House Republicans are once again proving that having a majority means absolutely nothing if you can't get your own team to show up for the game. Speaker Mike Johnson yanked the Take Care of America's Veterans Act from the floor on Thursday right before a final vote after realizing he simply didn't have the numbers, as Conservative Brief reported. This was the SECOND time the bill got pulled. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, maybe learn to count your votes beforehand.
Johnson told reporters that "misinformation" was still floating around about the legislation, which is a polite way of saying his own party members were reading the bill and not liking what they found. Lawmakers from both sides promptly roasted him for the excuse, because nothing unites Congress quite like dunking on leadership.
So what exactly is this bill? It bundles roughly 60 separate veterans measures into one giant legislative package covering disability benefits, caregiver support, survivor programs, education assistance, VA home loans, and oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Backers call it the biggest expansion of veterans' health care in over ten years. Sounds great on paper, right?
Here's where it gets spicy. The bill pays for itself partly through projected savings from future changes to how the VA rates disabilities for conditions like tinnitus and obstructive sleep apnea. Translation: they want to help veterans by potentially cutting benefits for other veterans. You can see why that might cause some friction.
Three Republicans broke ranks and voted against the bill. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, an Air Force veteran herself, was not having it. She basically asked why veteran benefits are being used as a piggy bank when no other funding in the House works that way. Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Max Miller of Ohio joined her in opposition.
The bill already face planted once before on June 30 when fourteen House Republicans voted with Democrats to kill the procedural rule needed to even bring it up. That mess wasn't even entirely about veterans. Some GOP members were holding things up because they wanted the SAVE America Act, a voter eligibility bill, to move forward at the same time. Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost was so frustrated he publicly called out his own colleagues, saying they were holding every bill hostage by refusing to vote for any procedural rules.
The veterans community itself is split down the middle on this thing. The American Legion, Wounded Warrior Project, AMVETS, and over a dozen other organizations support the bill. Meanwhile, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America oppose it, arguing you shouldn't fund new programs by restructuring disability compensation.
With one of the thinnest House majorities in modern history, Johnson can only afford to lose a handful of Republican votes on any legislation lacking Democratic backing. Apparently a handful is still too many to manage. Maybe try a group chat next time.
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