to support actions that undermine Congress' authority to direct federal spending decisions.
'I cannot in good conscience support this funding bill while the Trump administration illegally withholds funding for programs appropriated by Congress for veterans in need and Republicans unilaterally claw back bipartisan funding that Donald Trump doesn't like,' Warren said.
'Congress is a co-equal branch of government,' she continued. 'When we vote to protect our veterans, we need to stand by that vote. We swore an oath to the Constitution, not to a king. If Republicans want support for this bill, they can start by demonstrating they will uphold the law.'
Democrats are huddling for their weekly lunch Tuesday ahead of the first procedural vote on the appropriations package, which also could include bills funding Capitol operations, federal agriculture programs and the Food and Drug Administration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to lead his caucus in a discussion about whether Democratic senators want to help Republicans shore up the 60 votes necessary to bring the minibus to the floor.
Warren's hard-line position could set a tone for the conversation about whether Democrats are prepared at this point to show Republicans they can't take their votes for granted.
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